--- title: "Status you can buy: a third of all Flying Blue XP is no longer flown" locale: "en" canonical_url: "https://skystatus.pro/guide/flying-blue-bought-status" updated_at: "2026-10-29T22:32:36.101117+00:00" --- # Status you can buy: a third of all Flying Blue XP is no longer flown Last updated: 29 October 2026 - 16 min read - Based on the Flying Blue data of 1,143 SkyStatus members with earning history ![Remco de Graaf](/authors/remco-de-graaf.webp) By [Remco de Graaf]() Founder of SkyStatus, Flying Blue member since 2005, currently Ultimate. Also Managing Director and co-owner of Reshift Digital since September 2026. Founder of Zoom.nl (145,000+ community members), Zoom Academy (77,000+ students) and Tech Academy (40,000+ students). Experience includes at least 15 mileage runs and visits to at least 60 countries. Twenty years ago you earned Flying Blue miles by flying. Today the program makes two thirds of its revenue from partners outside the aircraft. Status is going the same way. Among our members, a third of all XP no longer comes from a seat on a plane. It comes from a credit card, from SAF contributions and from paid bonuses. ## In short - **A third of all XP is no longer flown.** Over the past twelve months, 33.3% of all XP our members earned did not come from a flight, mostly from the credit card and SAF. In 2023 it was 22.7%. - **One in three Platinum years was out of reach by flying alone.** In 32.1% of Platinum years, flying plus rolled-over XP fell short. In 20.9%, SAF was needed to reach the threshold. - **SAF is almost always the cheapest XP.** An XP via SAF always costs EUR 10. Members paid around EUR 25 per XP for a short economy trip and around EUR 40 long-haul. Only short business trips come close, at around EUR 10. - **The higher the status, the more is bought.** Of the members who signed up as Platinum, 66.9% buy SAF, against 11.5% of Explorers. Of the members who bought SAF in 2024, 78.3% bought again in 2025. - **New SAF buyers fly more, not less.** Members who first bought SAF in 2025 flew 38.1% more segments than in 2024, against 13.4% for members without SAF. For repeat buyers, this data cannot rule out that SAF replaces flights. - **Flying Blue does not need to introduce revenue-based status.** For a third of all XP it already exists. As far as we could establish, Flying Blue is the only program that rewards SAF with no cap, all the way to the top tier. ## What do we mean by bought status? Bought status is XP you earn with money rather than by flying: XP from a Flying Blue credit card, a voluntary SAF contribution, paid bonus XP such as the Flying Blue Extra bonus, and donated miles or subscriptions. Among SkyStatus members it made up **33.3% of all XP** over the last twelve months, up from 22.7% in 2023. Status is still mostly something you fly. But a growing share is bought, and that share sits with exactly the members Air France-KLM values most. _SkyStatus member data, October 2026, pooled across 969 members with XP in the last twelve months. Corrections are excluded. Our members are status-minded travelers who chose SkyStatus themselves, not a representative sample of all Flying Blue members._ _Full report: [Flying Blue by the Numbers]() · [Methodology]()_ ## Key facts XP not flown 1 in 3 33.3% over the last twelve months Platinum years short on flying 32.1% not even with rolled-over XP Platinum years that needed SAF 1 in 5 20.9% of 134 Platinum years Voluntary SAF spend EUR 423,583 by 411 members since 2023 Price per XP EUR 10 vs 25 SAF against a short economy trip First-time SAF buyers +38.1% segments flown, against +13.4% without SAF ## First the miles, now the status In our piece on [the Flying Blue business model]() we showed how the program turned into a miles factory. According to Air France-KLM, 42% of miles sales went to partners outside the aircraft in 2019. By 2023 it was 51%. In 2025 the program made 67% of its revenue from external partners: EUR 595 million of EUR 886 million. Banks, hotels and online stores buy miles in bulk and hand them to their customers. The same shift is now reaching status. In 2023, 22.7% of all our members' XP did not come from a flight. In 2025 it was 27.3%. So far in 2026 it is 35%, and over the last twelve months 33.3%. **A third of all XP is no longer flown.