Chasing XP in Mallorca - An Unforgettable Short Trip

The XP Challenge

On November 28, 2025, I found myself calculating the XP needed to upgrade to Platinum. My Flying Blue Gold card is valid until the end of May, and I’m just 29 XP short of qualifying. If I succeed, I’ll enjoy two years as STE+.

My wife is in a similar boat, needing over 30 XP before the end of March to elevate her status to Gold. This upgrade would extend her STE status by another two years (one year as STE+). However, acquiring this additional XP would cost around 300 euros, and I was on the lookout for a round-trip flight that would be both affordable and provide enough XP for both of us.

Finding Inspiration in Mallorca

The goal was to locate a flight for each of us that offers 30 XP, all while keeping the total cost under 600 euros. I wanted to choose a warm destination since we planned to stay at least three days to avoid high round-trip ticket prices. However, despite my efforts, I couldn’t find a reasonable option.

Most flights from BHX with SkyTeam airlines required layovers at AMS or CDG before reaching our European destination, resulting in four legs of travel. Each economy leg only provided 5 XP, summing up to a mere 20 XP. We would still be 10 XP short, necessitating an additional 100 euros per person, which would reduce our budget to just 400 euros.

Looking for Budget-Friendly Options

Occasionally, I found cheap tickets with AF or KLM, but nothing seemed to pop up this time. Last year, when I first started my Flying Blue journey, I took my first trip to Mallorca after several years. That trip involved six flight legs, but since the BCN-PMI legs were domestic, they awarded 2 XP each, totaling 24 XP. Spending 60 euros for some final XP didn’t seem like a big deal.

I searched on Google Flights and ITA Matrix, but I couldn't find tickets like last year's approximate 300 pounds (which seemed a bit pricey). However, I did spot some affordable flights with SAS on various routes.

The Bitter Reality

As a SkyTeam member, SAS flights still accumulate XP, but most routes are in Scandinavia or Northern Europe. How ironic! I envisioned chilly winter nights and longed to escape for a few days to warmer weather in February or March. Last February, Mallorca was delightfully quiet.

But now, there were no reasonable SAS flights from BHX to PMI. BHX only has one flight to CPH daily, usually in the evening, which would require me to stay overnight in Copenhagen. This wasn’t ideal for a budget trip.

The Return Flight

In the meantime, I discovered a one-way flight with Jet2 to PMI for under 50 euros, which got me excited. I wondered if I could earn XP by flying back with KLM or AF in business class. If it wasn’t too pricey, it would make sense as it could help each of us reach 30 XP.

So now, my budget was up to 500 euros, but I needed to find a business class return from PMI to the UK (preferably BHX) with a SkyTeam airline. I hoped to make it work with Air Europa, as they had flights back to Gatwick.

Finally, a Solution

After searching on ITA Matrix, I found some extremely cheap tickets to LHR with SAS. Ultimately, I booked business class tickets from PMI to LHR for 182 pounds each. While it wasn’t ideal since getting home from London took four times longer than from BHX and was significantly more expensive.

The total flight cost was about 67.20 pounds + 364 pounds = 431.20 pounds for our flights (491 euros), which was much lower than 600 euros if we had just bought extra XP through SAF. I achieved what I was hoping for. The cost of 8.18 euros/XP included the Jet2 BHX-PMI flight, which didn’t earn any XP. Apologies for the confusion between euros and pounds, but the SAF XP cost is fixed at 10 euros/XP, making it easier to compare. Excluding the positioning flight with Jet2, the cost drops to just 6.91 euros/XP, nearly the lowest rate available. That’s how it all worked out, so let’s get ready for the trip!