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Is Elite worth $240? (And is the 35k figure a hard stop?)

Is Elite worth $240? (And is the 35k figure a hard stop?)

Old Nov 6, 2010, 8:45 am
  #1  
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Is Elite worth $240? (And is the 35k figure a hard stop?)

Hi All,

Another question from the newbie. Recently saw a route posted in the MR forum that costs $240 and would bring me to 34,300 miles. 2 questions related to this:

1. I read here in the past that AC would award E status even when a member isn't quite at 35,000 miles. Can someone elaborate on the regularity of this practice?

2. How much is a 'normal' amount to pay (for an entirely needless flight) to make Elite status?

Thanks and cheers!
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 8:49 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
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1. 35k will get you E. Anything less than that isn't a guarantee no matter how much others have said they've gotten it. Basically you're taking your chances!

2. There isn't a "normal" amount to pay but you want your cpm to be as low as possible. The "normal" amount is what you're willing to spend and I would venture 5 cpm or lower is a great deal for a MR. Any more and you're likely just paying too much. As said, "paying too much" is subjective.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 8:50 am
  #3  
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Originally Posted by AC888
Hi All,

Another question from the newbie. Recently saw a route posted in the MR forum that costs $240 and would bring me to 34,300 miles. 2 questions related to this:

1. I read here in the past that AC would award E status even when a member isn't quite at 35,000 miles. Can someone elaborate on the regularity of this practice?

2. How much is a 'normal' amount to pay (for an entirely needless flight) to make Elite status?

Thanks and cheers!
There is no assurance that you will be awarded Elite status with 34,300 miles. My advice is go for 35K and you are certain of your new status.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 9:21 am
  #4  
 
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geez............ for crying out loud.... dont expect AC to give u status until u reach 35,000 miles... .they are the lowest to obtain already in the *A program....

ur only talking $240... either cough it up or dont take the status
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 9:33 am
  #5  
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Originally Posted by global_happy_traveller
geez............ for crying out loud.... dont expect AC to give u status until u reach 35,000 miles... .they are the lowest to obtain already in the *A program....

ur only talking $240... either cough it up or dont take the status
First of all, it was just a question. Isn't that what forums like these are for? If you don't want to answer, don't respond.

But if you are going to respond, at least read carefully. I clearly said that with the $240 run, I would be at 34,300 miles.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 9:43 am
  #6  
 
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if so, why are u asking this Q then??? 1. I read here in the past that AC would award E status even when a member isn't quite at 35,000 miles. Can someone elaborate on the regularity of this practice?

if u want the status then cough it up and do another run or reroute with another segment or two which will then give u more miles (ie. YYZ-YOW-YUL will give u 1000 miles instead of YYZ-YUL which gives 500 miles).......

at the end of the day its your choice.... dont achieve 35,000 miles.... dont expect AC would grant E status... its a subjective process and they look at things such as number of years as a loyal member etc.....


2. How much is a 'normal' amount to pay (for an entirely needless flight) to make Elite status?

once again its up to u.... depends on your location, what deals u get and what you view as a value..... i see YYZ-YUL-YQB $100+ each way + taxes, perhaps that great for Canada... in the US u could do East Coast to the West Coast for $200+ ai...... depends what market ur in and what u can get in your market

Last edited by global happy traveller; Nov 6, 2010 at 9:51 am
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 9:50 am
  #7  
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Originally Posted by global_happy_traveller
if so, why are u asking this Q then??? 1. I read here in the past that AC would award E status even when a member isn't quite at 35,000 miles. Can someone elaborate on the regularity of this practice?

if u want the status then cough it up and do another run or reroute with another segment or two which will then give u more miles (ie. YYZ-YOW-YUL will give u 1000 miles instead of YYZ-YUL which gives 500 miles).......

at the end of the day its your choice.... dont achieve 35,000 miles.... dont expect AC would grant E status... its a subjective process and they look at things such as number of years as a member etc.....

the benefits of the program are:

$20-45 lounge access x the number of times u want to visit next year
J or Z class fare less Y, B, M, U for SWU x 2-4 certs
J or Z class fare less Latitiude, Tango Plus for SSWU x 2 certs
I just wanted to hear about others' experiences and get all the facts before making a decision. So if most people said 34,300 miles would be okay, I probably would have gone for it booked the run. If most people said 34,300 is nowhere near guaranteed (as they have), I would have to look into additional trips I can take and decide whether the total cost is worth it. Your second response is much more helpful, so thanks.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 9:54 am
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personally i will definitely exceed 35,000 miles just to be safe.... i dont like gambling on it and seasoned frequent fliers (including some on this forum) dont like those meeting bare minimum or near bare minimum and hoping for the best....

my two cents worth go visit a friend or shopping somewhere and route it as long as u want to meet it.... at least its not a needless trip.... u have some value (purpose x monetary amount)
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 11:02 am
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by AC888
Hi All,

Another question from the newbie. Recently saw a route posted in the MR forum that costs $240 and would bring me to 34,300 miles. 2 questions related to this:

1. I read here in the past that AC would award E status even when a member isn't quite at 35,000 miles. Can someone elaborate on the regularity of this practice?

