Miles and credit cards in Belgium: the comparison

Earning airline miles with a Belgian credit card became a concrete proposition in March 2025, when Beobank launched three new Brussels Airlines cards in partnership with Miles & More. Before that date, the market was limited to two Flying Blue cards and American Express — which remains available but suffers from limited acceptance. This guide compares the six miles cards accessible from Belgium, with the profitability calculations that issuers tend to leave out.

Which Belgian credit cards earn airline miles?

In Belgium, only one bank issues miles cards: Beobank. The major banks (ING, KBC, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis) offer no loyalty programmes linked to airline miles on their credit cards. American Express distributes its cards directly, without going through a Belgian bank.

The Brussels Airlines cards were launched on 21 March 2025 and replace the former American Express Brussels Airlines cards, discontinued in late 2024. The Flying Blue cards have been available through Beobank for longer, with a welcome bonus of 3,500 miles (standard) or 5,000 miles (Premium) after the first purchase.

Miles & More or Flying Blue: which alliance to choose?

It depends entirely on your preferred airline from Brussels. Miles & More covers Star Alliance (Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss, Turkish Airlines, United). Flying Blue covers SkyTeam (Air France, KLM, Delta, Kenya Airways). The two programmes are not interchangeable: converting miles from one to the other is impossible.

Brussels Airlines is the dominant carrier at Brussels Airport — 40% of seats in Q3 2025. If you regularly depart from Zaventem to Africa, southern Europe or New York, Miles & More is the logical choice. If your destinations route through Paris-CDG or Amsterdam-Schiphol (Air France and KLM hubs), Flying Blue wins.

A structural advantage for Miles & More: since June 2025, Lufthansa has switched its own flights to dynamic pricing (miles required vary with demand). But Brussels Airlines retains a fixed award chart, making redemptions predictable. A round-trip Brussels–New York in economy remains at roughly 50,000 miles, and business class at 61,000 miles via Mileage Bargains.

How much is a mile worth in euros?

The value of a mile depends on what you do with it. Paying for a flight with miles is essentially "buying" a ticket at a per-mile price that varies by class and destination.

In practice, a mile is worth roughly 1 euro cent when used for an economy flight. The value doubles or triples in business class — that is where the return explodes. Flying Blue publishes monthly "Promo Rewards" offering 25 to 50% discounts in miles on selected destinations, which pushes up the per-mile value.

What is the real cost of a mile earned by card?

The annual fee is not "lost" money if the included insurance is worth something — but for miles alone, here is the calculation based on EUR 15,000 in annual spending.

The cost per mile is the ratio of annual fee to miles accumulated. As long as it stays below the redemption value (0.8 to 2 ct), you come out ahead. The Flying Blue World Mastercard at 0.50 ct/mile and the Horizon at 0.67 ct/mile offer the best ratios — both are profitable from the very first economy flight redemption.

The Amex Gold shows a high cost per mile (1.60 ct), but its welcome bonus of 100,000 points changes the equation in the first year. Transferred to Flying Blue, those points are worth a round-trip transatlantic business class flight.

Which miles card for which Belgian traveller profile?

24.4 million passengers passed through Brussels Airport in 2025. Spain, Italy and Germany lead the top 10 destinations. For a typical Belgian traveller, the choice comes down to three criteria: frequency, destination and budget.

Occasional traveller (1-2 flights/year): The Beobank Brussels Airlines Explore at EUR 20/year is enough. Accumulation is slow (0.5 mile/EUR), but the fee is negligible. Expect 2 to 3 years of everyday spending to reach an intra-European flight.

Regular traveller (3-5 flights/year): The Horizon (EUR 100/year, 1 mile/EUR) is the sweet spot. With EUR 15,000 in annual spending, you accumulate 15,000 miles — enough for an intra-European round trip each year. The Flying Blue alternative at EUR 75/year is even cheaper if you favour Air France/KLM.

Frequent flyer (6+ flights/year): The optimal strategy combines two cards. A Beobank Altitude (1.25 miles/EUR, Priority Pass lounge access) for everyday Mastercard spending, and an Amex Gold for online purchases and bookings — its points transfer to Flying Blue. Total cost: EUR 420/year, but the volume of miles and flexibility compensate.

Note the detail: miles earned by card stack on top of miles earned by flying. A Brussels Airlines round-trip Brussels–Kigali generates roughly 8,000 flight miles in addition to card miles. Accumulation is therefore faster than it appears for regular travellers.

Traps to avoid with Belgian miles cards

Three mistakes keep recurring among miles cardholders. The first: letting miles expire. Miles & More miles expire 36 months after being credited. But holding a Miles & More credit card and using it at least once a month suspends expiry indefinitely. As long as your card is active and used monthly, your miles will not disappear. Flying Blue miles are extended by 2 years with each card purchase.

The second: ignoring caps. The Explore card is limited to 25,000 miles/year. At 0.5 mile/EUR, that corresponds to EUR 50,000 in spending — an amount some self-employed professionals reach. Beyond that ceiling, each additional euro earns nothing. Verify that the cap matches your spending level before choosing.

The third: overestimating mile value. A mile is worth 2 or 3 cents only if you use it for a business class flight on an expensive route. Exchanging 25,000 miles for a Brussels–Barcelona flight at EUR 89 gives a value of 0.36 ct/mile — three times less than the per-mile cost of the Altitude card's fee. Target long-haul flights or promotions to maximise value.

To understand all fees associated with your card, see our guide to hidden credit card fees in Belgium. If you are looking for a card with no annual fee, our free card comparison lists the alternatives — but none offers miles. And if you travel frequently outside the eurozone, our guide to fee-free cards abroad complements this analysis.