Last year I requalified for Elite around April or May. At that point, I wondered whether I should continue to fly AC for the remainder of the year or, instead, switch to another carrier (probably AA). I didn't think I was going to make SE so there was no status incentive to stay with AC. But I did think I could qualify for the middle tier on another carrier. Ultimately, I decided to stick with AC because of the companion ticket threshold award. And, as it turns out, I did make SE.

I have absolutely no interest in the free economy ticket, so that incentive has been removed for 2002. With that incentive gone, I might switch to another airline when I've attained 2002 Elite. I suspect I'll be better off in 2002 with AC Elite as well as AA Platinum rather than just AC SuperElite by itself.

I'm still trying to figure out if SE is really significantly better than Elite. So far I've realized no additional benefit.