The Air France KLM Visa Signature from Bank of America earns 3 miles per $1 on eligible Air France, KLM and SkyTeam airline purchases, and it carries a low $89 annual fee. Whether it's worth keeping comes down to where you buy your tickets and how else you could fill a Flying Blue account. If Air France, KLM or another SkyTeam airline is where you usually book, the earning rate and the yearly anniversary miles give the fee something to work against. If you mostly want miles for an occasional award, the points you already hold may do that job without a card tied to one airline group. Here's how to tell which reader you are.
What You Earn
The card earns at three rates:
- Air France, KLM and SkyTeam airlines: 3 miles per $1 on eligible purchases.
- Dining: 3 miles per $1 on eligible purchases.
- Everything else: 1.5 miles per $1.
The card charges no foreign transaction fees, which helps when you spend abroad. Miles can be used for flights on Air France, KLM or SkyTeam member airlines.
What You Get Each Year
On your account anniversary, you receive 5,000 miles if you spent $50 or more on purchases in the anniversary year. You also receive 20 Experience Points (XP) every year on the anniversary.
Spend at least $15,000 in the anniversary year and you get an additional 80 XP, for 100 total. Spend $25,000 or more and you get an additional 60 XP, for 160 total. Check Flying Blue's own status page to see how XP count toward a tier before you rely on them.
The Welcome Offer
Frequent Miler, One Mile at a Time and The Points Guy all show a welcome offer of 70,000 bonus miles plus 100 XP after $3,000 in purchases within the first 90 days. Offers on this card can differ from one page to the next, so confirm the one you're applying under. Our Air France KLM card offer article covers that offer in more detail.
Who Should Get It
If your trips run through Paris or Amsterdam and you buy tickets from Air France, KLM or another SkyTeam airline, those purchases earn 3 miles per $1 on this card. Say you book a $1,000 ticket with it. That's 3,000 miles on the ticket alone, before the dining category and the anniversary miles. Our Flying Blue guide for U.S. travelers explains how to book the miles you earn, including Promo Rewards.
If your points live in a transferable currency, the picture changes. Our guide to earning Flying Blue miles lays out the routes from there. The Air France KLM card then becomes an add-on for the airline category and the anniversary miles, not your main source of miles.
How to Weigh the Annual Fee
The annual fee is $89. Set it against what you would actually earn in a year. Add up your Air France, KLM and SkyTeam ticket spending and your dining, multiply by 3, and add the 5,000 anniversary miles.
Then price a flight you want in miles and ask whether that total gets you closer. Say you put $10,000 on the card in a year outside the bonus categories. At 1.5 miles per $1, that's 15,000 miles, which only helps if you'd book the award it buys.
Before You Apply
Check the card's rates, fees and terms on Bank of America's card page before you submit an application, and apply from the offer you want.
Conclusion
The Air France KLM Visa Signature fits one reader best: someone who buys Air France, KLM or SkyTeam tickets often and wants miles and XP on that spending. If that's you, pull last year's ticket and dining spending, compare the miles to the $89 fee, then apply from the Bank of America page. If your points sit in a transferable program, start with our Flying Blue guides and decide whether the card adds enough on top.
