Originally Posted by
SensFan
This has been discussed many times in the past. One thing to keep in mind about the 35k qualification vs the 50k on the US airlines at least is that 35k can in fact be harder on AE. US airlines do not have non-point earning fare classes (Tango) and also have been having double (and even triple on some routes) EQM bonuses that AC has not had for a very long time.
That's really no longer a rationale for 35K since AC moved T+ fares from 50% to 100% SMs. Tango fliers are not elite candidates so this is no rationale for keeping Elite where it is. DEQMs are a red herring currently only being applied on a few select routes which only earn the minimum 500 miles. It is not any harder to earn Elite on AC than to earn mid-tier elite on any US carrier and without DEQMs it is actually harder and requires more flying.
Gate lice are a fact of life and increasingly carriers are no longer preboarding families with small children (ever notice how many of those children are out of their strollers and almost into their teens!?) just those in wheel chairs, then elites, then everyone else.