Threshold gifts for Air Canada Altitude
Jun 29, 2021, 10:53 am
#406
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Does anyone have any further updates on this? I've read the related post quoting air canada's advice that cc miles and cc carryover miles do count towards threshold gifts. But the landscape is still unclear to me - would be nice to have AC chime in as response will obviously impact choice of carriers for international travel, year end mileage runs, etc. My question is this - I will start next year with about 250k sqm from flying and cc activity. I will easily (through business travel and carry over and cc sqm and "bonus") hit 350k plus by end of 2022. I like everyone else will preserve my status next year thanks to AC extension. I can fly UA for remaining business trips this year and be short on aqd for se (but over in sqm's) or I can fly AC and get the 20k sqd. Seems to me that in my interest to have lowest sqd possible as that increases the "bonus" cc carry-over or extra sqm for next year but if there is an unstated rule that I need to qualify for SE including SQD (and can't rely on extension) to get threshold gifts I would like to know that. I haven't lurked here much throughout covid but in the old days AC used to answer these sorts of questions directly on the forum - does that still happen? And I would be grateful for any thoughts or comments on these issues from other members. Thx
AC reps no longer post on FT, unfortunately. A couple of employees who work on airplanes post informally, but there is no longer an official presence from folks involved with the loyalty side of the business like you're thinking of in the past.
2021 is an odd year with the status extension and rollover. Anything you fly beyond the 25K criteria gets rolled over to 2022 due to the status extension, detailed in this thread, but no matter how much you credit to AC, you'll keep your status.
This does indeed potentially create a perverse incentive. @canadiancow actually raised the concept of a lower-tier elite rolling over as much as an SE months ago. The difference now is that one can fly less and still keep status.
I think the cow has answered your question on status and threshold gifts, hopefully. To the extent you have further questions about the value of crediting to AC vs UA in general in light of the status extension/rollover (i.e. not impact on threshold gifts), with my moderator hat on, I'd ask to please follow up in the status extension/rollover thread
Jun 29, 2021, 2:38 pm
#407
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I got an update today without even replying!
"The iFly Team is still working on this (Threshold) issue. It probably will not be fixed at least until August (due to vacations for the summer)"
So, uh... yeah. No eUps or gifts for me for a while.
I don't care about the gifts as much, but I earned the eUps in March, and they expire in December, so...
"The iFly Team is still working on this (Threshold) issue. It probably will not be fixed at least until August (due to vacations for the summer)"
So, uh... yeah. No eUps or gifts for me for a while.
I don't care about the gifts as much, but I earned the eUps in March, and they expire in December, so...
Jun 30, 2021, 9:34 pm
#408
Join Date: Mar 2020
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This CC rollover thing and how it interacts with the one time COVID rollover and threshold gifts almost sounds too good to be true...
Anyone who flys 150 SQx this year would roll over 150 SQx for COVID plus 50 SQx bonus from the CC and start next year with 200 SQx. If they then qualify for SE next year and in future years by flying 100 SQx... well they will hit 300 SQx next year, and then every year after of making SE they have 200 SQx to rollover, all by just pushing it to 150 for one year.
Even forgetting this COVID thing if you consistently fly a little over the SE threshold.. say 120 SQx... then you will have a steadily increasing amount of rollover. The first year you'd roll over 20 and then hit a total of 140 the second. The second year you'd rollover 40 and hit a rollover of 60 the third... and steadily increasing to the max of 200 SQx (although ofc that would take a long time if very consistent flying with AC)
Hitting 300 SQx every year gets you bonus of several 100K AP per year every year
Anyone who flys 150 SQx this year would roll over 150 SQx for COVID plus 50 SQx bonus from the CC and start next year with 200 SQx. If they then qualify for SE next year and in future years by flying 100 SQx... well they will hit 300 SQx next year, and then every year after of making SE they have 200 SQx to rollover, all by just pushing it to 150 for one year.