** **What we call XP not flown:** all XP except the XP of the flight itself. That is XP from a credit card, SAF, paid bonus XP (Flying Blue Extra, Flex fares, the Discount Pass), donated miles and subscriptions. Corrections are excluded. This is not a fringe group. In 2025, 53.7% of the members who flew also earned [XP]() without flying. Most of them through a credit card, a growing group through SAF, and some through both. ![Where all Flying Blue XP of SkyStatus members came from, 2023 to 2026: flights, credit card, SAF, paid bonus and donations, with a growing share not flown](/guide/images/bought-status-xp-sources-en.svg?v=fa180c9dff5e82ee) Where our members' XP came from: the share not flown grows every year, driven mostly by SAF and the credit card. ## One Platinum year in three was out of reach by flying alone A calendar year says little about status. Every member has their own [qualification period](), and anyone with XP to spare at the end carries up to 300 XP into the next one. So we rebuilt the real periods from the closing entries on the Flying Blue statements themselves. We only count periods where the XP in SkyStatus matches what Flying Blue counted: 792 periods of 447 members, closed since 2024. Across all of them, 27.8% of the XP was not flown. Then the question that matters: who would not have kept their status by flying alone? We look at periods that ran the full twelve months and in which a member kept their status. In **32.1% of Platinum years**, flying plus [rolled-over XP]() fell short of 300 XP. In **20.9%** it would not have worked without SAF. For Gold and Platinum together the figures are 37.6% and 20.1%. ![What SkyStatus members needed to keep Flying Blue Gold or Platinum, and how an average Platinum year splits into flying, credit card and SAF](/guide/images/bought-status-platinum-years-en.svg?v=223ee2293bbfa745) One Platinum year in three was out of reach with flying and rolled-over XP. In one in five, SAF was needed to reach 300 XP. Bottom: an average Platinum year. ### An average Platinum year Add up all the XP of the periods that closed at Platinum: 17% came from SAF and 9.9% from a credit card. The figure above converts that to a year of 300 XP. It is an average, and averages hide the spread. In the median qualification period, 16.3% of the XP was not flown. Many members buy nothing, a smaller group buys a lot. _SkyStatus member data, October 2026, 175 periods of 117 members that closed at Platinum since 2024, weighted by XP. The closing entry does not tell Platinum from Ultimate. Our members are status-minded travelers, not a representative sample of all Flying Blue members._ _Full report: [Flying Blue by the Numbers]() · [Methodology]()_ ## Three ways to buy XP Three products sell you XP. Every other way to earn XP, from mileage runs to donated miles, is in our guide to [earning Flying Blue XP fast](). **The credit card.** In the Netherlands, the American Express Flying Blue cards come with fixed XP for an annual fee: 60 XP with the Dutch Platinum card, 30 XP with the Gold. Across all closed qualification periods, cards supplied 13.4% of all XP. That is the base layer, roughly the same for every cardholder. **SAF.** A voluntary [SAF contribution]() toward sustainable aviation fuel earns 1 XP per EUR 10, rounded up. If you are Platinum or Ultimate you also earn [UXP](), the points that count toward Ultimate. SAF's share of all XP went from 7.8% in 2023 to 14.9% in 2026. This is the fastest-growing route. In 2023, 18.9% of our flying members bought SAF. So far in 2026 it is 35.9%. **Flying Blue Extra.** The [Flying Blue Extra]() Extended subscription costs EUR 699 a year and adds 20% XP. If you are Gold or higher, the lounge vouchers add nothing, because you already have lounge access. What is left is mainly XP, plus 10% off award tickets. That is bought XP, and we count it as such. Together with the bonuses on Flex fares and the Discount Pass, paid bonus XP is still small: 1.4% of all XP in 2025. The card is a subscription to status. SAF is the button that buys whatever you are still missing. ## Why SAF wins: EUR 10 per XP An XP via SAF always costs EUR 10. What does an XP cost when you fly for it? For trips where members entered the ticket price, we divide that price by the trip's XP. Award tickets are left out. You can work out what your own trips cost per XP with the [XP calculator](). ![Price per Flying Blue XP: SAF at EUR 10 against the median ticket price per XP of short and long trips in economy, premium economy and business](/guide/images/bought-status-cost-per-xp-en.svg?v=c1bdffe33a6b7a1c) What an XP costs: SAF against the median ticket price per XP of trips with a known fare. Only short business trips come close. The median short economy trip costs around EUR 25 per XP. Long-haul it is around EUR 40, whatever the cabin. Only short business trips come close to SAF, at around EUR 10. **Of the economy trips with a known fare, 90.9% cost more per XP than SAF.