Suggestions for Air Canada
Nov 18, 2011, 7:31 am
#1
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Suggestions for Air Canada
Here are two tips that may reduce some anger towards AE / AC :-
- People who are very close to achieving status in December (say within 5%), let them pay a fee to get to the status instead of making them do an MR. This way AC gets the money without having to fill up a seat for the passenger. They get to sell that seat again. I understand why they can't let people purchase status, but if you're within 1000 points of Elite then why not charge you $150 to give you status?
OR (AND?)
- Like Marriott Rewards, allow people to carry points over that are above the status level. I am Marriot Elite Silver and since I knew I wouldn't have qualified for Gold, I started shopping for other programs. Then Marriott announced they'd let me carry unused points over so boom, I am back to Marriott. So lets say you accumulated 45,000 points this year. 35k go to make you Elite, and 10k carry over. They can also reduce carryovers (say let you carry over only 25%). They can make carryover points expire in one year so you dont always carry them over, but this would go a long way to encourage people to stay loyal OR to not penalize people who usually travel a lot but had one down year.
Come one AC/AE, throw us a bone from time to time please
- People who are very close to achieving status in December (say within 5%), let them pay a fee to get to the status instead of making them do an MR. This way AC gets the money without having to fill up a seat for the passenger. They get to sell that seat again. I understand why they can't let people purchase status, but if you're within 1000 points of Elite then why not charge you $150 to give you status?
OR (AND?)
- Like Marriott Rewards, allow people to carry points over that are above the status level. I am Marriot Elite Silver and since I knew I wouldn't have qualified for Gold, I started shopping for other programs. Then Marriott announced they'd let me carry unused points over so boom, I am back to Marriott. So lets say you accumulated 45,000 points this year. 35k go to make you Elite, and 10k carry over. They can also reduce carryovers (say let you carry over only 25%). They can make carryover points expire in one year so you dont always carry them over, but this would go a long way to encourage people to stay loyal OR to not penalize people who usually travel a lot but had one down year.
Come one AC/AE, throw us a bone from time to time please
Nov 18, 2011, 7:45 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 379
Here are two tips that may reduce some anger towards AE / AC :-
- People who are very close to achieving status in December (say within 5%), let them pay a fee to get to the status instead of making them do an MR. This way AC gets the money without having to fill up a seat for the passenger. They get to sell that seat again. I understand why they can't let people purchase status, but if you're within 1000 points of Elite then why not charge you $150 to give you status?
OR (AND?)
- Like Marriott Rewards, allow people to carry points over that are above the status level. I am Marriot Elite Silver and since I knew I wouldn't have qualified for Gold, I started shopping for other programs. Then Marriott announced they'd let me carry unused points over so boom, I am back to Marriott. So lets say you accumulated 45,000 points this year. 35k go to make you Elite, and 10k carry over. They can also reduce carryovers (say let you carry over only 25%). They can make carryover points expire in one year so you dont always carry them over, but this would go a long way to encourage people to stay loyal OR to not penalize people who usually travel a lot but had one down year.
Come one AC/AE, throw us a bone from time to time please
- People who are very close to achieving status in December (say within 5%), let them pay a fee to get to the status instead of making them do an MR. This way AC gets the money without having to fill up a seat for the passenger. They get to sell that seat again. I understand why they can't let people purchase status, but if you're within 1000 points of Elite then why not charge you $150 to give you status?
OR (AND?)
- Like Marriott Rewards, allow people to carry points over that are above the status level. I am Marriot Elite Silver and since I knew I wouldn't have qualified for Gold, I started shopping for other programs. Then Marriott announced they'd let me carry unused points over so boom, I am back to Marriott. So lets say you accumulated 45,000 points this year. 35k go to make you Elite, and 10k carry over. They can also reduce carryovers (say let you carry over only 25%). They can make carryover points expire in one year so you dont always carry them over, but this would go a long way to encourage people to stay loyal OR to not penalize people who usually travel a lot but had one down year.
Come one AC/AE, throw us a bone from time to time please
I don't trust AC/AP to be kind enough to grant me E status for 2012 even after being an E for over 10 years. Nothing but bad news from AC/AP so I would do a MR to be safe.
Nov 18, 2011, 7:46 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Nov 18, 2011, 8:16 am
#4
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So you used 35K for Elite and have 35K extra. If AC lets you carry over 50% of these points then you get to carry over 17K-18K, instead of starting from scratch.
Nov 18, 2011, 8:48 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2010
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Posts: 1,967
OP, Idea # 1 is a good one.
However Idea # 2 will need to tweak. As someone mentioned, if I have earn 70+k, is that mean I can be E for 2 years? Which I don't think AP will buy that idea....
BTW, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...stion-box.html
However Idea # 2 will need to tweak. As someone mentioned, if I have earn 70+k, is that mean I can be E for 2 years? Which I don't think AP will buy that idea....
BTW, http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...stion-box.html
Nov 18, 2011, 9:17 am
#6
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Was there not a similar thread a couple of weeks ago? I'd nix the first idea as being grossly unfair to those who actually fly to make status. And I have doubts about the second unless it was capped (maybe at 17.5K rollover max...i.e. half of Elite) since there are many who can rack up 200K+ in SMs so prequalify for SE the next year already...ad infinitum, or let them go over and spend the year with ONEWORLD or SKYTEAM. Also, given the spread between E and SE, there are thousands who'd have a handsome number of SMs over 35K but short of 100K.
Nov 18, 2011, 10:44 am
#7
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Like everything else AC is doing isn't unfair to flyers .
