wow. . . imagine my shock after discovering - after 2 years of aeroplan membership - that your top tier status is calculated on YTD points earned, not total balance. sigh. . .i've got a whole lot of flying to do just to get back into prestige this year! and god you people fly a lot!

yes, i feel like an idiot for taking this long to read the fine print. though in my defense - they don't make it terribly clear either, do they? i suppose this is what makes the game so fun. . .

so, i'd always thought that the points in these programs were useless except for buying toasters or golfballs or whatever. with aeroplan, it seemed to me like the real benefit was the top-tier perks - especially, for me, lounge passes and upgrades. i never really intended to 'spend' my bankrolled miles. i've only got something 45000 total - but there must be plenty of people out there with 7-figure totals. what the hell do you do with them? just keep accumulating?

-mike