2. How much is a 'normal' amount to pay (for an entirely needless flight) to make Elite status?

Thanks and cheers!
Since your questions have been answered, let's help you go beyond the 35k required for E.
Where are you based out of? YYZ?
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 11:08 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by tnkngn
Since your questions have been answered, let's help you go beyond the 35k required for E.
Where are you based out of? YYZ?
That's very generous! I'm based out of NYC.

I suppose some context would help.

Money is not super tight, but I also don't like to be wasteful. Would much rather take a trip that has a purpose, but I'm kind of a slave to my job. The reason I liked the NYC-RNO run for $240 is because it's available on weekends and for same-day returns. That can be important to me since I often need to work one day of the weekend. But like I said in the original post, this run would still leave me 700 miles short. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 11:57 am
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Originally Posted by AC888
That's very generous! I'm based out of NYC.

I suppose some context would help.

Money is not super tight, but I also don't like to be wasteful. Would much rather take a trip that has a purpose, but I'm kind of a slave to my job. The reason I liked the NYC-RNO run for $240 is because it's available on weekends and for same-day returns. That can be important to me since I often need to work one day of the weekend. But like I said in the original post, this run would still leave me 700 miles short. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
i believe CO has some cheap MR from EWR to San Diego and Seattle...u might wanna give those a try
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 2:41 pm
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One disadvantage of hoping for E if you are "near" 35,000 is that it will not happen until after everyone else is taken care of, which from my experience may be late in Feb (if at all).

They also have a habit of leaving status lowering until late (ie, SE to E) on the assumption that you might miraculously go out on Dec and rack up 65,000 miles. I found that a nuisance the year it happened to me, because I did not get certs etc until well after I expected them.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 4:11 pm
  #13  
 
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I don't know, I'm just going to throw this out there, but I'm not sure you should bother at all. I agree with the others that if you're going to spend the money, energy, and time to do a MR, you should make sure to hit the 35K. But the question is, is it worth it?

It will presumably cost you more than $240. And it will be a real time suck. You say you're a slave to your job so I'd think weekends and free time in general would be precious. Unless you have an old friend or old flame or something you want to visit, flying for flying's sake seems to me a waste of precious money and especially precious free time. You'll end your weekend more exhausted than you began it!

I realize I'm going against the grain of most FT folks and of course this is all a personal decision. But here's my thinking.

Presumably you're already Prestige, which means you already get early boarding and get to skip long security lines as a *S. You already get to skip the long hold times when you call reservations. You already get priority standby. So what will you miss if you stay at that level and don't get Elite? Two SSWU (the other upgrades are useless if you fly low classes; and if you don't you can use the upgrades you already get as a Prestige). Special baggage tags which are more or less hit and miss. I don't even bother asking for them when the agents forget. And then the lounges, which personally I value a lot.

So I think maybe in your shoes I would put the money you were going to spend on a mileage run toward purchasing a MLL pass (or a United or whatever) and then enjoy the lounges. And especially enjoy the weekend you just bought yourself, which you'll never ever get back!

Just my two cents. As I say, totally a personal call.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 4:36 pm
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I'm inclined to agree with NewToCanada.

That mileage run gets you around 6,400 miles which means you are currently around 28,000 miles and have qualified for *P.

If you are going to fly lots next year, *G would be good to have, in which case you should go for it.

If you are only going to travel a few times, buy the MLL pass for access and enjoy your other *S benefits (I beleive Prestige members get a discount). Even then it might not be worth buying the pass, you might be better off booking on AC.com and purchasing one time passes for lounge access.
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Old Nov 6, 2010, 4:51 pm
  #15  
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Thanks for the input, everyone. I think NewToCanada and YEG USER might have a point in this case. The amount of traveling I'll do next year is a little difficult to predict at this point. But as I mentioned in another thread, even if I do travel, it will not always be on a Star carrier. So maybe the time and $ spent to get Elite is not worth it in this case.

However, NewToCanada does mention something interesting. *S get to skip long security lines? Is this for all airports? Do I look for a special line? I was not aware of this benefit at all!
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