Flying Blue Creditcard: Unlock Exclusive Travel Rewards

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The Flying Blue Creditcard is a game-changer for frequent flyers. With it, you can earn miles on every purchase, and redeem them for flights, upgrades, and more.

By signing up for the Flying Blue Creditcard, you'll get 25,000 miles as a welcome bonus, which is a great starting point for your rewards journey.

The creditcard has no foreign transaction fees, making it ideal for international travel. You can earn miles on every purchase, regardless of where you are in the world.

To maximize your rewards, use the creditcard for your daily expenses, such as gas, groceries, and dining out.

Key Takeaways

Here's the "Key Takeaways" section of the article:

Flying Blue miles can be earned by flying with Air France, KLM, or other SkyTeam airlines, and the amount earned is based on the ticket cost, not the flight duration.

You can earn miles by flying with over 20 partner airlines, including Delta Air Lines and Czech Airlines, thanks to the SkyTeam alliance.

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Flying Blue is a transfer partner of many points programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Miles can also be earned through hotel stays, car rentals, and purchases at select retailers through the shopping portal.

Here are the ways to earn Flying Blue miles:

  • Flying with Air France, KLM, or other SkyTeam airlines
  • Transferring points from partner programs
  • Hotel stays
  • Car rentals
  • Purchases through the shopping portal

Card Details

The Air France-KLM Credit Card offers a generous welcome bonus of 70,000 miles plus 40 XP after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days, plus 60 XP upon approval.

You'll also be charged an annual fee of $89, which is not waived the first year.

The card provides a solid return on spending, earning 3x miles per dollar spent directly with Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam member airlines, and 1.5x miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.

You can also earn 5,000 miles every year on your account anniversary after you spend $50 or more on purchases within the anniversary year, plus 20 XP on your account anniversary every year without any spend requirement.

Here's a breakdown of the XP rewards:

One thing to note is that there are no foreign transaction fees with this card.

How to Use

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To use your Flying Blue credit card, you need to be a member of the Flying Blue loyalty program, which is free to join.

First, you'll need to register your credit card online through the Flying Blue website, which will give you access to your account and allow you to track your points.

You can earn points on every purchase you make with your credit card, regardless of whether it's in-store or online.

To earn points, you'll need to pay with your Flying Blue credit card and make sure to use the card as your payment method.

You can also earn points on purchases made by other people, such as family members or friends, if you've added them as authorized users on your account.

You can track your points and view your account balance online or through the Flying Blue mobile app.

To redeem your points, you can log in to your account online and browse the Flying Blue rewards catalog, which offers a range of options, including flights, upgrades, and hotel stays.

You can also use your points to book flights and other travel arrangements directly through the Flying Blue website or mobile app.

Rewards and Benefits

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Transferring points to Flying Blue can be a great way to build a large stash of miles, especially with bank rewards programs that offer transfer bonuses.

Most credit card rewards programs transfer to Flying Blue, making it easy to accumulate miles. Some of the credit card rewards programs that transfer to Flying Blue include bank rewards programs.

You can convert hotel points to Flying Blue miles, but we generally don't recommend this due to poor transfer ratios, except for Marriott Bonvoy which offers a reasonable 3:1 transfer rate to around 40 airlines.

Converting Marriott points to Flying Blue miles can be a good option, especially with a transfer bonus of 5,000 Flying Blue miles for every 60,000 Marriott points you convert in one transaction.

Promo Rewards is a program that offers discounted flights on select routes, with discounts of up to 25% off award tickets available on both one-way and round-trip flights.

To book Promo Rewards, visit the Flying Blue rewards webpage and select the promotional award you're interested in, which will automatically apply the discount.

Some Promo Rewards can be quite affordable, like the economy flight from Chicago to Paris that prices out at 11,250 Flying Blue miles plus $65.40.

Card Features

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The Flying Blue credit card has some fantastic features that can help you earn rewards and status with the airline.

The welcome bonus is a great starting point, offering 70,000 bonus miles plus 40 XP after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days, plus 60 XP upon approval.

You'll also earn 3x miles per dollar spent directly with Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam member airlines, and 1.5x miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Here are the benefits you can expect with the card:

  • 5,000 miles every year on your account anniversary after you spend $50 or more on purchases within the anniversary year
  • 20 XP on your account anniversary every year without any spend requirement
  • 40 additional XP on your account anniversary when you spend $15,000 in purchases within the cardmember year

As for fees, you won't have to worry about foreign transaction fees with this card.

Status Match

You can earn Brex Rewards points by making purchases on its cards, and then transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue.

One way to get Flying Blue elite status is to apply for a status match, which is not free but can secure elite benefits for 12 months.

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The transfer of Brex Rewards points to Flying Blue takes up to 1 business day, making it a relatively quick process.

