Air France Just Made Its Cheapest Awards Worse—My Plan To Beat The Devaluation And Unlock First Class

Air France KLM Flying Blue is making its cheapest awards worse beginning September 8. The lowest-priced awards will become “Light” fares: no changes, no refunds, fewer checked bags, paid advance seat assignments and, remarkably, no lounge access even when redeeming for business class.

You can pay more miles for a Standard award that restores most of what the same number of miles buys today, or still more for a Flex award. In Flying Blue’s New York – Paris business class example:

• Light costs 60,000 miles plus $608.83.
• Standard costs 75,000 miles plus $608.83.
• Flex costs 110,000 miles plus $302.82.

So this is effectively a 25% increase if you want today’s ordinary award benefits. One importance nuance though is that elite benefits still apply to Light awards. Silver restores baggage and seat selection benefits. Gold restores lounge access. Platinum also provides free award changes and refunds. That turns elite status into a way of opting out of most of the devaluation.

I already have Flying Blue Gold through a Bilt status match. Now I plan to pursue Platinum because of two additional benefits.

Why I Actually Want Flying Blue Platinum

The latest Frequent Miler On The Air does an excellent job laying out shortcuts to Flying Blue status. Gold has already been useful to me for priority boarding, free checked bags and free exit row seats when flying Delta. Platinum adds more baggage, free award changes and refunds. But the two things I care about are:

1. Better award availability. The difference in saver award space is significant. You’ll often see 60,000 miles in business class when members without status see 142,000 miles or more. This matters even more when booking several seats for a family.
2. Ability to redeem for Air France La Première first class. These awards are still expensive and scarce. And they only allow one seat per flight currently. Ben Smith hates mileage redemption for first class. But it’s one of the world’s best overall passenger experiences, including the first class lounge in Paris.

Under the new system, Platinum can book the cheapest Light award, receive status-based bags, seats and lounge access, and still change or cancel without charge. A 60,000 mile Light award effectively becomes a 110,000 mile Flex award (albeit with the standard cash surcharge). And it has better availability. And I can book first class.

Flying Blue Status Is Stupidly Complex

I genuinely don’t know how the median Frenchman could possibly figure this out? Flying Blue awards Experience Points, generally abbreviated as XP, toward status. Starting without status, you need:

• 100 XP for Silver;
• then another 180 XP for Gold; and
• then another 300 XP for Platinum.

Each threshold is deducted when you reach it and a new 12-month qualification period begins. You therefore need 580 XP to go from nothing to Platinum. You cannot simply earn 300 XP for Platinum.

But a status match changes the equation. Bilt Platinum members get 12 months of Flying Blue Gold after transferring 10,000 Bilt points to Flying Blue. You receive the 10,000 Flying Blue miles (it’s not a status fee). And while the partnership lasts, the benefit can be re-upped each year. Mine recently expired and I’m purposely waiting to re-up.

The match gives you gold. It doesn’t give you XP. But once you are Gold, Platinum is earned with 300 XP in the upcoming 12 months. Flying Blue has also has a paid status match to Gold for $199. With Flying Blue, timing is everything.

The Bank Of America Card Gets Me 260 Of The 300 XP

The $89-annual-fee Air France KLM Visa Signature Card, whose improved status-earning structure I explained earlier this year, currently offers 70,000 miles and 100 XP after $3,000 in purchases during the first 90 days. It also provides:

• 20 XP each account anniversary
• an additional 80 XP at the anniversary after spending $15,000 during the card year, and
• another 60 XP after spending $25,000 during the card year.

That is 160 anniversary XP after $25,000 in total spending (not $25,000 on top of the first $15,000). Combined with the 100 XP initial bonus offer, the card can produce 260 XP during its first year. Starting from matched Gold, that leaves just 40 XP for Platinum.

The card earns 3 miles per dollar on Air France KLM and SkyTeam airlines (Delta, i.e. earns more on Delta tickets than buying with a Delta card does) and dining, 3 miles per dollar on rent paid through Bilt up to $50,000 per year (for a fee), and 1.5 miles per dollar elsewhere. I can earn 2 transferable points per dollar on other cards, so there is a real opportunity cost to putting $25,000 here.

The Timing Trick That Makes This Work

If the 100-XP welcome bonus posts while I have no status, Flying Blue will use those points to grant Silver and deduct them from my account. They will no longer be available for the climb from Gold to Platinum.

