Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard: Earn Up to 60,000 Flying Blue Miles

Brim Financial has just launched a limited-time offer on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard.

If you apply and are approved for the card by October 18, 2023, you’re eligible for a welcome bonus of up to 60,000 Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles.

This is the first time that Flying Blue Miles have been offered as a welcome bonus on this card since its inception in October 2022, which is a very welcome development in the Canadian Miles & Points landscape.

Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard: Earn Up to 60,000 Flying Blue Miles

The Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard has just come out with its first-ever welcome bonus in the form of Flying Blue Miles. 

Until October 18, 2023, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard by Brim Financial is offering a welcome bonus of up to 60,000 Flying Blue Miles, structured as follows:

• 10,000 Flying Blue Miles upon first purchase
• 10,000 Flying Blue Miles upon spending $5,000 (all figures in CAD) in the first year
• 10,000 Flying Blue Miles upon spending an additional $10,000 in the first year
• 30,000 Flying Blue Miles upon renewing the card for a second year

With this structure, you can earn up a bonus of up to 30,000 Flying Blue Miles in the first year, which you’d get after spending a total of $15,000: 10,000 miles upon first purchase, 10,000 miles upon spending $5,000, and 10,000 miles upon spending another $10,000.

The second half of the welcome bonus, 30,000 Flying Blue Miles, is awarded in the second year upon renewal, without a spending requirement attached.

The card’s annual fee of $132 isn’t rebated or waived as part of this limited-time offer.

It’s worth noting that the total $15,000 minimum spending requirement to unlock half of the card’s total welcome bonus is high when compared to offers on similar Canadian cards in the same tier. In fact, minimum spending requirements of around $15,000 are typically seen on premium cards.

However, the structure of the welcome bonus on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard is unique, in that there are multiple tiers that offer a boost of points. 

Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to meet the entire spending threshold to earn a tidy sum of Flying Blue Miles.

If the second $10,000 minimum spending requirement is too steep, you’ll still receive a total bonus of 50,000 Flying Blue Miles during the first two years upon spending $5,000 in the first year and renewing for a second year, which is still substantial.

Furthermore, you have a full year to meet the total minimum spending requirement, which averages out to $1,250 per month for the first year. Many other cards in a similar category have shorter windows to meet the minimum spending requirement.

If you were to fulfill the requirements for the full welcome bonus, you’d stand to earn a minimum of 45,000 Flying Blue Miles in the first year: 30,000 from the first three parts of the welcome bonus, and at least 15,000 miles from the baseline earning rate of 1 Flying Blue Mile per dollar spent.

We value Flying Blue Miles at 1.7 cents per point. Using this metric, we’d pin the total first-year value on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard at $633, when the annual fee is taken into consideration.

In the second year, we’d pin the card’s value at a minimum of $372, which takes into consideration the boost of 30,000 Flying Blue Miles and the card’s annual fee.

In addition to the welcome bonus in Flying Blue Miles, you’ll also earn 60 XP in the first year as cardholder, which brings you 60% of the way towards obtaining Flying Blue Silver status.

You’ll also earn 30 XP each year as an ongoing benefit with the card, which can come in handy for lowering the bar for earning Flying Blue Elite status.

Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard: Earning Rates & Other Features

As for the earning rates on spending, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard offers the following:

• 5 bonus miles per euro spent on Air France and KLM flights
• Up to 30 miles per dollar spent on Brim merchant partners
• 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants and bars
• 1 mile per dollar spent on everything else

Breaking this down, the earning rate for Air France and KLM flights is unmatched in Canada. If you’re someone who books revenue flights with Air France or KLM, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard offers an excellent return.