You can secure elite benefits on Flying Blue for 12 months if your status match application is successful, which is a great way to enjoy perks without much effort.

Status

If you're looking to earn elite status with Flying Blue, you'll want to focus on earning Experience Points (XP) through your flights.

For every flight you take with Air France, KLM, or their partners, you'll earn XP based on cabin class and flight distance.

You can also earn XP through Air France KLM co-branded credit cards, donating Flying Blue Miles to charity, or purchasing CO2 reduction credits.

To qualify for Flying Blue status, you'll need to earn XP within a rolling 12-month period, and requalify each year.

Here's a breakdown of the XP requirements for each level of status:

Alternatively, you can apply for a status match to secure elite benefits for 12 months.

Flexible Cards

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You can earn miles with flexible credit cards that allow you to transfer points to Flying Blue. These cards are a great way to earn miles from multiple programs.

American Express Membership Rewards is one of the best ways to earn Flying Blue miles, and it's a quick and easy way to book award tickets. Points transfer at a 1:1 transfer ratio and usually process instantly.

You can earn Membership Rewards points with American Express cards that earn bonus points on dining and groceries, or on airfare. Some cards earn bonus points on specific categories.

You can only transfer Membership Rewards points in increments of 1,000 points. Make sure the first and last names on your Membership Rewards and Flying Blue accounts match, or your transfer may not process.

Flying Blue is an Amex transfer partner, which means you can transfer points from your Membership Rewards account to your Flying Blue account.

Marriott Bonvoy Cards

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You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points by holding one of their credit cards, such as the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card or the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express card.

These cards offer a great way to earn points, especially if you're a frequent traveler. You can earn points with these cards by making purchases, dining out, or booking hotel stays.

The Marriott Bonvoy program offers a transfer rate of 3:1 to Flying Blue, which means you can transfer your points to Flying Blue at a rate of 3 Marriott points for every 1 Flying Blue mile.

For every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer, you'll receive an extra 5,000 Flying Blue miles bonus. This can be a great way to stretch your miles further and get more value out of your points.

KLM Mastercard

The KLM Mastercard is a great option for those looking to earn Flying Blue miles and status. You can earn 20 XP annually on your account anniversary, plus 40 XP after you spend $15,000 or more on purchases within the anniversary year.

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The card's welcome offer may also include XP, which can help you get closer to your desired status tier. For example, the Air France KLM Credit Card offers 100 XP as part of its welcome bonus, which can be a significant boost.

Here's a breakdown of the XP required for each status tier with Flying Blue:

By earning XP through the KLM Mastercard, you can make progress towards achieving your desired status tier with Flying Blue.

Fee Policy

When you're planning to use your travel credit card, it's essential to understand the fee policy involved.

Flying Blue, for example, charges a fee of 70 euros for making changes to your award ticket before departure. This fee applies to both flight and date changes.

If you need to cancel your award ticket before departure, you'll also incur a 70 euro fee.

Transfer Partners

You can quickly amass Flying Blue miles by transferring in from multiple credit card programs. The transfer programs and their respective transfer ratios are:

If you're looking to transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy, keep in mind that you'll get a bonus of 5,000 Flying Blue miles for every 60,000 Marriott points you convert in one transaction.

Travel and Booking

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Travel and booking with your Flying Blue credit card can be a great way to earn miles and rewards. You can earn miles by booking hotels through various hotel and booking site partnerships, such as hotels for Miles and Booking.com.

You can earn up to 10,000 miles per stay when booking a hotel room through hotels for Miles, with more expensive stays earning the most miles.

Booking hotels through Accor Hotels, a partner of Flying Blue, also earns miles. For every euro spent on an Accor hotel, Flying Blue members earn 1 mile. This includes brands like Fairmont, Sofitel, Ibis, and Novotel.

You can also earn miles by flying on Air France or KLM flights, or with airline partners. The mileage earnings depend on the cost of the ticket, your tier status, and the airline's partnership with Flying Blue.

Here are some award ticket prices for Air France/KLM flights:

  • 20,000 miles one-way in economy
  • 35,000 miles one-way for premium economy
  • 50,000 miles one-way for business

Fly on KLM or Partners

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Flying on KLM or partners can be a great way to earn miles, but it's not as straightforward as flying on Air France or KLM. The number of miles you'll earn depends on the airline, fare class, and distance flown.

You can earn miles on SkyTeam and non-alliance partner airlines, but the mileage earnings are determined by a combination of factors, including distance flown, fare class, and elite status tier. It's best to check the Flying Blue website to see how many miles your flight will earn.

Flying on partner airlines is more complicated than flying on Air France or KLM, but it's still a great way to earn miles. Here are some examples of partner airlines and their mileage earnings:

If you're flying on a partner airline, you can still earn miles based on your elite status tier. For example, Platinum members earn 8 miles per euro, while Explorers earn 4 miles per euro.

