Does Esso allow you to collect Aeroplan points at every Esso around the entire world? Does Esso have to update your status every single year and do they run on legacy systems? (I'm not referring to POS, but their backend stuff) No (I know that for a fact).

Well, FWIW, at Shell I can enter my Air Miles # manually, now sure about Esso for AE.

AC last? year finally didn't require the Altitude card to enter a lounge. That was a first step. Until *A mandates the ability to read a virtual card across the entire network as a global IT initiative, it'll never happen.