AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers. Offers for Bank of America cards mentioned in this post have been updated as of 11/23/2025
Offers for the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard® are not available through this site. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers
Flying Blue, the combined loyalty program of Air France and KLM, has become increasingly popular with North American travelers. The program has leaned into that by adding more routes and keeping award redemptions fairly reasonable. Flying Blue technically has an award chart with Saver level fares, but pricing is dynamic, which means award rates can climb quickly when Saver seats aren’t available.
But a lack of Saver availability is now less of an issue if you have Flying Blue Platinum or Ultimate elite status. The program made it an official policy that these elites get better Saver award availability. And the difference between the results you'll see with and without status is drastic.
We’ll look at what’s changing and how to earn the status needed to unlock this perk.
Better Award Availability for Flying Blue Platinum and Ultimate Members
According to Flying Blue’s tier benefits page, Platinum and Ultimate members get “Priority access to lowest Mile fares.”
What does that look like in practice? In our searches, the differences were noticeable when comparing results with and without status.
When you leave the dates blank on an award search through either the Air France or KLM website, you’ll get a monthly calendar view. Below is a look at business-class availability in April 2026 when logged in with Platinum status. As you can see, almost every day can be booked at the saver rate of 60,000 miles.
And without status, the difference is staggering. Not a single saver date appears, and most dates start at 193,500 miles.
This can translate into major savings, especially for families or anyone booking multiple tickets. In a world where airline status perks might be worth the effort to obtain, this is a meaningful benefit for Flying Blue elites.
Related: Where Flying Blue Shines: Best Redemptions on Air France, KLM & Partners
How to Earn Flying Blue Platinum Status
So, how do you earn Flying Blue Platinum status? Let’s take a look.
Flying
Getting to Flying Blue Platinum status in order to unlock more award space can be done in a variety of ways. But in short, you must earn XP (Experience Points) in order to achieve the various tiers.
This chart shows the XP's that can be earned on distance-based flights:
| Domestic (within a country) | Medium (under 2,000 miles) | Long 1 (2,000–3,500 miles) | Long 2 (3,500–5,000 miles) | Long 3 (over 5,000 miles) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 2 XP | 5 XP | 8 XP | 10 XP | 12 XP |
| Premium Economy | 4 XP | 10 XP | 16 XP | 20 XP | 24 XP |
| Business Class | 6 XP | 15 XP | 24 XP | 30 XP | 36 XP |
| First Class | 10 XP | 25 XP | 40 XP | 50 XP | 60 XP |
Air France's status earning formula is a bit nuanced, so be sure to read the post above. In order to achieve Platinum status you would need 580 XP in total. Once you achieve Platinum status, you only need 300 XP in a 12-month period going forward. Taking the Long 2 band — which includes U.S. to Western Europe flights, you could get to 300 XP by flying:
- 30 economy-class flights
- 10 business-class flights
- 6 first-class flights
These are pretty high requirements, but luckily there are other ways to status.
Related: Everything You Need To Know About Air France–KLM Flying Blue Elite Status
Credit card spending
Outside of flying, you can earn XP via the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard®. And taking advantage of the current welcome offer means a boost towards Platinum status: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you make $2,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of your account opening, plus 60 XP upon approval.
In addition, cardholders get 20 XP annually on account anniversary plus 40 XP after spending $15,000 or more on purchases within the anniversary year. This can be a much easier path to status versus flying several cash flights.
Status match
It is also possible to status match to Flying Blue Platinum — but with a catch. There is a fee required and only residents of certain countries are eligible. Currently, U.S. residents are not eligible to status match but Canadian status holders are. So although this is a much easier path to status, it only applies to select residents.
Bottom Line
Obviously the point of airline status is to reward its most loyal flyers. Offering expanded saver award availability to Platinum and above status holders is a nice perk of the Flying Blue program. It can be frustrating for those without status, especially because Air France–KLM seems to be seriously limiting those low awards to the general public.
Although flying Blue status isn't terribly easy to achieve, it is possible if getting access to expanded awards is your goal. Through flying and the Air France KLM Mastercard, there is a path to Platinum status.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.