Keep in mind that elite bonus miles credited due to Flying Blue status won't be credited on non-SkyTeam alliance partner flights unless they are codeshare flights marketed by Air France or KLM.

Book a Hotel Room

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You can earn up to 10,000 miles per stay by booking a room through hotels for Miles, with more expensive hotel stays generally earning the most miles.

There are over 150,000 hotels to choose from through hotels for Miles, so you're sure to find one that suits your needs.

Booking a hotel room through Accor Hotels can earn you miles, thanks to the partnership between Flying Blue and Accor. This means you can earn 1 mile for every euro spent when booking an Accor hotel.

Alternatively, you can use Booking.com's special portal to earn 2 Flying Blue Miles per euro spent. This is a great option if you're already planning to book a hotel through Booking.com.

Redeeming Rewards

Flying Blue uses dynamic award pricing, which means the miles required for a trip can vary greatly depending on the day.

The award calculator is a great tool to check the minimum miles required for a particular pair of cities.

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Unfortunately, Flying Blue passes on fuel and airline surcharges for both Air France and KLM flights and partner bookings.

You can expect to pay fees of up to $300 or more in business class for a one-way transatlantic flight.

Despite the fees, the various Flying Blue award sweet spots can still be a great deal.

Managing Your Card

You can easily manage your Flying Blue credit card online, through the Air France website or mobile app.

To do so, simply log in to your account and click on the "Manage my credit card" tab.

Make sure to set up notifications to stay informed about your card's activity and any upcoming payments.

Join or Create a Family

If you're 18 or older, you can set up your own Flying Blue Family and pool miles at no cost through the 'MyProfile' section on the Air France or KLM website.

You can include up to eight people in your Flying Blue Family, one additional adult and six kids.

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As the creator, you'll be the Family leader and invite others to your “Family.”

Once you have a Flying Blue Family set up, you can transfer your miles within your family.

You can only transfer Miles from your Family members' accounts, partially or fully, after you've been a Flying Blue member for at least seven days.

Transfers are final, so make sure you have a solid plan for those miles before transferring them within your family group.

After each transfer, all miles remain valid for only two years.

Expiration

Your miles expire after two years of inactivity, but there's a catch - some activities can extend the life of your miles.

Earning miles from flying or using an Air France-KLM co-branded credit card will not extend the life of your miles, and they will still expire after two years.

However, using Flying Air France, KLM, or their partners or using an Air France-KLM co-branded credit card will extend all your Flying Blue miles by two years from the date of activity.

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Earning miles from other partners, such as hotel or car rental partners, or transferring in miles from credit card programs will extend the life of miles earned only from those partners for two years.

These "partial extending activities" don't prevent miles earned from flying or earned from co-branded credit cards from expiring.

Transferring and Gifting

You can transfer Brex Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue, and these transfers take up to 1 business day.

Transferring Flying Blue miles to a friend or family member comes with a significant cost, working out to 11 euros for 1,000 miles.

It's generally cheaper to book the flight for the person rather than paying to transfer the miles into their account.

Shopping and Earning

You can earn Flying Blue miles through its shopping portal, which rewards you with miles for making purchases at hundreds of popular online retailers. This portal is a great way to earn miles, and you can find your favorite retailers through links on the site.

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To get started, enable cookies on your browser and browse the shop for Miles site. You can then click on the merchant you'd like to make a purchase from and be directed to make your purchase as usual. Flying Blue will confirm your purchase and mark it approved before applying miles to your account.

It's worth noting that it can take up to 120 days for your bonus miles to be deposited into your Flying Blue account.

Shopping Portals

Shopping portals are a great way to earn miles, and Flying Blue has its own branded portal called Shop for Miles. You can earn miles by shopping online after clicking through links on the portal.

Flying Blue will confirm your purchase and mark it approved before applying miles to your account, but it can take up to 120 days for your bonus miles to be deposited into your Flying Blue account. This means you need to plan ahead and factor in the time it takes for the miles to show up.

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You can find hundreds of popular online retailers on the Shop for Miles portal, including fashion, department stores, gifts, office, and business retailers. No matter what you like to shop for online, you're bound to find it on the portal.

One of the best things about shopping portals is that the deals are often stackable with credit card earnings and store deals, making for lucrative offers. This means you can earn even more miles than you would on its own.

If you're a Brex Rewards member, you can earn Brex Rewards points by making purchases on its cards and then transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue. These transfers take up to 1 business day, so it's a quick and easy way to earn more miles.

Cash

Cash can be a useful option when booking flights with airlines like Air France and KLM. You can use cash to pay for up to 25% of your award ticket.

