Brim Financial has just put out a new offer on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard, and new cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of up to 60,000 Flying Blue miles.
This offer is available until June 10, 2024, so if you’d like to boost your Flying Blue balance, be sure to apply for the current offer before then.
Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard: Earn Up to 60,000 Miles
The Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard has just launched a new offer, and new cardholders can earn up to 60,000 Flying Blue miles.
The breakdown of the current offer is 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 four-tiered 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. In fact, you don’t necessarily have to meet the entire spending threshold to earn a tidy sum of Flying Blue miles.
For example, 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. That’s enough for a one-way flight to Europe in business class from anywhere in Canada!
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 miles 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 while you meet the $15,000 minimum spending requirement.
We value Flying Blue miles at 2 cents per point (CAD). Using this metric, we’d pin the total first-year value on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard at $768, when the points earned from spending to meet the minimum requirements and the annual fee are taken into consideration.
In the second year, we’d pin the card’s value at a minimum of $468, which takes into consideration the boost of 30,000 Flying Blue miles and the card’s annual fee.
Plus, you’ll get 60 XP in the first year as a cardholder, which gives you a boost towards earning Flying Blue Elite status. You’ll also get 30 XP in subsequent years as an ongoing benefit.
As per the offer’s terms and conditions, to be eligible for this offer, you must submit your application between April 16, 2024 at 9am Eastern Time and June 10, 2024 at 11:59pm Eastern Time.
Make sure that the details you provide on the application form match those on your Flying Blue account, including your email address and Flying Blue number.
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’s 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, holding the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard offers an excellent return.
As a baseline Flying Blue Explorer member and a cardholder of the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard, you can earn 9 Flying Blue miles per euro spent on Air France and KLM flights: 5 miles per euro spent as a cardholder, and 4 miles per euro spent as an Explorer member.
This rate is elevated even further if you happen to also enjoy Flying Blue Elite status, as you’ll enjoy the following additional earning rates depending on your status:
- 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 long as they’re also Flying Blue members.
In other words, you’ll only earn the 5x bonus Flying Blue miles for tickets booked in your own name. If you make a booking for a family of four, you’d only earn 5x Flying Blue miles for yourself, unless other passengers are additional cardholders and Flying Blue members, too.
As for the card’s other earning rates, you can earn up to 30 miles per dollar spent with Brim’s 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 that charge a 1.5% foreign transaction fee, purchases made outside Canada with the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard come with a 2.5% foreign transaction fee.
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.
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 baseline prices for award flights from Canada to Europe:
- 20,000 miles for a one-way flight to Europe in economy
- 35,000 miles for a one-way flight to Europe in premium economy
- 50,000 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.
Plus, with Flying Blue’s monthly Promo Rewards, you could be able to squeeze even more value out of your miles.
For example, in the past year, we’ve seen business class Promo Rewards between Europe and Canada available for as little as 37,500 Flying Blue miles, 17,500 Flying Blue miles in premium economy, and just 15,000 miles in economy.
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.
Conclusion
Brim Financial has launched a new limited-time offer on the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard. If you apply and are approved for the card by June 10, 2024, you can earn up to 60,000 Flying Blue miles.
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.
Be sure to apply for the card by June 10, 2024 to take advantage of this offer.
How would it work if my spouse is currently a supplement cardholder on my card. Does he apply first and then i cancel the supplemental card or is it the other way around?
This is a terrible credit card and the customer service is atrocious. There is no phone number for the Flying Blue card and Brim customer service tells you that you can only contact them by email. They do not respond in 2 business days as outlined in their email response. No miles have been credited from the card purchase or bonuses to my Flying Blue account despite payment for the first statement being processed.
Be warned when applying for this card how poor the support is as well as miles not being credited either for purchases or bonuses. Flying Blue should be embarrassed that they are associated with Brim.
On the Air France website for the card, it’s indicated that the yearly fee is waived for the first year.
Hey Nicolas, we spoke with Air France and they have confirmed that there is no annual fee waiver, this is an error on Flying Blues side and they are working to resolve this as soon as possible.
I booked KLM rickets for my wife and parents using this card and I am not seeing any miles earned for this spend. I did however see miles earned for myself. That means you only earn miles if you fly the ticket in the form if the accelerator, but don’t earn any miles otherwise for the spend on KLM. Is this correct?
Thanks.
Reward miles for flying are earned by the individual flying, not by the credit card holder who paid. You will earn credit card multiplier points for the purchase, though.
I wonder if WestJet will recognize the Brim / Flying Blue AF-KLM Silver Status as it does Delta’s for Silver level perks when booking on WestJet and adding one’s Flying Blue number to the reservation?
Hi Rohin, the annual fee was credited to my account a couple days ago so it seem they are at least crediting the fee for some new application.
$15k spend to get 60k flying blue points while also paying 2 years of annual fees? Hard pass. I mean consider the opportunity costs there, pretty huge. Clearly the guys at Brim Financial are amateurs in this space. Maybe they need a few consults from you Ricky.
There are much easier ways to earn flying blue points: Amex, Chase, Citi etc.