Air France-KLM Mastercard Review: Full details

Overview of the Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard

Many fans of the old points and miles have one or two cobranded airline cards. If you’re currently looking for a new airline card to add to your wallet, the Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard® could be the right choice for you. With a solid earning structure and bonus anniversary miles, this card is best suited for Air France and KLM flyers. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐

*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Once you’ve unlocked the core set of cards that earn transferable points, it’s time to move on to cobranded airline cards. Opening a card or two with your favorite airline can give you extra benefits, a faster way to higher status and the chance to earn more rewards on every purchase.

The Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard isn’t much different from its mid-class airline card peers. Although its benefits are less than other options, it still offers good value for those who fly with Air France and KLM at least a few times a year.

This card has an $89 annual fee, and we recommend a credit score of 700 or higher for the best chance of approval.

Let’s get into the details of this card so you can decide if it’s the right airline card for you.

Air France-KLM World Elite Mastercard information is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card information on this page has not been updated or provided by the card issuer.

Pros and cons of the Air France-KLM Mastercard

Air France-KLM Mastercard welcome gift

For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 70,000 bonus miles and 40 Experience Points (XP) after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days from account opening. Also, new cardholders will receive an additional 60 XP after account approval.

XP is the premium currency of Air France and KLM’s Flying Blue program. If you earn all the XP possible with this welcome offer, you will have enough XP to reach Flying Blue Silver status for 12 months.

As of September 2024, TPG is pricing Flying Blue miles at 1.3 cents per mile. That means this welcome gift is worth $910, not including the potential value of the Flying Blue Silver case.

It is important to note that you will need to apply for this card through the Air France landing page to receive this limited time offer.

Related: The best credit card acceptance bonuses this month

Benefits of the Air France-KLM Mastercard

The Air France-KLM Mastercard has limited benefits for a card with an $89 annual fee, but there are still a few notable benefits.

The most notable feature of this card is the bonus of 5,000 miles for each account anniversary. However, the anniversary bonus has a spending requirement, which is unusual. Fortunately, the spending requirement is very low: $50 in the previous card member year. Even if you don’t use this card often, that’s not a difficult limit to meet.

According to TPG figures for September 2024, these 5,000 miles cost $65. That almost completely covers the card’s annual fee.

You will also earn 20 XP for each account celebration day. This annual XP bonus can help you reach the 100 XP needed to maintain your Silver status after earning it through your welcome bonus during your first year as a cardholder. Silver status benefits include priority check-in and boarding, free standard seat selection and one free checked bag on SkyTeam-operated flights.

Additionally, you’ll enjoy the standard benefits of a mid-tier travel card, such as no foreign transaction fees and a contactless payment option.

These additional benefits easily help justify the $89 annual fee, but frequent Air France and KLM flyers will have difficulty maintaining Silver status after their first year as XP is awarded on a per-flight basis, based on flight type and class of travel. Prize flights do not earn XP, as an added challenge.

Earn miles with the Air France-KLM Mastercard

The Air France-KLM Mastercard earns miles the easy way. It has only one bonus category, which can be a pro or a con.

With this card, you’ll earn 3 miles for every dollar you spend on Air France, KLM and SkyTeam member flights. You’ll get 1.5 miles on everything else.

While those numbers aren’t amazing, they aren’t bad either. Based on our September 2024 estimate of Flying Blue miles at 1.3 cents per mile, this represents a 3.9% return on purchases on Air France, KLM and SkyTeam member airlines and a roughly 2% return on all other purchases.

In fact, the Air France-KLM Mastercard can serve as a non-bonus spending card if you need it and often fly with the airline to use these miles.

Uses miles on the Air France-KLM Mastercard

The best way to use Flying Blue miles is for airfare. Flying Blue uses variable pricing, so there is no award chart to be considered. That means prices can change at any time, making it difficult to find sweet spots.

In addition to using Air France and KLM airline miles, you can redeem them for award tickets on other SkyTeam airlines, such as Delta Air Lines. This can be a great way to get an award ticket at a better price than if you used the airline’s rewards program.

Flying Blue often releases Promo Awards, which are deeply discounted award tickets. These tickets tend to have more restrictions than regular Flying Blue tickets, so be sure to pay attention to any relevant terms and conditions.

Which cards compete with the Air France-KLM Mastercard?

When you think of other cards that compete with the Air France-KLM Mastercard, cards that earn rewards that can be transferred to Flying Blue probably come to mind. Here are a few options:

For more options, check out our picks for the best flight cards and best travel cards.

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture Rewards: Which $95 card should you get?

Is the Air France-KLM Mastercard worth it?

For fans of Air France and KLM, the Air France-KLM Mastercard is definitely worth a look. While its annual fee may be hard to justify compared to other mid-tier travel cards, it offers enough to be useful in the hands of a frequent flyer. If you don’t travel with Air France and KLM at least twice a year, I recommend that you consider another airline card or a regular travel card that earns transferable rewards.

Bottom line

If you’re looking to make the most of your points and miles, opening a cobranded airline card is the right way to go. The Air France-KLM Mastercard is one of the many options out there, but it’s a solid choice for fans of the two airlines. The card can progress if you can maintain the Flying Blue Silver status over time.

If you are not an Air France and KLM flyer, another airline card will suit you better.

Related: How to choose an airline credit card

For Amex Platinum rates and fees, click here.