Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, and Other Partners) - Soft Landing?

My flying patterns have changed this year and I only have 9 sectors to my name (Should be 12 - thanks Alitalia and AF City Jet :td: )

Anyway, not going to hit either Silver or Gold thresholds this year.

Soft landing? Or straight to peasant?

AFAIK you can only drop one level, so soft landing to Silver in this case

You need to have made at least one qualifying flight / earned elite miles to drop one level. So you are fine.

Gajan

Hi, apologies for intruding, I don't post very often.
I currently have FB Plat (based in Spain) and with my last flight I reached 69350 miles for the year so far. The flights I had in mind for the rest of the year were not on Skyteam. If I can't change something to get the last 650 miles, is it possible that FB would allow me to re-qualify anyway (this will be my 6th year as plat), or will they drop me to Gold. If they won't "give" me the extra 650 miles to re-qualify, is there a non-flying way that I could earn them?
Thanks,
RP

I currently have FB Plat (based in Spain) and with my last flight I reached 69350 miles for the year so far. The flights I had in mind for the rest of the year were not on Skyteam. If I can't change something to get the last 650 miles, is it possible that FB would allow me to re-qualify anyway (this will be my 6th year as plat), or will they drop me to Gold. If they won't "give" me the extra 650 miles to re-qualify, is there a non-flying way that I could earn them?

Short answer:
No, they will not allow you to requalify 650 miles short.
Yes, you will drop down to Gold.
No, there's not a non-flying way to earn the 650 miles.

Long answer:
They might invite you for Platinum but I wouldn't bet on it. There have been no announcements of lower thresholds been made this year. Unlike 2010.
The non-flying way how you could get 650 status miles would be the French AMEX credit card. Unfortunately for you, this card has basically been phased out and it's unlikely that you could apply for it in the three weeks it should still be available.

If you are interested in Platinum for the next year (which I would definitely be in your case due to Platinum For Live being a possibility) go on a milage run. Fly four cheap segments on Air Europe and you are good.

Thanks for the reply, and sorry to take so long to get back to you.
Looks like I will have to find a skyteam flight that can get me some miles before year end. I guess no one said trying to keep nice shiny plastic in your wallet was easy!

Best -
R

Thanks for the reply, and sorry to take so long to get back to you.
Looks like I will have to find a skyteam flight that can get me some miles before year end. I guess no one said trying to keep nice shiny plastic in your wallet was easy!

Best -
R

Be sure that your flight earns miles!!!

Oh yes, I've made that mistake before!

You need to have made at least one qualifying flight / earned elite miles to drop one level. So you are fine.

Gajan

All over the web it says they have gone eg http://generalcurtis.com/2011/03/02/delta-medallion-drop-day-and-soft-landings/

and to quote the key line:

Due to Delta’s MQM and MQS rollover, there are no longer any “soft landings.” Meaning, if you were Platinum Medallion and did not fly enough to qualify for GM or SM, you will be dropped to your earned level. For some, that means a drop to no status. In previous years, you could only drop a single level, so from Platinum to Gold or from Gold to Silver.

All over the web it says they have gone eg http://generalcurtis.com/2011/03/02/delta-medallion-drop-day-and-soft-landings/

and to quote the key line:

Due to Delta’s MQM and MQS rollover, there are no longer any “soft landings.” Meaning, if you were Platinum Medallion and did not fly enough to qualify for GM or SM, you will be dropped to your earned level. For some, that means a drop to no status. In previous years, you could only drop a single level, so from Platinum to Gold or from Gold to Silver.

The rules for Delta's programme Skymiles are very different than the rules of the Flying Blue programme.
So to answer your question in Flying Blue there the soft landing option still exists.

The rules for Delta's programme Skymiles are very different than the rules of the Flying Blue programme.
So to answer your question in Flying Blue there the soft landing option still exists.

Well, it was cutting it fine, but I managed to sneak in a couple of extra flights last week and managed to requalify as FB Plat, so into my 7th year I go.
Not a bad year, I guess, in all 77 sectors, 152,709 miles flown, 16 airlines, managed to keep FB plat, BA gold, LH senator.

Merry christmas to you all.
Rich P

Well, it was cutting it fine, but I managed to sneak in a couple of extra flights last week and managed to requalify as FB Plat, so into my 7th year I go.
Not a bad year, I guess, in all 77 sectors, 152,709 miles flown, 16 airlines, managed to keep FB plat, BA gold, LH senator.

Merry christmas to you all.
Rich P

77 sectors on AFKL or total?

