yvr76

Asked on Twitter today when we can expect details for the new program:

Z-man

My experience has been exactly the same...almost always a few days out if im waitlisted...i think I've only had to wait for an ug to clear at the gate once this year...

sjgill

I'm in an interesting situation with getting Elite status this year through the early recognition (before Oct 15th). I will be completing an Air Canada flight that will take me over 35,000 miles at 12:40am EST on the 15th October (flight departs at 5:30PM PST on the 14th). Does this mean I will get status or will I be missing out by 40 minutes?

Anyone know what the situation would be?

Thanks!

FlyerTalker683455

It's the departure date which counts.

xLuther

Flights post it seems the day they complete, so my guess is you are at Aeroplans /AC mercy on the rules

FlyerTalker683455

They post anytime after your flight is completed, but backdated as of the day of departure.

margarita girl

Past reports indicate there's a couple of weeks leeway in the Oct 15 date (unpublished). You will be fine.

WhiteYUL

+1

I've been off by a tad more than 40 minutes and recevied full early recognition.

You may have already seen this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...on-thread.html

Shareholder

So, with the new 75K tier, is there much point in going for SE? Aside from so-called Instant KK for both Y and J awards (which still cost a fortune), earning an extra 25% RDM bonus (assuming a 75% instead of 100% for miles which are generally costly to use), and a few more upgrade credits (okay the 30 at 100K too but they might expire at the end of February 2013), and what appears to be some form of status for a nominated person (what tier?). Is this enough to make a difference (along with the other so-called benefits of the Concierges and first meal choice) between 75K and SE?

Let's face it, within the STAR world there are more attractive programs if the majority of your travel is not within Canada. While AC may be making strides to improve the elite program benefits, AE has reduced the value of the redemption side of the program to the point it is no longer competitive with those of other STAR programs. When it can cost $500+ for a "free" ticket, one has to serious reconsider the overall value of a FF program. I'm at that point now.

Having managed to do a couple of years at UA with 1K status (as well as SE) I can see the pros and cons of both programs. While I am less excited by the flight benefits of MP (upgrades are now from higher fares on non-domestic flights, NAmerican upgrades while comp are harder to get even for 1Ks) it's award redemption element cannot be beat. No outrageous extra charges. An award that can cost $400+ with AE would cost less than $100 using MP miles. (And bonus RDMs cover more programs than does AE or gives full 100% vs 25%/50% in AE.)

Also, as a UA/MP Platinum or 1K, there are no charges for award changes or cancellations. There are fewer charges (if any) for revenue flight changes on UA flights. What a sweet benefit that would be for AC elites!

After next week I will have hit 82K in AE but it just seems more practical to channel the rest of my STAR flights (UA, LX, LH and US) into MP and get Platinum status for next year (1K is not achievable this year since I am also hedging my bets with AA ExecPlat...not everything is great at UA) rather than AE SE.

Any others facing similar dilemmas?

seegs

I'm sort of in a similar dilemma but will go for the early SE this year as its my first time as SE and I find a lot of value from E-Upgrade Credits. I fly TATL 5 or 6 times a year, mostly pleasure but some business. I 95% get upgraded as an E (one flight I did not in the past 2 years). While I agree with you that the expiration of credits in February 2013 is unfair, I can use my eupgrade credits on myself (2 more one way TATL flights before Jan 2013), 2 one way TATL for my girlfriend (no status but SE window helps) and 2 one way TATL for my parents from YUL-CDG (flying on Thanksgiving Sunday and flight is empty in J and Y).

While I agree with you on YQ, I have been saving for a Mini-RTW in F and just made it with enough points. I began collecting prior to YQ being added on so many airlines so I just am sucking it up as bad timing. I mostly fly LX intra-europe (LHR-ZRH-DME 2-3 times per month) and I often fly paid J so I see no real value in Miles & More. I enjoy my E and SE Benefits when flying for pleasure and often upgrade to a Pod so I can't complain!

FlyerTalker683455

Did you consider emailing your 1K/SE analysis to AC Management? I think they need to hear from people like you instead of just .....ing and whining from SEs with no other comparable stats, such as myself!

Shareholder

Believe me, the AC folks know the specific drawbacks but have little control on the redemption side (and cannot afford to pay AE to offset change fees, etc.). As I noted, they have made great strides on the AC elite tier side of things (though tweaks could still be made, i.e. 360-day validity for earned eUpgrades), but for me, given my travel patterns at the moment, the US carriers and their programs on both sides (benefits/earnings and redemptions) are far more attractive to me.

Away from YYZ

^ I like. And this should be easily done with eUP now (unlike paper wall paper in the past)

maradori

I agree with your observations on 75k vs SE and unless one relies on the concierge a lot, I don't think there's much difference between the two. On almost all my flights in J, I've been privileged to have awesome SDs who take meal orders SE > E > others even though they technically don't need to.

Even less reason to go for SE if even the 75k'ers get their status package in a box

On the Eewnited side, something tells me with the way $$$$misek is running it, pretty soon you'll see YQ and random award-related fees soon. They've already succeeded in driving out quite a bunch of "overentitled elites" to AA, it's just a matter of getting rid of the rest

BarrieTravelGuy

Still nothing on the 2013 program... I went to the 2013 page and it says "Over the course of 2012, we’ll be providing regular updates regarding some new and exciting benefits currently in the works for our 2013 Top Tier program. Visit this page regularly, keep an eye out for email communications, bookmark aircanada.com/toptier2013 and be sure to follow us on Twitter @ACTopTier".
Had anyone actually seen an update to that page?

Then when you go to the FAQ page it has a question -

When will more details be provided, and when will the 2013 Air Canada Top Tier program launch? When will the names of the new tier be announced?

Answer:

We are targeting early summer 2012 to provide a full overview of the 2013 Top Tier Program, including some of the new benefits currently in the works, along with the names of the tiers.

I'm just waiting for the 2013 Top Tier page to go away just like their "On Time Performance Stats" page