Hi FlyerGold:

About those 1-800 numbers - I just have only one INWATS number programmed on my mobile phone, it is the +1-800-xxx-xxxx number that Air Canada gives out to the Super Elites.

If I am in Canada or the USA, I push the speed dial button, and it works normally. If I am in Switzerland, I also press the same speed dial number. I then get an intercept message from Swisscom that says "Access to the number you dialled is not free, if connected, you will be charged regular long distance rates". I wait another few seconds, and the call connects normally. I do wind up paying the cost of a call Switzerland - Canada, which is typically about 70 cents a minute.

Air Canada does give Super Elite members some kind of wallet card with all sorts of exotic local phone numbers (different for each country) that can be dialled to make truly toll free calls from all the dark corners of the planet, but to tell you the truth, that's just too complicated for me - sort of like making long distance calls over the internet - it might be free but it ain't worth the extra effort.

Although Switzerland's telco is clever enough to allow +1 800 calls to be processed at normal toll rates, not all countries allow this. I also have the regular +1 514 xxx-xxxx Super Elite number programmed on my mobile phone, in case I am in some rathole (Africa, for example) where the telephone system is not clever enough to process +1 800 calls.

You probably have similar +1 800 and +1 514 priority access numbers for Elite.

Hope this clarifies the phone issue.