77 total, 18 on AFKL, 1 on DL, 1 on AeroMexico.
Flightmemory keeps track of these things for me: AF: 16; LX: 12; BA: 12; IB: 9; CM: 8 ; TA: 6; AA: 3; KL: 2; BD: 2; AM: 1; DL: 1; BW: 1; EZ: 1; KM: 1; LA: 1; SK: 1

Sorry to bump an old thread, but this seemed like a better place than any to ask.

I've read the posts above and I'm a FB Plat at the moment, but I have next to no chance of making any of the threshholds (let alone FB Plat again). My flying patterns have meant I have 0 sectors to my name at the moment, which means, if I get this correctly, I continue like this for the rest of the year, I will have a hard drop to Ivory.

For the single qualifying flight I need to ensure a soft drop to Gold, does it need to be on AF/KL? Or can it be any SkyTeam flight so long as it earns some FB miles?


From the thread, it seems that the cheapest way to get some sectors is on Air Europa......

From the thread, it seems that the cheapest way to get some sectors is on Air Europa......

Just be careful, some classes, like P, don't earn any miles...

@anat0l:any skyteam flight earning status miles is fine.

@anat0l:any skyteam flight earning status miles is fine.

Unless they change the rules:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/flying-blue-air-france-klm-other-partners/1313595-programme-update-roll-over-level-miles-above-level-threshold-elite-members.html

Although it is not yet clear, there is a chance also the rules about soft landing are going to be changed. (At this time you are safe with 1 qualifying flight, but it's not sure if that's the same in the near future)

Please keep all future discussions w.r.t. roll over of status miles in the appropriate thread.

Thank you,

Gajan

Which year does the flight have to be in order to get soft landing, status expires 3/13 took sky team flight in 2011 but all on star alliance this year. Although I usually fly star I will book a flight to maintain status if needed.

Which year does the flight have to be in order to get soft landing


In Flying Blue, "years" run concurrently with the calendar.

The flight has to be taken in the year that you will fail to regain status. If you want a soft landing next year (2013), the flight has to be taken this year (2012). It also has to be a level-mile earning flight. Not all Skyteam flights will do.

status expires 3/13 took sky team flight in 2011 but all on star alliance this year. Although I usually fly star I will book a flight to maintain status if needed.

Status never expires in March. Status always expires at the end of the calendar year. If, on December 31 of any year, you have not reached the threshold to maintain your status, your status will be downgraded, effective January 1 of the next year (even though you can still claim benefits of your old status, using your card, which still has 3 months validity to run).

The cards issued by Flying Blue always expire in March - you get an extra three months to enjoy any benefits conferred by the card, even if your status no longer merits these benefits. This extra time allows them to check everyone's account, see if they requalified or not, and then correctly figure out what type of card to send out to everybody for the next year. Your requalification deadline is always 31 December, though - it is never March of the following year.

If, on 31 December 2012, you have not taken one level-mileage earning flight during calendar year 2012, you will not qualify for a soft landing, and your status will drop all the way down to Ivory - unless you hold Platinum currently and currently have a level miles rollover balance of at least 30,000 miles. If your rollover balance falls between 30k and 60k, that's good enough to get you Silver in 2013. If your current level miles rollover balance is between 60k and 90k, you are good for Gold next year, and if by any chance you had a rollover balance of over 90,000, you will still have Platinum next year.

However, as your profile says you are Flying Blue gold, the new scenario above (retaining status due to "excess" or rollover miles) does not apply. (Mathematically, such scenarios are possible only for Platinum members. As the gap between thresholds is a consistent 30k, the only people who could end a calendar year with a rollover balance of more than 30k are, by definition, already platinum).

If your last SkyTeam flight was in 2011, you are not in line for a soft landing for 2013.

Remember, also, that your entire award mileage balance will expire at the end of the 20th month after your last mileage earning flight. As your last SkyTeam flight was in 2011, your miles are on schedule to expire some time in 2013. If you take a flight in 2012 to activate your soft landing for next year, this will also have the effect of extending the lifetime of your miles.

So... does Elite status expire in January/March/XXXXX? I'm confused. :confused:

So... does Elite status expire in January/March/XXXXX? I'm confused. :confused:

From the KLM website

Annual level check

On 31 December, your Level Miles/Qualifying flights balance from the previous 12 months is checked. To keep your membership level, you need to have at least the minimum number of Level Miles or have made the necessary number of qualifying flights shown on the chart below. If this is not the case, your membership level will be downgraded. On 1 January of each year, this balance is reset to zero.