** A ticket also pays for the journey, of course, and if you are traveling anyway the XP comes cheap. But anyone hunting for pure XP at the end of their year will struggle to find a cheaper route. Flying Blue Extra works differently. Fly the 300 XP of Platinum, with all of it counting toward the bonus, and you get 60 extra XP for EUR 699. That is EUR 11.65 per XP. Only from around 350 XP of flights a year do you drop below the EUR 10 of SAF. For frequent flyers, Extra is another way to buy XP. You just pay up front, in one go. ## The higher the status, the more is bought The share of buyers climbs steeply up the [status levels](). Of the members who signed up as Explorer, 11.5% buy SAF. Among those who signed up as Platinum it is 66.9%. Of all the SAF money, **81.8% comes from members who signed up as Platinum or Ultimate**. Among buyers, too, the money sits with few people. The top 10% of buyers account for 53.9% of the total. Once people start buying, they keep buying. Of the members who bought SAF in 2024, 78.3% bought again in 2025. A repeat rate most online stores can only dream of. **The card is status for everyone. SAF is status for the top.** ### Why someone spends thousands on SAF For a [Platinum member]() the next step is [Ultimate](): 900 UXP in a single qualification period. You earn UXP on Air France and KLM flights and with SAF. On top of that, a [Choice Benefits]() milestone lets you pick a small boost of XP and UXP. Credit cards and donated miles do not count. If you want Ultimate without much extra flying, there is only one lever worth pulling hard. Ultimate comes with upgrade vouchers, among other things. Use them to move from a cheaper ticket to business and the SAF contribution can pay for itself. At that point SAF is no longer a donation but an investment with a return. In the [SAF guide]() I showed my own Ultimate year: a UXP via SAF cost me EUR 10, via flights EUR 16. ## SAF has little to do with the trip anymore If SAF were mainly a climate choice, you would expect the money to go to long trips. That is where by far most of the emissions are. Yet about half the SAF money, **48.2%**, lands on trips made up only of flights under 2,000 miles, mostly within Europe. You see it trip by trip as well. On **43.5% of trips with SAF, the contribution earned more XP than the entire trip**. The ticket is then mainly a peg to hang the purchase on. For a status hunter that makes sense. An XP via SAF costs EUR 10 whichever trip you buy it on. A short, cheap trip is the handiest vehicle. **How we measure this:** the statement lists SAF against the flight it was booked with. On a connecting trip that is often the first, short leg. Measured per flight, about two thirds of the money would therefore seem to land on short-haul. We count per trip: a trip with at least one flight of 2,000 miles or more counts as long-haul. ## A push over the line, not a year-end sprint You would expect members to pile into SAF just before their qualification period ends. The effect is modest. In periods that ran the full twelve months, 11.6% of SAF XP fell in the final month. An even spread would give 8.3%. Flights sit slightly above that too, at 10.1%. A slight acceleration, nothing more. It is different for members who move up a tier during their qualification period. For them, **63.5% of SAF XP falls in the last 30 days before the promotion**. Part of that is mechanical. Such a period ends on the day you cross the threshold, so the purchase that gets you over always lands at the end. But it does show how members use SAF. Not as a buffer against a deadline, but as the final push over the line. ## Do SAF buyers fly less? This is the question that matters most to Air France-KLM. If an XP via SAF costs EUR 10 and via a short economy trip around EUR 25, why book that extra return to Paris at all? If so, every euro of SAF would come at the expense of a ticket. For first-time buyers the data points the other way. We compared the number of segments flown in 2024 and 2025 for members whose flights we know from before 2024. Members who bought SAF for the first time in 2025 flew **38.1% more segments** than in 2024 (median, 36 members). Members who never bought SAF flew 13.4% more. People who start buying SAF do so in a year in which they fly more, not less. That fits a member chasing a higher tier and throwing everything at it. Those are also the years of the [mileage run](): extra flights purely for the XP. ![Change in segments flown from 2024 to 2025: first-time SAF buyers flew more than members without SAF, repeat SAF buyers flew the same](/guide/images/bought-status-saf-buyers-flights-en.svg?v=d6d2e52c62961de3) First-time SAF buyers flew more in 2025 than members without SAF. Repeat buyers flew as much as the year before. Repeat buyers, who had bought SAF before and did so again in 2025, flew as much as the year before. That could be substitution: they buy what they would otherwise have flown. It could also be a group that has already settled into its routine. This data cannot tell the two apart. It remains a comparison, not an experiment. We cannot see how much these members would have flown without SAF. What we can see is that first-time buyers show no sign of flying less. ## Flying Blue stands alone Status for