Air France Card Refresh
In January, I viewed the recent Bank of America Air France card refresh through the prism of Flying Blue elite status via card spend. Indeed, that’s how I achieved Flying Blue Platinum through a longer-term process prior to these changes. I concluded that the Air France card refresh makes elite qualification a bit easier, but intrigued spenders should still be ready for a multi-year investment. That article primarily focused on the refresh in terms of reaching Flying Blue elite status and not as much on maintaining it. I’m focusing on both today, and I have an intriguing data point to report.
Diving into the Card Terms
The Bank of America card refresh involves a variety of changes to the product’s terms. Again, you can see those here. As an existing cardholder, a few particular changes caught my eye. First off is the new 3x earning on dining purchases. Secondly are the big spend bonuses:
- Cardmembers pick up 80 XP after spending $15k in a cardmember year
- Cardholders obtain an additional 60 XP for spending $25k in a cardmember year
This means XP earn with $15k cardmember year spend has doubled from 40 XP to 80 XP. Also, cardmembers can now hit a new, higher big spend bonus at the $25k threshold to pick up another 60 XP. Bank of America noted these changes were effective 16 January.
That’s straightforward understanding for 3x earning on dining purchases, but not necessarily for the big spend bonuses. With a bit of curiosity and experimentation, I endeavored to find out, though.
How Soon Is Effective?
My mind went in several directions upon my review of the Air France card refresh. One immediate area was the big spend bonus and my upcoming card anniversary. Between the 16 January effective date of the changes and this card anniversary, I had a window to spend more to reach the new $25k big spend bonus threshold. I needed to spend roughly $7.5k more to hit that. But would it even matter?
Even though the refresh touted a 16 January effective date, I couldn’t presume the big spend bonus terms retroactively applied. The terms weren’t granular enough. The documentation didn’t specify if spend prior to the effective date would count toward the new terms. Rather, would the new terms for the big spend bonuses only apply for new cardmember years subsequent to 16 January 2026?
I assessed there was only one way to find out. I spent the extra $7.5k to reach the $25k threshold within my then-current anniversary year.
Jackpot
Last week, I checked my transaction history in the Air France app and was greeted me with this:
As usual, I received the 20 XP standard anniversary benefit. I received my $15k big spend bonus (as I expected) of 80 XP (as I had hoped). Even better, the additional 60 XP posted for the new big spend bonus threshold. Overnight, my XP balance increased by 160 based on one card’s activity.
Upcoming Plans
Armed with that data point, I plan to spend to the $25k threshold on my next Air France card with the nearest anniversary. This requires a similar additional level of spend as the above card. I expect to receive 160 XP for that account, as well.
The reason I’m doing this is that Air France allows 300 XP to rollover for requalification purposes. (This was previously uncapped.) Long story short, this makes requalifying for Flying Blue Platinum and (hopefully) reaching Lifetime Platinum easier.
Air France Card Refresh – Conclusion
So this isn’t some huge benefit over and above what was previously announced. More accurately, I’m receiving the refreshed benefits sooner than I expected. I managed my expectations, experimented, and came out ahead now. Still, I know this data point is relatively niche. That said, any current Air France cardholders with upcoming cardmember anniversaries might find it useful.
Are you an Air France cardholder? What’s your favorite aspect of the refreshed card?
