@UpperNwGuy wrote:Why bother getting an inferior Air France KLM card when you can transfer points from other (better) cards over to Flying Blue in the off chance that you will fly Air France or KLM?
Some of us have more than an "off chance" of flying Air France or KLM, but with Flying Blue you can also book tickets on another 37 airlines besides KL and AF. Those award fares often use a fraction of the miles needed to book with other airlines. They also have frequent sales that are tremendous value.
Taking the Amex Blue Business Plus card off the table (the overwhelming majority of consumers are not going to apply for a business card), I'm not sure what the better cards would be for accruing Flying Blue miles. If you already have a CSP or CSR, yes the CFU would essentially earn the same once you transfer to the premium card and then Flying Blue, but the CFU also has foreign exchange fees in addition to requiring a premium card to pair with. I'm not saying there are no other card options, I just can't think of any that would be substantially better.
Comparing some of the perks to Delta (since it's a far more familiar SkyTeam partner to most here) that 60 XP signup bonus would be like getting a 15k MQM bonus and a MQD waiver on a Delta card (60% of the way to SkyTeam Elite (Delta FO/Silver Medallion status) without even taking a flight). You get 20 XP and 5k miles (assuming at least $50 spend in previous year) on renewal, which puts you 20% of the way to status, and another 40 XP if you spend $15k on a year, and putting you 60% of the way to SkyTeam Elite. Again, that's like getting the 15k MQMs and MQD waiver on Delta that would require twice the spend (and 5x the annual fee) of the BoA card. As a card for obtaining SkyTeam status, this could actually be quite helpful if one were willing to credit their Flying Blue for other SkyTeam flights. I'm going to keep this in mind (as well as Virgin Atlantic Black) as soon as I decide I don't need massive BoA limits for BTs.
Interesting offer from BAC. FlyingBlue miles are actually pretty useful for redemptions on Delta, and redemptions are often cheaper through FlyingBlue than through SkyMiles. However, there are so many other ways to earn FlyingBlue miles that I don't see a whole lot of people jumping on this one. Signup bonus is meh and the AF is too high to justify adding it on to an existing FlyingBlue earning card collection. I'll be curious to see how well this one does.
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
KLM...UH HUH UH HUH...THE KLM IS GONNA ROCK YOU.....😎
It's 3AM Eternal! (AirFrance of Mu Mu)
Also what about all the other perks that typically come with cards with similar AFs? Free bags? Discounts on in-air purchases? Lounge access?
@MrDisco99 wrote:Also what about all the other perks that typically come with cards with similar AFs? Free bags? Discounts on in-air purchases? Lounge access?
As the card is intended for those residing in the US and flying primarily on AF/KL, in-air purchases aren't really a thing. These aren't low-cost carriers that nickel and dime you after giving you what initially looks like a $300 trans-Atlantic round-trip ticket. I don't recall ever purchasing anything on an international flight other than duty free and wifi, neither of which are usually charged to the airline itself so wouldn't be covered anyway. Lounge access isn't something I can recall seeing on sub-$400 AF cards, except for a few that come to mind that have $50k+ annual spending minimums to achieve it. While there certainly are some Air France and KLM lounges in the Priority Pass network, entrance can be limited and many are exclusive to those flying on J/F fares, or SkyTeam Elite Plus (i.e. Delta Gold Medallion or higher) members. For someone who regularly flies SkyTeam, the AF should be covered by the anniversary miles and XP (assuming Flying Blue is the primary SkyTeam account that all others get credited to), so I don't think it's meant to be competitive with something like a Delta, American, or United card.
Fair enough... and yeah I didn't quite dig into the fine print about the anniversary miles and XP stuff, so that makes sense.
I'm just trying to gauge how this might work as an alternative to the Amex Delta cards. FlyingBlue offers some excellent redemption rates on US domestic flights on Delta. I see that as a potential hidden superpower for this card.
Indeed. I alluded to it earlier, but I think a strong candidate for this card is someone who flies SkyTeam often enough to qualify for SkyTeam Elite Plus on MQMs but might not be able to meet the Delta MQD requirements (or be willing to put that spend on a Delta card) for Gold, Platinum, or Diamond. As an earner, even if you just called a Flying Blue mile 1.5 cents, it's a 2.25% non-category card. Obviously there are Flying Blue redemptions that can stretch that much further thanks to the wacky new random awards:
@K-in-Boston wrote:Indeed. I alluded to it earlier, but I think a strong candidate for this card is someone who flies SkyTeam often enough to qualify for SkyTeam Elite Plus on MQMs but might not be able to meet the Delta MQD requirements (or be willing to put that spend on a Delta card) for Gold, Platinum, or Diamond. As an earner, even if you just called a Flying Blue mile 1.5 cents, it's a 2.25% non-category card. Obviously there are Flying Blue redemptions that can stretch that much further thanks to the wacky new random awards:
The first award ticket has $216 in fees. That is pretty steep on an award ticket.