Even forgetting this COVID thing if you consistently fly a little over the SE threshold.. say 120 SQx... then you will have a steadily increasing amount of rollover. The first year you'd roll over 20 and then hit a total of 140 the second. The second year you'd rollover 40 and hit a rollover of 60 the third... and steadily increasing to the max of 200 SQx (although ofc that would take a long time if very consistent flying with AC)
Hitting 300 SQx every year gets you bonus of several 100K AP per year every year
Jun 30, 2021, 9:46 pm
#409
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(b) Some people will reduce their flying now that they have rollovers, so it won't necessarily build up as linearly as you think it will
(c) They can always adjust the threshold gifts going forward, by having fewer of them, higher thresholds, or reducing the value of the gifts at each threshold (or some combination thereof)
Jun 30, 2021, 9:52 pm
#410
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: NFA
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(a) There aren't very many people who fly that much, so the cost of this to AC in dollars is not necessarily that high
(b) Some people will reduce their flying now that they have rollovers, so it won't necessarily build up as linearly as you think it will
(c) They can always adjust the threshold gifts going forward, by having fewer of them, higher thresholds, or reducing the value of the gifts at each threshold (or some combination thereof)
(b) Some people will reduce their flying now that they have rollovers, so it won't necessarily build up as linearly as you think it will
(c) They can always adjust the threshold gifts going forward, by having fewer of them, higher thresholds, or reducing the value of the gifts at each threshold (or some combination thereof)
Jun 30, 2021, 10:23 pm
#411
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Anyone though who does consistenly fly 150 SQx will consistently and easily get the top threshold gift every within a few years of linear rollovers. Agree not many people like that.... but the threhold gifts basically exclusively exist for people who are like that!
AC has shown itself to be very reactive to customer behaviour in recent years, and while Calin has retired, Mark Nasr remains in charge of loyalty, and the new CEO (Rousseau) has been in senior leadership at AC for many years. So you can be certain that if any benefit starts working out too favourably for customers, they will quickly cut it back
Jul 1, 2021, 9:17 am
#412
Join Date: Jun 2010
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BTW - The Air Canada Website is wrong here:
Threshold eUpgrades and gifts (aircanada.com)
Where it lists 150k Threshold as 35,000 points when that is the 200k Threshold as well. The little progress meter correctly shows it at 20,000 points.
Threshold eUpgrades and gifts (aircanada.com)
Where it lists 150k Threshold as 35,000 points when that is the 200k Threshold as well. The little progress meter correctly shows it at 20,000 points.
Aug 15, 2021, 10:25 am
#413
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Well, I got my threshold gifts today. I guess they fixed it, but it required earning more SQM to trigger it. So a flight that took me from 221k to 224k did it. However, (and I am going to cross-post to the mobile app thread because this is a huge UX failure), the app is stupid.
I was super excited when I woke up and saw this:
However, the website was a little more clear in what's going on.
So at least threshold gifts are fixed, but I'm still missing my eUps.
I was super excited when I woke up and saw this:
However, the website was a little more clear in what's going on.
So at least threshold gifts are fixed, but I'm still missing my eUps.
Aug 15, 2021, 2:57 pm
#414
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Interesting … has Ac provided any further info on the eups? And are threshold gifts based on hitting sqd last year , this year , or both ?
Aug 15, 2021, 3:21 pm
#415
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Threshold gifts/eUps in any year are based on activity within that year. SQx from the previous year don't count, other than to the extent that they get rolled over.
Aug 15, 2021, 3:25 pm
#416
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Aug 15, 2021, 5:11 pm
#417
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I'd argue it's neither right now.
I did not hit SQD for SE last year, and have not done it yet this year.
But I did do it in 2019, which is how I "earned" my 2021 status, so maybe that's what they're looking at.
Or it's completely irrelevant.
I did not hit SQD for SE last year, and have not done it yet this year.
But I did do it in 2019, which is how I "earned" my 2021 status, so maybe that's what they're looking at.
Or it's completely irrelevant.
Aug 15, 2021, 6:01 pm
#418
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Thanks Cow. I’m in similar boat although less sqm this year. I was wondering whether gifts accrue pending hitting sqd or otherwise. Info much appreciated.
Aug 16, 2021, 6:27 pm
#419
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Well looks like it just took another day for the other half of the threshold.
Aug 16, 2021, 6:59 pm
#420
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I don't think they've ever looked at status or xQD for threshold gifts, despite what the website says - I think they award them just by SQM/SQS. For instance, I'm pretty sure a low-AQD colleague of mine who had 25K or 35K status received the 60K threshold gift a few years ago.