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To make a Cash & Miles booking, visit either airfrance.com or klm.com and log in using your Flying Blue details. This will allow you to search for your desired flight as if you're going to pay cash.

During the checkout process, you'll be offered the choice to partially pay for your ticket with miles.

Buying

Buying miles can be a viable option, but it's essential to understand the costs involved. Flying Blue charges 3.17 cents per mile, making it a costly endeavor.

If you need to top off your points balance to complete an award redemption, purchasing miles might make sense. However, buying miles doesn't make economic sense for larger quantities.

You can purchase Flying Blue miles from Points.com, but be aware that purchases at Points.com don't code as travel, so you won't earn bonus points through airline credit cards or other travel category cards.

Flying Blue miles are available for purchase through Points.com, with Explorer status members limited to 100,000 miles per year and higher-tier elites able to purchase up to 300,000 miles per transaction.

Here's a summary of the purchasing limits:

It's crucial to note that purchasing miles is generally not recommended unless you only need a small number to complete an award redemption.

Card Spending

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If you're looking to earn Flying Blue miles through credit card spending, you have a few options. The Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard is the only co-branded credit card that earns Flying Blue miles directly as a U.S. resident.

You can earn 50,000 bonus miles and 40 XP after making $2,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of your account opening. Additionally, you'll get 60 XP upon approval.

Here are the rewards and benefits of the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard:

  • Earn 3 miles per dollar spent on Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and SkyTeam member airlines purchases
  • Earn 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases
  • Annual fee: $89

This card also offers the ability to earn Experience Points (XP) toward Flying Blue status, which can be a huge advantage if you're a regular Air France or KLM flyer.

Other Options

You can earn Flying Blue miles by making everyday purchases through Flying Blue's various retail and everyday partners. This means you can rack up miles just by shopping as you normally would.

If you're looking to boost your Flying Blue miles, there's no shortage of ways to do so.

American Express Membership Cards

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You can earn Flying Blue miles with American Express Membership Rewards credit cards, which offer flexible earning rates and bonus points on specific categories like dining and groceries.

Some American Express cards earn bonus points on airfare, making them a great option for frequent flyers.

Points transfer from Membership Rewards to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, usually processing instantly.

However, you can only transfer in increments of 1,000 points, so be mindful of that when planning your transfers.

It's essential to ensure the first and last names on your Membership Rewards and Flying Blue accounts match, or your transfer may not process.

You can earn Membership Rewards points with various American Express cards, including the Platinum Card and the Gold Card.

Bilt World Elite Mastercard

The Bilt World Elite Mastercard is a unique option for those who pay monthly rent. It offers a rewards program called Bilt Rewards, which is specifically designed for renters.

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You can earn Bilt points by using this card, and then transfer them to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. This means you can redeem your points for flights with Air France and KLM.

To transfer your points, you'll need to have at least 2,000 points in your Bilt account. This is a relatively low minimum, making it easier to start redeeming your rewards.

Brex Cards

If you're looking for a card that rewards you for your purchases, Brex Rewards Cards are worth considering. You can earn Brex Rewards points by making purchases on its cards.

These points can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. Transfers typically take up to 1 business day.

Other Ways to

You can earn Flying Blue miles through various flexible credit cards, such as American Express Membership Rewards, which allows transfers at a rate not specified in the article.

Brex Rewards cards are marketed towards startups and offer a 1:1 transfer ratio to Flying Blue, taking up to 1 business day.

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If you pay monthly rent, you can earn Bilt points and transfer them to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, with a minimum of 2,000 points transferred.

You can also earn Flying Blue miles through everyday purchases with Flying Blue's retail and everyday partners, although the article does not specify the details of these partners.

Brex Rewards and Bilt Rewards are just two examples of ways to earn Flying Blue miles, and there are likely many more options available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Flying Blue program worth it?

The Flying Blue program offers valuable benefits, including discounted award rates through Promo Rewards, making it a worthwhile consideration for frequent flyers. With potential savings of up to 50% on award tickets, it's definitely worth exploring further.

Who issues a Flying Blue credit card?

The Flying Blue credit card is issued by Bank of America, in partnership with Mastercard.

How much is the KLM credit card annual fee?

The KLM credit card annual fee is $89, which is lower than some other popular airline cards. Note that the annual fee is not waived in the first year.

Is JetBlue credit card good to have?

The JetBlue credit card offers benefits even if you don't use it for bookings, making it a worthwhile addition to your wallet. Consider it for its perks, even if you prefer another card for travel purchases.

Teresa Halvorson

Senior Writer

Teresa Halvorson is a skilled writer with a passion for financial journalism. Her expertise lies in breaking down complex topics into engaging, easy-to-understand content. With a keen eye for detail, Teresa has successfully covered a range of article categories, including currency exchange rates and foreign exchange rates.

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