money (revenue-based status, in industry jargon) is nothing new. Since 2024 Delta has counted only dollars spent, and its Amex cards add a 2,500-dollar head start each year. British Airways has awarded tier points per pound spent since April 2025. Air Canada followed in 2026. In our business model piece we wrote that Flying Blue is heading the same way. The question is not if, but when. Our data shows that practice is already further along. The card gives fixed XP for an annual fee. SAF gives 1 XP per EUR 10. Flying Blue Extra adds 20% on top of your flights. Those are simply prices for status. Add the other XP that is not flown and it already comes to a third of all XP. **Flying Blue does not need to introduce revenue-based status. For a third, it already has.** What stands out is the shape. Other programs reward SAF too, but almost always with a cap or as a time-limited promotion. British Airways gives 2 tier points per pound spent on SAF, up to 2,000 a year. Lufthansa's Miles & More awards extra status points for CO2 packages. Alaska, Air Canada, Delta and JetBlue ran capped promotions. As far as we could establish, Flying Blue is the only program where the button is always on, with no cap, all the way to the top tier. And ordinary travelers? According to KLM, 0.5 to 0.8% of passengers buy SAF voluntarily. Among our members, 35.9% bought SAF in 2026. The two numbers do not measure the same thing. KLM counts bookings, we count members per year, and our members are status hunters. But the gap shows who carries the voluntary SAF market. ## What this means for Air France-KLM Our 411 SAF buyers have spent around EUR 423,583 on SAF since 2023, on top of their tickets. A small group with deep pockets. Three questions follow. ### Is the contribution extra SAF? Since 2025, SAF has to be blended in across the EU: 2% in 2025, rising to 6% in 2030. In 2024 Air France-KLM collected EUR 153 million through the SAF surcharge on tickets and voluntary contributions, against EUR 170 million in SAF costs. For 2025, GreenAir reports that Air France-KLM collected EUR 232 million against EUR 226 million in costs. How much of that was voluntary, the group does not disclose. That is the key question. The European system can keep voluntary SAF separate: in 2025 suppliers flagged around 250,000 metric tons as voluntary, outside the mandate. Whether our members' money ends up there, or helps pay for the mandate, nobody outside the group can see. ### Does SAF cost tickets? Not among first-time buyers. They fly more. Among repeat buyers it is still an open question. It is worth Air France-KLM checking this in its own data, because that is where the answer lies to whether SAF XP adds revenue or shifts it. ### Do regulators look at the reward? So far regulators have looked at the climate promise. In 2024 the Dutch consumer authority ACM and its European counterparts ruled that airlines may not suggest that paying extra for SAF reduces the emissions of your flight. In November 2025, 21 airlines, KLM and Transavia among them, committed to change how they communicate. None of those texts mention XP or status. Yet for our members the reward may well be the main selling point. ## What we do not know - **Where our members' SAF money goes.** All SAF in these numbers was bought voluntarily. The mandatory surcharge is already part of the fare and earns no XP. Whether voluntary contributions buy extra SAF or help pay for the mandate, Air France-KLM does not disclose. - **When members bought their SAF.** The statement dates the XP on the flight, not on the purchase. - **What SAF buyers would have done otherwise.** We see that first-time buyers fly more, not what they would have done without SAF. - **How the typical member behaves.** Our members are status hunters. Across the whole program the share of bought XP is probably lower. - **The exact amount.** Statements show XP, not euros. We work back at 1 XP per EUR 10 and take the midpoint of each line. - **Platinum or Ultimate.** The closing entry of a qualification period does not tell them apart, so Ultimate years sit inside the Platinum figures. ## What this means for you I am Ultimate myself. My advice: plan your status in three layers. Flying is the base, a card is the fixed top-up, SAF is the last stretch. - **Count card XP in advance.** If you hold a card with XP, that XP is a fixed part of your threshold. Forget it and you buy too much SAF. - **Buy SAF to close the gap, not to cover the whole distance.** A ticket you buy anyway earns XP on top. SAF is cheapest for the last few XP to a threshold. - **If you are Platinum, think in UXP.** For Ultimate it is mainly SAF and Air France and KLM flights that count, credit cards do not. Below Platinum, SAF earns no UXP. - **Compare with a short business trip.