As a cardholder, this rate can be elevated even further if you happen to also enjoy Flying Blue Elite status, which would result in the following:

• Explorer members earn a total of 9 miles per euro spent on Air France and KLM flights
• Silver Elite members earn a total of 11 miles per euro spent on Air France and KLM flights
• Gold Elite members earn a total of 12 miles per euro spent on Air France and KLM flights
• Platinum Elite members earn a total of 13 miles per euro spent on Air France and KLM flights

The above multipliers only apply to eligible cardholders of the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard with Flying Blue status, and only on the base fare and any carrier-imposed surcharges. Additional cardholders are also eligible for the elevated earning rate.

As for the card’s other earning rates, you can earn up to 30 miles per dollar spent with Brim partners. You’ll need to check the Brim app to see which partners are eligible for the various rates.

The earning rate of 2 Flying Blue Miles per dollar spent at restaurants and bars is competitive with other airline co-branded credit cards in Canada.

The Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard also features strong insurance coverage, including some unique coverage exclusive to cards issued by Brim.

As a cardholder, you’ll enjoy 12 complimentary 90-minute Boingo Wi-Fi sessions each year, as well as unlimited access to Boingo hotspots worldwide.

Unlike other World Elite Mastercard products issued by Brim Financial, transactions made outside Canada with the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard come with a 2.5% foreign transaction fee. However, it’s worth noting that this is standard practice with other airline co-branded cards in Canada.

Who Should Apply for the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard?

If you’re loyal to either Air France or KLM in any capacity, there’s a very strong argument to be made for adding this card to your wallet, particularly during this promotion.

This is especially the case if you often book revenue tickets on Air France or KLM and have Flying Blue Elite status, as this card’s earning rate is unmatched in this area.

However, this card may also have broad appeal to travellers who wish to book transatlantic flights at a steep discount.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue offers some of the most competitive award prices for flights between Canada and Europe. 

While Flying Blue employs a form of dynamic pricing on awards, it’s possible to find the following standard prices for award flights from Canada:

• 15,000 miles for a one-way flight to Europe in economy
• 30,000 miles for a one-waey flight to Europe in premium economy
• 70,000 miles for a one-way flight to Europe in business class

Furthermore, the airlines have a strong footprint in Canada, with direct flights available to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City.

Therefore, factoring in the total welcome bonus from the card in the first two years, you could earn enough miles to book two round-trip flights to Europe in economy, a round-trip flight to Europe in premium economy, or a one-way flight to Europe in business class (including the miles earned from meeting the minimum spending requirement).

However, with Flying Blue’s monthly Promo Rewards, you could be able to squeeze even more value out of your miles.

For example, we’ve seen business class Promo Rewards between Europe and Montreal available for as little as 27,500 Flying Blue Miles, and just 7,500 miles in economy.

If another 50% Promo Reward were to come around, the welcome bonus on this card would be enough for a round-trip business class ticket between North America and Europe, or round-trip economy flights for four passengers.

If you need to top up your account, keep in mind that Flying Blue is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards at a 1:0.75 ratio.

Taking the transfer ratio into account, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard has a superior baseline earning rate to many Canadian-issued Amex cards, and is competitive with most cards in the restaurants and bars category, with the exception of the American Express Cobalt Card.

If you already access the Flying Blue ecosystem by way of American Express Membership Rewards, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard could be an excellent card to use in tandem, especially with this first-ever welcome bonus.

Conclusion

Brim Financial has just launched a new limited-time offer on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard. If you apply and are approved for the card by October 18, 2023, you can earn up to 60,000 Flying Blue Miles with the card’s first-ever welcome bonus in the form of points.

If the $15,000 minimum spending requirement in the first year doesn’t pose a barrier, you’ll be en route to boosting your Flying Blue balance by a substantial margin. You can also stand to earn the majority of the welcome bonus upon spending $5,000 in the first year and renewing the card for a second year, which should be attainable for most.

As a loyalty program, Air France/KLM Flying Blue continues to add value at a time when many other programs have been imposing devaluations and removing features. It’s great to see this welcome bonus in the form of Flying Blue Miles available in Canada, and we’re hopeful that it’ll become a mainstay feature on the card going forward.

Be sure to apply for the card by October 18, 2023 to take advantage of this offer.