The point is that those within 5% of threshold will do an MR anyway (if they care). For those, AC can charge them the cost of MR without them actually flying. AC wins, they win. You dont actually lose anything. I can see issues if everyone could do it. But 5% threshold limits it to real flyers only.
About the second, there are many ways around it. Many reward programs do this already. It's not a new suggestion.
.The point is that those within 5% of threshold will do an MR anyway (if they care). For those, AC can charge them the cost of MR without them actually flying. AC wins, they win. You dont actually lose anything. I can see issues if everyone could do it. But 5% threshold limits it to real flyers only.
About the second, there are many ways around it. Many reward programs do this already. It's not a new suggestion.
Was there not a similar thread a couple of weeks ago? I'd nix the first idea as being grossly unfair to those who actually fly to make status. And I have doubts about the second unless it was capped (maybe at 17.5K rollover max...i.e. half of Elite) since there are many who can rack up 200K+ in SMs so prequalify for SE the next year already...ad infinitum, or let them go over and spend the year with ONEWORLD or SKYTEAM. Also, given the spread between E and SE, there are thousands who'd have a handsome number of SMs over 35K but short of 100K.
Nov 18, 2011, 11:14 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2005
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Posts: 7,252
Here are two tips that may reduce some anger towards AE / AC :-
- People who are very close to achieving status in December (say within 5%), let them pay a fee to get to the status instead of making them do an MR. This way AC gets the money without having to fill up a seat for the passenger. They get to sell that seat again. I understand why they can't let people purchase status, but if you're within 1000 points of Elite then why not charge you $150 to give you status?
OR (AND?)
- Like Marriott Rewards, allow people to carry points over that are above the status level. I am Marriot Elite Silver and since I knew I wouldn't have qualified for Gold, I started shopping for other programs. Then Marriott announced they'd let me carry unused points over so boom, I am back to Marriott. So lets say you accumulated 45,000 points this year. 35k go to make you Elite, and 10k carry over. They can also reduce carryovers (say let you carry over only 25%). They can make carryover points expire in one year so you dont always carry them over, but this would go a long way to encourage people to stay loyal OR to not penalize people who usually travel a lot but had one down year.
Come one AC/AE, throw us a bone from time to time please
- People who are very close to achieving status in December (say within 5%), let them pay a fee to get to the status instead of making them do an MR. This way AC gets the money without having to fill up a seat for the passenger. They get to sell that seat again. I understand why they can't let people purchase status, but if you're within 1000 points of Elite then why not charge you $150 to give you status?
OR (AND?)
- Like Marriott Rewards, allow people to carry points over that are above the status level. I am Marriot Elite Silver and since I knew I wouldn't have qualified for Gold, I started shopping for other programs. Then Marriott announced they'd let me carry unused points over so boom, I am back to Marriott. So lets say you accumulated 45,000 points this year. 35k go to make you Elite, and 10k carry over. They can also reduce carryovers (say let you carry over only 25%). They can make carryover points expire in one year so you dont always carry them over, but this would go a long way to encourage people to stay loyal OR to not penalize people who usually travel a lot but had one down year.
Come one AC/AE, throw us a bone from time to time please
Plus there is probably more money to be earned selling the seat to a MR than your fairy tale "leave it to be sold to someone else" theory...what if it goes empty? Then there's little gain.
Nov 18, 2011, 11:32 am
#9
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Great idea but I wouldn't chance it. I have well over the AE mileage but the new 10,000 AC BS -- 600 miles short so have to do a MR.
I don't trust AC/AP to be kind enough to grant me E status for 2012 even after being an E for over 10 years. Nothing but bad news from AC/AP so I would do a MR to be safe.
I don't trust AC/AP to be kind enough to grant me E status for 2012 even after being an E for over 10 years. Nothing but bad news from AC/AP so I would do a MR to be safe.
If you can't do either, I am sure that Air Canada does not see you as a valuable customer, and the rest of your comments are then meaningless.
I suspect a number of people think they have to do both.
Nov 18, 2011, 1:24 pm
#10
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See Status by Hitchcock for a much more detailed proposal from a few years ago.
Nov 18, 2011, 1:29 pm
#11
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I disagree. MR. Either you earn status, or you don't. E isn't hard to earn. SE is, but what's the point of having SE if you don't fly the 100k? Makes it less prestigious. And then we will have even more Es and SEs, making it harder for those that actually fly a lot.
Plus there is probably more money to be earned selling the seat to a MR than your fairy tale "leave it to be sold to someone else" theory...what if it goes empty? Then there's little gain.
Plus there is probably more money to be earned selling the seat to a MR than your fairy tale "leave it to be sold to someone else" theory...what if it goes empty? Then there's little gain.
I am not suggesting letting everyone buy the next status. Saying only people who're within 5% of the threshold.
Nov 18, 2011, 1:32 pm
#12
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See Status by Hitchcock for a much more detailed proposal from a few years ago.
Nov 18, 2011, 3:35 pm
#13
Join Date: Mar 2005
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You missed the "if they're within 5% of the status". So if a potential SE has more than 95000 status miles, then how does allowing them to cover the gap by paying a fee makes it "less pristegious"? Those willing to pay do an MR these days. How does a useless "I go there and turn right back" trip makes it any more prestigious?
I am not suggesting letting everyone buy the next status. Saying only people who're within 5% of the threshold.
I am not suggesting letting everyone buy the next status. Saying only people who're within 5% of the threshold.
And I think there are a lot of people that are elite that just don't care. I think FT represents a minority of flyers that have status. I have talked to tons of other Es and SEs that have never heard of FlyerTalk, let alone care about how they can use their ecredits.
Nov 18, 2011, 5:12 pm
#14
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