Flying Blue has paused a change that made it 50% more expensive to earn elite status through sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and charitable contributions. The Air France-KLM loyalty programme says the new rate of €15 per XP will now begin on 1 December 2026, and that contributions will earn XP at the previous rate from 4 November.
Contributions made since 2 November will also be credited at the old rate, so members who bought SAF or donated miles in the last few days should not lose out.
What changed on 2 November
Experience points, or XP, are what Flying Blue members collect to qualify for elite status. Paying for SAF has been a way to earn them without flying, and miles donated to environmental projects have worked in a similar way. The programme’s old SAF rate was 1 XP for every €10 contributed. On Monday 2 November the price moved to €15 per XP, with no rounding, so a smaller contribution can now earn nothing at all.
The shift appeared seemingly overnight, with no advance notice to members. Mileage donations, which had earned 1 XP per 2,000 miles, were also caught up in the update.
Flying Blue admits the rollout went wrong
Tiffany Funk, head of Flying Blue, said in a statement: “We didn’t handle the rollout well, and the new rate went live with unclear messaging and without notice.”
She described the change as part of a continuous review of elite tiers, aimed at keeping status balanced across every way of earning XP, in the air and on the ground. She also said it affects a small share of members, while acknowledging that those members care a great deal about it.
The pause is the response. In the statement, Funk said that “from tomorrow (4 November), SAF and charitable contributions will earn XP at the previous rate”, and that the new rate of €15 per XP begins on 1 December 2026.
What it means for members chasing status
For now, nothing changes in practice: the old rate applies until the end of November. If you were planning to top up your status with SAF or a donation, do it before 1 December, while it still costs €10 per XP rather than €15.
After 1 December, the same XP will cost 50% more. Funk’s statement argues that Flying Blue will still be generous compared with rivals, saying that “no program in the market will recognize SAF contributions more generously than Flying Blue, including on award tickets.”
Why the handling drew attention
The complaint was less about the price than the process. The website was not updated before the new rate went live, which left members unsure whether they were looking at a glitch or a deliberate change. Delaying the rate and applying the old one retroactively to 2 November answers that criticism directly.
What remains unchanged is the direction of travel: from 1 December, environmental contributions will buy status at a noticeably higher price than they do today. Flying Blue has not said whether further adjustments to other ways of earning XP are planned.