If you are an Elite member, however, every Level Mile you have earned above the minimum number of Miles required to maintain your current level will be carried over to the next year, so you will start the year with a positive account.* This means it is easier for you to maintain your current level or even be upgraded!

* You must have made at least one Qualifying flight during the year.

Technically, your status expires on 1 January.

Of course, they can't instantly get a new card out to you in time for 1 January when they only decide on your level on 31 December.

So the cards issued are valid up to March. During these 3 months, you can still claim whatever benefits are conferred by the card, despite not actually holding that status any more. This should cover things like lounge access, etc, but other things that depend more on your status being in the system (I'm loth to mention examples, but I'm sure you can think of many) probably won't be extended to you.

Status never expires in March. Status always expires at the end of the calendar year.

I beg to differ. Your FB account clearly shows you as holding status until March 31st.

Yes, your qualification period is the calendar year, but the benefits last until March 31st of the next year.

unless you hold Platinum currently and currently have a level miles rollover balance of at least 30,000 miles.[/b] If your rollover balance falls between 30k and 60k, that's good enough to get you Silver in 2013. If your current level miles rollover balance is between 60k and 90k, you are good for Gold next year,

For clarity, I assume you talk about the OP's potential rollover from 2011. This would not just apply to Platinum. A (non-French resident) Gold member who had 65K EQM in 2011 would have rolled over 25K to 2012, granting them Silver for 2013.

But I would guess that the OP would not be asking about soft landing if they had massive rollover.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

For clarity, I assume you talk about the OP's potential rollover from 2011.

Yes. It's a requirement that you post a level-mileage flight in the current year to have a rollover applied to the following. As the OP was considering not taking such a flight this year, there could not be any rollover into 2013. If the OP was going to be able to roll miles over into 2013, we wouldn't be debating the soft landing, either, as it would be guaranteed.


This would not just apply to Platinum. A (non-French resident) Gold member who had 65K EQM in 2011 would have rolled over 25K to 2012, granting them Silver for 2013.

But I would guess that the OP would not be asking about soft landing if they had massive rollover.


True, the maths gets more interesting using the non-French thresholds. But the principle is the same.

I realise the OP doesn't probably doesn't have a massive rollover - but I was trying to flesh out the new possibilities that now exist under the new system. However, I did a poor job of it (neglecting to set out the requirements in the case of the Platinum flyer from outside of France with a massive rollover but who will take no mileage-earning flights in 2012 - let alone his/her Gold counterpart!) but I will leave that for another day :)

I beg to differ. Your FB account clearly shows you as holding status until March 31st.

I've just logged into my Flying Blue account via both KLM and Air France. I can see no indication as to the date of expiry of status (The "mileage summary" only shows me two dates - the date I attained my present status, and the date of the last transaction).

Can you tell me where to find this? Thanks.

Never (yet) having dropped in status in Flying Blue, I can't verify, but it was always my expectation that, if you were to be downgraded, this would show up in your account from January, rather than waiting until after the expiry of the old card in March. (I will undoubtedly be able to test this theory for myself in January 2013, though).

Hi,

I've just logged into my Flying Blue account via both KLM and Air France. I can see no indication as to the date of expiry of status (The "mileage summary" only shows me two dates - the date I attained my present status, and the date of the last transaction).

Can you tell me where to find this? Thanks.

Never (yet) having dropped in status in Flying Blue, I can't verify, but it was always my expectation that, if you were to be downgraded, this would show up in your account from January, rather than waiting until after the expiry of the old card in March. (I will undoubtedly be able to test this theory for myself in January 2013, though).

As per the Flying FAQ on the KLM website:

Until when is my current Elite card valid?
All Elite cards are valid up until the end of March, including all of the benefits associated with the level.
If you are downgraded at the annual level check, your new membership level will be effective as of 1st of April the following year. You will receive your new Flying Blue card before this date.

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

I still wonder, though, whether anything that requires your status to be set in the system - booking Economy Comfort seats for free/less, having your "correct" status printed on boarding pass, etc - will reflect the new status from 1 January, rather than waiting until 1 April.

I still wonder, though, whether anything that requires your status to be set in the system - booking Economy Comfort seats for free/less, having your "correct" status printed on boarding pass, etc - will reflect the new status from 1 January, rather than waiting until 1 April.

Nope, it will happily continue to use your expiring status (as I noticed this year going from Platinum to Gold)

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Good to know as I will soon be following in your footsteps!

Pfeew thanks for the info Genevaflyer!!! Good to know one will also be Elite in the system to make use of benefits.

Flying blue soft landing is new to me. Now I need to find a easy run (or adjust my travel plan) to make it happen. Thanks.