Air France KLM Flying Blue Program Goes Revenue-Based

As of 1 April 2018 the Flying Blue programme will be totally revamped. The major change will be the fact they they will switch from distance-based mileage earning to a revenue-based program.

Earning Miles

You’ll earn 4 Miles for every €1 spent (excluding government-imposed taxes and fees) on flights that are marketed as KLM, Air France, Hop! or Joon. You can also earn 4 Miles for every €1 spent with these airlines on extra options, such as more comfortable seating, extra baggage allowance and “A la Carte” Menus.

As of April 1, 2018, these will be the new earning rates:

• Ivory members: 4 miles per euro spent
• Silver members: 6 miles per euro spent
• Gold members: 7 miles per euro spent
• Platinum members: 8 miles per euro spent

Travel with partner airlines will not change and will continue to earn miles based on distance flown and fare class.

Using Miles

Flying Blue miles can be used to book award tickets with Air France, KLM, Joon, Hop! or Transavia. The number of Miles needed to book your ticket based on the origin, destination and date of your flight. And, of course, you’ll still be able to spend Miles on flights with our SkyTeam partners and other partner airlines.

Flying Blue says that after April 1, 2018 you’ll be able to book any available seat using miles. The number of award tickets per flights won’t be limited.

From June 2018 they will also introduce a new Miles & Cash option! Instead of using just Miles, pay for up to 25% of your ticket with cash. This way, you won’t have to wait to book your favourite seat, even if you are a few Miles short.

Elite Status

Currently the program awards frequent fliers based on the number of flights taken or Level Miles earned. As of 1 April 2018, your membership level will be determined by Experience Points, or “XP” for short. You’ll gain XP with every eligible paid flight you take with: AirFrance, KLM, HOP!, Joon, Aircalin, Kenya Airlines, Tarom and SkyTeam partners.

• You gain a fixed number of XP per flight
• The number of XP is based on your flight type and cabin

Here’s a few examples:

• A return flight from Amsterdam to New York-JFK in Business Class = 60XP
• A one-way flight from Nairobi to Oslo via Paris-Charles de Gaulle in Economy Class = 15XP
• A one-way flight from Nice to Nantes via Lyon in Economy Class = 4XP

You’re now an Ivory member. To reach the Silver level, you’ll need to gain 100 XP between 1 January and 31 December 2018. Of course, if you gain enough XP to move up to Silver before the end of the year, you’ll be instantly upgraded. The moment you reach the next level, the 100 XP needed to qualify for Silver level will be deducted from your XP counter and the 12-month qualification period will restart.

If you have any Level Miles and/or qualifying flights on 31 March 2018, we will convert them to XP:

• 1,000 Level Miles = 5XP
• 1 qualifying flight = 7XP

The higher outcome determines the number of XP that will be added to your XP counter.

Guru’s Wrap-Up

The main point here is that Flying Blue is switching revenue-based program. Beyond that, they have managed to give anyone reading these changes, a major headache. Overall it seems that these changes will affect most fliers negatively, wehether it’s earning miles or Elite status. You might need to read over these changes a few times to figure out exactly what’s going on and you can also check out their page for more details.

How do you feel about these changes? Chime in!