Air France KLM Credit Card Review
Key Takeaways
This card offers specific value for certain travelers. If you frequently fly Air France or KLM, the welcome bonus can help offset your airfare costs. The card also provides 20 Experience Points that may help advance your loyalty status.
However, unlike other airline cards, it lacks standard benefits such as free checked bags, priority boarding, or lounge access. Most travelers would benefit from using the card for its initial welcome offer, then reconsidering before paying the second year's annual fee.
Since Flying Blue miles can be transferred from all major credit card programs, you'd likely get better value from a different card with stronger benefits while still accessing the Flying Blue program when needed.
Why This Card Could Be Right For You
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers several compelling benefits that make it worth considering for certain travelers:
- Generous Welcome Bonus: Earn 50,000 Flying Blue miles after spending $2,000 in your first 90 days with the card
- Status Boost: Receive 20 Experience Points toward elite status immediately upon approval, giving you a head start toward the 100 Experience Points needed for Silver Status
The card's earning structure rewards loyalty to SkyTeam airlines while providing decent returns on everyday spending. You'll earn 3x points on all purchases made with SkyTeam airlines and 1.5x points on everything else, making it easy to accumulate miles even when you're not traveling.
For those who keep the card beyond the first year, the benefits continue:
- Anniversary Bonus: Receive 5,000 Flying Blue miles annually on your account anniversary (valued at approximately $60)
- Additional Status Opportunity: Earn 20 more Experience Points on your card anniversary
- Status Through Spending: Earn an additional 40 Experience Points by spending $15,000 within your anniversary year
The $89 annual fee is relatively modest compared to many premium travel cards. However, we typically recommend directing significant spending toward new card welcome bonuses rather than focusing on the Experience Points spending threshold.
Flying Blue Rewards offer excellent flexibility, as they can be redeemed for flights with Air France, KLM, or any of the 18 member airlines in the SkyTeam alliance, giving you access to destinations worldwide.
When The Usual Advice Doesn't Apply
Consider these situations where another card might serve you better:
- Other airline co-branded cards offer superior perks like free checked baggage, companion certificates, and better status benefits for similar annual fees
- You don't fly SkyTeam partners frequently enough to justify the card
- You'll receive better value from another travel rewards card that allows point transfers to Flying Blue
What to Know About Flying Blue and Air France
We don’t recommend actively collecting Flying Blue points, but their monthly Promo Rewards are worth monitoring
- They are partners with all major point systems, making it easy to jump on a Promo Reward or top off
- You can transfer Flying Blue Rewards to all SkyTeam partner airlines
- Flying Blue offers free stopovers to Paris or Amsterdam to maximize your point redemption
- United is still our go-to for international flights, but Flying Blue Rewards offer competitive redemptions on long haul flights
How The Air France KLM Credit Card Fits In The Flying Blue and Air France Ecosystem
This is the only co-branded card for Air France/KLM/Flying Blue, so there are no direct comparisons for those seeking a co-branded airline card specifically for these airlines. However, since Flying Blue partners with all major credit card programs, you might find better value with a different card offering superior welcome bonuses and benefits that can still be transferred to Flying Blue.
Air France and KLM belong to the SkyTeam Alliance, allowing you to use Flying Blue points with numerous partner airlines. They also maintain partnerships outside SkyTeam, making Flying Blue one of the most versatile and valuable currencies in the travel rewards space. The issue isn't with Flying Blue points themselves, but rather that this particular card doesn't offer the best value proposition, even for Flying Blue loyalists.
Card Information
| Bonus Points | Minimum Spend | Point Value | Annual Value | Annual Fee |
1st Year Value
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 | $2,000 | 1.3 ¢ | $0 | $89 |
$587
|
| Best Value | Differentiating Perks | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Flying Blue | B of A 2/3/4 , No 5/24 |
Award System
Most Recent Special Offer
$3,000 spend ended Dec 2024
Spend Categories
3X points
3.9¢ Per Dollar Spent
1.5X points
2¢ Per Dollar Spent
Card Benefits
You will pay no foreign transaction fees when you use your card for purchases made outside the United States.
Point Transfer Options
Transfer To Spouse/Partner Yes - $$
Transfer To Friends Yes - $$
Travel Partner Transfers
Outside Point System Flying Blue and Air France
Transfers In From
1:1 81% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 81% value retained
1:1 93% value retained
5:1 43% value retained
3:1 62% value retained
5:2 31% value retained
Air France KLM Application Rules
Bank of America limits the number of personal cards issued by the bank that you can get within a certain time frame
Card approval not subject to 5-personal-cards-in-24-months rule