But the 160 XP from annual spending doesn’t post as the spending occurs. It arrives at or shortly after the card anniversary. If I activate the Bilt Gold match before opening the card, the matched status can expire before those anniversary points arrive. Then they don’t help for Platinum. So the way to do this is:

1. Apply for the Bank of America card first.
2. Don’t immediately complete the initial bonus offer spending.
3. Wait ~ 60 to 75 days after opening the card before activating a new Bilt Gold match. (creating a buffer between the first card anniversary and the end of the matched qualification year, allowing time for the anniversary XP to post).
4. Once Flying Blue shows Gold again, finish the $3,000 spending requirement before day 90. (The 100 initial XP should hit my Gold account rather than being consumed to create Silver.)
5. Spend $25,000 total during the cardmember year. (The first $3,000 is included in that amount.)
6. Earn another 40 XP before the matched Gold qualification period closes.

Once the 160 anniversary XP arrives, I should have 300 XP and move to Platinum – but it’ll take about a year from the time I get approved for the card. That doesn’t hit when you reach $25,000 spend, but after your cardmember anniversary. So needlessly complicated.

How To Earn The Missing 40 XP

I have several options, and the best answer is to combine activities I would undertake anyway.

• Credit paid SkyTeam flights to Flying Blue. XP depends upon cabin, distance band and segments rather than ticket price. Connections can be valuable, and short international business class flights are disproportionately rewarding. For example, a paid Delta first class roundtrip from Austin to Canada or Mexico via a U.S. hub should earn 42 XP: 6 XP for each domestic segment and 15 XP for each short international segment.
• Link Flying Blue with Accor Live Limitless. I haven’t previously used the partnership bonus offer, so the first eligible Accor stay after linking earns 5 XP and the first eligible Air France or KLM flight earns another 5 XP.
• Contribute toward sustainable aviation fuel. Flying Blue awards 1 XP for each €10 contributed on an eligible Air France or KLM booking. Forty XP therefore costs about €400, or €300 after collecting the 10 Accor XP. The XP posts after the flight departs, and the contribution can be attached to an award booking even though the award flight itself doesn’t earn XP.
• Donate Flying Blue miles to charity. Every 2,000 miles donated earns 1 XP, credited immediately. Forty XP would require 80,000 miles. That is a terrible value compared with €400 of sustainable fuel, but useful on an emergency basis right before a qualification deadline.
• Buy an Air France Discount Pass. A new subscription or renewal comes with 20 XP and 2,500 or 5,000 miles. This is not cheaper than buying sustainable fuel solely for XP, but it can make sense for someone who will use the pass benefits.

Can I Reach Platinum Without Waiting A Year?

The frustrating part of this plan is waiting for the 160 card-spending XP to post at the first anniversary. Spending $25,000 quickly does not accelerate it. I’d probably do this with housing, quarterly tax or property tax payments (all of which come at a cost).

After receiving the 100 initial XP, I could reach Platinum earlier by producing the remaining 200 XP through paid flying, €2,000 of sustainable-fuel contributions, 400,000 donated miles, or some combination. Two well-routed paid business class trips between the United States and Europe with connecting segments can generate roughly 200 XP.

Another possibility raised by Frequent Miler is holding two Bank of America Flying Blue cards. If Bank of America approves two accounts and each awards the full anniversary XP, spending $25,000 on each would generate 320 XP annually, enough to maintain Platinum without flying. The terms limit a member to one new-account XP bonus every 24 months but appear to contemplate multiple accounts. I’d love to hear from readers that have tried this.

Generally you can open up to 2 BofA cards in 2 months, no more than in a year, and no more than 4 in two years. And they won’t usually approve cardmembers who have 3 or more new accounts open with any issuer in the past 12 months (though if you have a deposit account with them it’s 7 accounts in 12 months) however I’ve seen mixed data points on this guideline.

Earning Platinum Once Is Easier Than Keeping It

The first-year card bonus gets me to 260 XP. In subsequent years, one card provides only 160 XP after $25,000 in spending, leaving 140 XP per year to maintain Platinum.

That can come from paid flying, sustainable fuel contributions, a second card or a mixture. If I don’t requalify, Flying Blue provides a soft landing to Gold rather than dropping me to the bottom. Earning Platinum once therefore gives me a year of Platinum followed by at least a year of Gold, and potentially Silver after that. Ten consecutive years of Platinum earns Platinum for life.

I wouldn’t normally recommend chasing airline status for benefits that can be purchased more cheaply. I don’t value this for the checked bags and seat assignments and lounge access. I get those already. But savings on redemptions for my full family, which I’ll do with Air France at least once a year but given the savings it’s probably four seats times two trips.