For the past couple of weeks, it appears as though airlines are running from pillar to post to acquire their competitor’s customers as they gear up for peak summer travel in the months to come. The most recent of the lot, Air France/KLM have initiated their own status match offer, wherein eligible members of competing frequent flyer programs will be eligible to receive a comparable Flying Blue status – Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

What’s worth noticing is that the Flying Blue status match offer appears to target a wider audience pool – including the likes of West Jet, Emirates, Singapore Airlines – to name a few. Regardless of what’s the cost of customer acquisition for the AF/KLM, this appears to be a sweet spot deal for flyers if they are looking to elevate their travel experience on their next flight to Europe or a layover at Amsterdam or Paris.

How do I go about applying for this offer?

1. Sign up at this link
2. Explore potential available status matches based on your frequent flyer status with one of the listed partners (the list is massive!)
3. Apply for the status match and await for a confirmation

AF/KLM have listed an FAQ table that includes the full list of eligible partners here.

Strategizing on points with Air France KLM

Air France and KLM are part of the Sky Team alliance and operate daily services to Toronto and Montreal from their hubs at Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG. AF/KLM Flying Blue rewards is also a partner of the American Express Membership Rewards. with 1000 Membership Rewards = 750 Flying Blue Miles. If you have an eligible card with American Express that earns Membership Rewards, you can transfer your Membership Rewards to the Flying Blue program to book your next flight with the Air France/KLM or another partner airline of the Sky Team alliance.

AirFrance and KLM have been known to have some of the cheapest redemption offers on transatlantic routes from Canada to Europe. As on date of writing, the cheapest flight from Toronto to Paris is on Air France for just 20,000 points, which if transferred from American Express is approximately 26K points (~$5.5K spending on food, restaurants, and groceries on an Amex Cobalt Card).

Overall, regardless of reward availabilities, your comparable elite tier status as per the Flying Blue Criteria at the link above can unlock a bunch of travel benefits – such as Sky Priority on Boarding, Baggage Handling, airport lounges, etc. Here’s wishing you a fantastic and elevated travel experience with Air France, KLM, or another Sky Team partner airline.