** At around EUR 10 per XP it also earns miles and gets you somewhere. If you have a reason to fly, it often wins. - **Run the numbers on Flying Blue Extra.** Below about 350 XP of flights a year you pay more per XP than with SAF. Then Extra only pays off if you really use the other benefits. - **Do not wait for the last day.** Check in the SAF guide when the XP posts, so it lands inside your period. - **If you buy SAF for the climate, be realistic.** According to the ACM, paying extra for SAF does not lower the emissions of your flight. You are paying toward SAF for aviation as a whole. ## About this data The figures come from the imported Flying Blue statements and flight logs of SkyStatus members. A statement reconciles to Flying Blue's own balances, so we measure what happened, not what members remember. Our members chose SkyStatus themselves and are status-minded travelers. Across the whole program the share of Platinum and Ultimate members is far lower. What this data shows is how the most engaged members behave. By all XP we mean XP from flights, paid bonus XP, SAF, credit cards, donated miles and subscriptions. XP not flown is all XP except that of the flight itself. Corrections and other adjustments are excluded. Year trends are measured per calendar year. Thresholds and timing are measured per actual qualification period, rebuilt from the closing and surplus lines on the statement. Questions about the trip a SAF contribution was bought on are measured per trip, not per flight. A status group is the status a member gave when signing up. Prices per XP come from ticket prices members entered themselves, award tickets excluded. We only publish aggregate figures. We give a number only from 30 members up. With 10 to 29 members we give the direction only, below 10 nothing at all. You may quote these figures with credit to SkyStatus and a link to this page, under CC BY-NC 4.0. The full approach is in the [methodology](), and the wider figures are in [Flying Blue by the Numbers](). ## Frequently asked questions Can you buy Flying Blue status? Not directly, but you can buy XP. The Dutch American Express Flying Blue cards give fixed XP each year, a voluntary SAF contribution earns 1 XP per EUR 10, and Flying Blue Extra Extended adds 20% XP for EUR 699 a year. Among SkyStatus members, a third of all XP over the last twelve months did not come from a flight. How much does an XP cost through SAF? EUR 10. Flying Blue gives 1 XP per EUR 10 of SAF contribution, rounded up. If you are Platinum or Ultimate, that XP also counts as UXP toward Ultimate. Is buying SAF for XP a smart move? For the last stretch to a status threshold, almost always. Members paid around EUR 25 per XP for a short economy trip and around EUR 40 long-haul. If you are traveling anyway, a ticket earns XP, miles and a journey. Use SAF to close the gap. Can you reach Platinum without much flying? In one in three Platinum years of SkyStatus members, flying plus rolled-over XP was not enough. In one in five, it would not have worked without SAF. Credit cards and SAF close the gap. Do members fly less once they buy SAF? First-time buyers do not. Members who bought SAF for the first time in 2025 flew clearly more segments than in 2024, more than members without SAF. Repeat buyers flew about as much as the year before. Has Flying Blue switched to revenue-based status? Not formally, status still runs on XP. But with the card, SAF and Flying Blue Extra there are already three routes to earn XP with money. Among SkyStatus members, a third of all XP already does not come from a flight. ## Sources - SkyStatus member data, aggregated, as of October 2026 - [Air France - Flying Blue status levels]() - UXP for Platinum and Ultimate - [Air France-KLM - 2024 consolidated financial statements]() - note 2.3.1, SAF surcharge and voluntary contributions - [GreenAir News - SAF revenue and costs 2025]() (March 2026) - [Aerospace Global News - voluntary SAF at KLM]() (June 2026) - [Fastmarkets - EASA figures on voluntary SAF]() (September 2026) - [European Commission - ReFuelEU Aviation]() - [ACM - airlines must stop greenwashing]() (April 2024, in Dutch) and [commitments by 21 airlines]() (November 2025, in Dutch) - [Delta - SkyMiles changes for 2024]() - [Air Canada - status 2026]() - [British Airways - tier points]() - [Lufthansa Group - Miles & More and CO2 packages]() ### Related guides - [**The Flying Blue business model**]() - [**Earn Flying Blue XP fast**]() - [**SAF contributions and XP**]() - [Flying Blue by the Numbers]() - [UXP explained]() - [Flying Blue Platinum status]() - [Flying Blue Ultimate status]() - [Flying Blue Extra explained]() - [The qualification year]() This analysis is based on aggregated SkyStatus member data, Air France-KLM's financial reports and the public sources listed. Member figures refresh weekly. SkyStatus is not affiliated with Air France-KLM or Flying Blue.