diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericclioptions/config_flags.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericclioptions/config_flags.go
index d73b0b6d8e7..b1fa9f9cf82 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericclioptions/config_flags.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/cli-runtime/pkg/genericclioptions/config_flags.go
@@ -178,6 +178,7 @@ func (f *ConfigFlags) toRawKubeConfigLoader() clientcmd.ClientConfig {
 	}
 	if f.BearerToken != nil {
 		overrides.AuthInfo.Token = *f.BearerToken
+		overrides.AuthInfo.TokenFile = ""
 	}
 	if f.Impersonate != nil {
 		overrides.AuthInfo.Impersonate = *f.Impersonate