How to book Air France First Class (La Première) using points

TLDR

Only Flying Blue Platinum or Ultimate elite members can book Air France First Class (called La Première) directly using points. The cabin which costs around 200,000-300,000 Flying Blue miles.

The work around is to book a business class award ticket using points, then upgrade with cash at check-in for around $1,500 to $2,500.

An Air France first class seat regularly sells for $10,000 to $20,000, but can pay 60,000 points for business class plus $1,500-$3,000 for the upgrade.

Step 1: Book Air France business class with points

Flying Blue has a published tool that lets you price out the lowest possible miles prices for entry fares. Using this tool, we can see that Europe award flights to/from the contiguous 48 United States, Canada, and Mexico all cost 45,000 to 60,000 points one way when flying on Air France or KLM.

Alternative, you can search for Air France award flight deals using the Roame reward flight finder.

Air France La Premiere. Credit: Air France

Step 2: Upgrade to Air France First Class

Now here's where it gets interesting. Air France sometimes offers paid upgrades from business class to first class, including on award tickets. This is most commonly available at check-in, though expect it to be pricey. Upgrade costs will rarely be as low as $1,000, and it's much more common to see upgrade offers in the $1,500-3,000 range.

Timing is everything

The magic window opens at ~30 hours before departure. That's when Air France releases unsold La Première seats for upgrades. Set an alarm, log into your booking, and check for upgrade offers. After check-in opens, you can book your last-minute upgrade online. Login to Flying Blue and go to "My Travel".

Upgrade pricing patterns

Based on recent data points from travelers:

Paris to New York: ~$2,600
Paris to Dubai: ~$1,500 to $1,900
Paris to Los Angeles: ~$2,500 to $3,200
Paris to Miami: ~$2,300

Important restriction

As of July 1, 2023, Air France has implemented a policy whereby you can no longer upgrade business class award tickets to first class.

However, this policy has been inconsistently enforced, and many travelers report still receiving upgrade offers at check-in. Your mileage may vary.

La Première routes

Not every Air France flight has La Première. Air France exclusively has its La Premiere first class cabin on around two dozen Boeing 777-300ERs, operating select long haul flights out of Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG).

Current La Première routes from Paris (CDG)

With new La Première suites (the holy grail):

New York (JFK) - Multiple daily frequencies
Los Angeles (LAX) - Daily service
Singapore (SIN) - Daily service
Miami (MIA) - Starting November 2025
Tokyo Haneda (HND) - Starting December 2025

With classic La Première:

San Francisco (SFO)
Washington Dulles (IAD)
Dubai (DXB)
São Paulo (GRU)
Abidjan (ABJ)

Flying Blue Availability Using Roame.travel

Transfer partners

Air France-KLM is unique because nearly every credit card points program transfers to their loyalty program, Flying Blue:

Finding availability

This is where Roame's SkyView tool can help. Business class award space on Air France can be hard to find, especially on popular routes like Los Angeles-Paris.

With the Roame SkyView tool, you can track availability across multiple dates and receive alerts when seats open up.

Air France La Premiere Routes

The new La Première cabin will be available on all La Première destinations by 2026. Air France If you're booking for late 2025 or 2026, you might get lucky with the new suites!

How the math works

Let's do the math. A typical La Première ticket from New York to Paris costs around $15,000 one-way. Using our strategy:

Business class award: 60,000 Flying Blue miles + $300 in taxes
Cash upgrade: $2,600
Total cost: 60,000 points + $2,900

Maximizing your chances

Pick flights with empty cabins: You can use Google Flights to check which Air France La Première flights have the most empty seats. There are only 4 seats in first class.
Be flexible with dates: Mid-week flights and off-season travel typically have better upgrade availability. Avoid school holidays and peak summer months if possible.
Consider originating in Paris: You will want to experience the full Air France experience including chauffeur pick up from your Paris hotel.

Fly first class for the price of economy

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How to find availability

Finding business class award space on routes with Air France First Class can be challenging. That's where Roame's SkyView comes in handy.

You can set up alerts for specific routes and dates, and Roame will notify you the moment award space opens up. This is especially useful for popular routes like Los Angeles-Paris or New York-Paris, where availability can be scarce.

Roame SkyView and Award Alerts

The bottom line

The points + upgrade strategy remains one of the most accessible ways to experience La Première without elite status or paying for a full cash fare. Yes, there's some uncertainty involved, and yes, you'll need to pay a cash component. But this is the only option to book Air France First Class using points if you do not have elite status on Flying Blue.