Panorama Lounge access is unfortunately not a benefit of having status.

Anniversary date is the end of the qualifying year, which has nothing to do with when you joined the program. Instead of having Jan-Dec, Via does April-March. You would, therefore need 273 points by this date (31 March) for Privilege.

I passed the threshold last September, but haven't taken any (paid) trips since then. I can tell you that the difference between 1000 points and my last credit (took me up to 1120 qualifying or whatever) was NOT doubled.

Two points per dollar is pretty good, I wouldn't really call it a sad set of benefits when you consider what the competition (ie Greyhound, GO Transit for commuter runs, and AC for YYZ-YOW - good luck getting status that way!) offers. The VIA 1 coupons are new this year, so we'll have to see what they are. They are replacing the VIA1 upgrade coupons that they used to send out.