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Important updates to Air Canada Altitude in 2015

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Old Nov 1, 2014, 10:31 am
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Last edit by: mendy7511
Important updates to Air Canada Altitude in 2015 23 October

This afternoon, we will be announcing changes to certain elements of Air Canada Altitude in 2015, as well as new features to the program.

Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement
The Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement to reach Altitude status for 2016 is increasing. To qualify for Altitude status in 2016, the following Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement will need to be met:
• Prestige 25K: 12,500 AQM /12 AQS
• Elite 35K: 17,500 AQM /17 AQS
• Elite 50K: 25,000 AQM /25 AQS
• Elite 75K: 37,500 AQM / 37 AQS
• Super Elite 100K: 50,000 AQM / 47 AQS
The new MFR will not impact qualification for Altitude 2015.

500 Mile Minimum
For travel as of March 1, 2015, mileage accrual will no longer be rounded up to a 500 Mile minimum. Miles earned will be based on the distance flown and the fare option purchased for flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Air Canada rouge and Star Alliance™ member airlines.

eUpgrades to Business Class
For eUpgrade requests made on or after March 1, 2015, the number of eUpgrade Credits required to upgrade is increasing. The number of eUpgrade Credits you can earn through the Threshold eUpgrades program is also changing. These changes were made following a thorough benchmarking of the upgrades practices of other major international airlines who often limit international upgrades solely to their highest membership tier, and often severely limit the number of upgrades a member may request over the course of a year.

We will also be expanding the “high Flex” eligibility category to include the “U” and “H” booking classes on the Domestic, Transborder and Sun markets, as well as the “U” booking class on International markets. The inclusion of these booking classes within the ‘higher Flex’ eligibility category actually decreases the number of credits required to upgrade flights on certain markets when compared to 2014.

For eUpgrade credit requirements as of March 1, 2015, visit: http://www.aircanada.com/en/aeroplan...e/updates.html

eUpgrades to Premium Economy
In early 2015, you will be able to access the comfort of Premium Economy using eUpgrade Credits, when upgrading from an eligible fare. eUpgrade Add-ons will not apply for these upgrades.

eUpgrade Nominees
Beginning March 1, 2015, Altitude Super Elite™ 100K members will be entitled to share their eUpgrade privileges with one eUpgrade Nominee. Members will maintain their ability to share their eUpgrade privileges with Travel Companions.

Priority Boarding
In early 2015, a new streamlined boarding process will be introduced to ensure that you get even more out of the Priority Boarding privilege.

Complimentary access to International Maple Leaf Lounges and Star Alliance Business Lounges
As lounge occupancy grows, many of our lounges are at capacity levels. And while we continue to invest in many lounge expansion projects, the reality is that in many locations, additional space is simply not available. At the same time, benchmarking shows us that our eligibility polices are still over-indexed as compared to many of our competitors. In particular, access to lounges is not a privilege offered by most international airlines at the 35,000 qualifying miles level. We have therefore modified our policy whereby Elite 35K members will continue to have access to Maple Leaf Lounges located in the domestic and trans-border departure zones, as well as those in Los Angeles and New York (LaGuardia). However access to International Maple Leaf Lounges or Star Alliance Business lounges will no longer be available as a Select Privilege. Instead, an option to purchase a Maple Leaf Club membership will be introduced with a 50% discount.

Priority Rewards
In order to maintain the integrity of the Priority Reward privilege for eligible Altitude members, Priority Rewards will be limited to ten (10) reservations (with up to 9 passengers each) per member per benefit period, beginning March 1, 2015. While a thorough analysis has indicated that this change will not impact the vast majority of members (over 95%), it will allow us to maintain a benefit which we know is widely appreciated.

Flight Rewards for Premium Economy
In early 2015, you will be able to redeem Aeroplan miles for seats in the Premium Economy cabin on Air Canada. Details will be coming soon.

Fuel Surcharge on Flight Rewards & Flight Reward change fee waivers
For reservations made as of March 1, 2015, the fuel surcharges on ClassicFlight rewards for travel within Canada and between Canada and the U.S. will be waived for all Altitude members (ie. 25K and higher) . This is applicable on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge.

At the same time, Aeroplan Flight Reward change fee waivers for Super Elite 100K members will no longer be available for changes made on or after March 1, 2015. However, the fuel surcharges on ClassicFlight Rewards for travel between Canada and international destinations will be waived for Super Elite 100K members on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge.

For a complete list of details regarding these changes, visit http://www.aircanada.com/en/aeroplan...e/updates.html

New REVISED REVISIONS to the Altitude Program (Oct 31 email)

=============
Last week, changes to Air Canada Altitude™ for 2015 were announced. As always, we’ve been listening to your feedback and will be adjusting certain elements of the program accordingly.

Threshold eUpgrades
The amount of eUpgrade Credits offered through the Threshold eUpgrade program will increase. As of 100,000 Altitude Qualifying Miles or 100 Altitude Qualifying Segments, 20 eUpgrade Credits will be awarded for every 40,000 AQM or 40 AQS flown.

eUpgrade Validity Date
eUpgrade Credits earned on or after November 7, 2014 will be valid until February 29, 2016.
Additionally, eUpgrade Credits earned on or after November 1, 2015 will be valid until February 28, 2017.

Mile Minimum
For travel from March 1, 2015 onwards, all Altitude members will earn a minimum of 250 miles on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge as well as Star Alliance™ member airlines.

Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement
For non-Canadian residents, the Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement needed to reach Altitude status in 2016 will be 50% lower than the recently published Minimum Air Canada Flight Requirement.
These changes are representative of Air Canada’s focus on recognizing our most valued and important members. We remain committed to offering you one of the best frequent flyer programs in the industry.

Air Canada
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Important updates to Air Canada Altitude in 2015

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Old Jan 5, 2015, 4:05 pm
  #3766  
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
This is mentioned a lot, but I recently discovered one of my friends is UA GS, and even her upgrade experiences aren't stellar.

And you don't have to read very far into the UA forum to find numerous examples of a 1K 26th on the list for an aircraft with ten seats.

Unlimited upgrades doesn't mean you'll sit up front on every flight, or even on any flight.
In SFO, where UA hands out 1K and GS to every corporate minion in the city like candy, on top of paid "F", damn right you ll get no upgrades.

I doubt you'd even ever see 10 seats out of SFO available for upgrades, ever.

What it does mean, that no seat up front will ever go out empty as long as there is some sort of elite sitting in the back. AC is happy to let SEs sit in the back unless they pay the ever increasing delta between tango and flex.

Out of YYZ, still batting 100%


Originally Posted by AC MMSE
Grass looks a lot greener. I think a lot of the other people posting here would agree. Unlimited US domestic upgrades on ANY flight on all of the US carriers. AC has downgraded their status as the best FF program in North America. As for Asia they could never touch the service or programs there...
Grass is greener where its greener for you.
There is no generalization, no one size fits all.

One would be a total fool to put their eggs in just one basket. I doubt anyone here would ever invest all their money in one stock, yet, they happily blindly follow one airline with fierce loyalty.
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 4:40 pm
  #3767  
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Originally Posted by rankourabu
In SFO, where UA hands out 1K and GS to every corporate minion in the city like candy, on top of paid "F", damn right you ll get no upgrades.

I doubt you'd even ever see 10 seats out of SFO available for upgrades, ever.

What it does mean, that no seat up front will ever go out empty as long as there is some sort of elite sitting in the back. AC is happy to let SEs sit in the back unless they pay the ever increasing delta between tango and flex.

Out of YYZ, still batting 100%
The GS I'm referring to was based in IAH. She recently missed an MCO-IAH upgrade, so it wasn't even a hub to hub flight.

UA upgrades may be easy out of YYZ, but they're not easy "in general". And if you want to fly to SFO, you're going to end up on ORD-SFO or EWR-SFO. You might get your one hour flight upgraded, but the transcon is not as easy.

I've never been in the back on AC when there have been empty seats in J. If that's what's required to keep AC's J where it is, and not down to UA's levels, I'm happy with it
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 4:49 pm
  #3768  
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
I've never been in the back on AC when there have been empty seats in J. If that's what's required to keep AC's J where it is, and not down to UA's levels, I'm happy with it
You've also paid extra just for the privilege of buying a lottery ticket to upgrade.

Sorry, but if I m choosing to pay extra, I like my upgrades confirmed in advance or at booking. SFO-HKG just cleared this week for Feb. flights, while NRT-SFO and SFO-EWR cleared at booking. Will enjoy my upper deck seat, and can rest easy knowing that I didnt spend extra money unnecessarily buying an upgradeable fare.

I dont like being taken for a ride by paying more than required and playing upgrade lottery.
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 4:57 pm
  #3769  
 
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
I've never been in the back on AC when there have been empty seats in J
So if you bought AC's baseline Joe Average economy ticket you'd never be in the back?
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 6:48 pm
  #3770  
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Originally Posted by gglave
So if you bought AC's baseline Joe Average economy ticket you'd never be in the back?
That's not what I said at all.

But if you want to go there, I can't seem to find any Tango options for SFO-YYZ on a few dates I just checked. So yes, the cheapest ticket would allow you to request an upgrade.

And I'm not trying to say upgrades are guaranteed on AC any more than anywhere else. My point is just that I've requested an upgrade on every flight I've been on that had a J cabin. So if there was space, I got it.

My upgrade success out of SFO is better than any UA 1K I know, so I have that going for me too. If that costs a little more, it's still a small price to pay.
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 7:25 pm
  #3771  
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Originally Posted by gglave
So if you bought AC's baseline Joe Average economy ticket you'd never be in the back?
Is that the new name for Tango? (OK, I guess I like it.)
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 8:51 pm
  #3772  
 
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Originally Posted by rankourabu
You've also paid extra just for the privilege of buying a lottery ticket to upgrade.

Sorry, but if I m choosing to pay extra, I like my upgrades confirmed in advance or at booking. SFO-HKG just cleared this week for Feb. flights, while NRT-SFO and SFO-EWR cleared at booking. Will enjoy my upper deck seat, and can rest easy knowing that I didnt spend extra money unnecessarily buying an upgradeable fare.

I dont like being taken for a ride by paying more than required and playing upgrade lottery.
Well we all know cc travels via latitude flight pass, so in this case he isn't paying for a lottery ticket of upgrading. He's also paying for being able to book extremely last minute, get the last Y seat, comp J upgrade, and I'm sure AQM comes into play.

So if you're travelling solo... I'm wondering if you'll be enjoying your upper deck window seat and hopping over your neighbour in UA J to use the washroom, or taking the aisle and having another climb over you?
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Old Jan 5, 2015, 8:53 pm
  #3773  
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Originally Posted by winnipegrev
Well we all know cc travels via latitude flight pass, so in this case he isn't paying for a lottery ticket of upgrading. He's also paying for being able to book extremely last minute, get the last Y seat, comp J upgrade, and I'm sure AQM comes into play.

So if you're travelling solo... I'm wondering if you'll be enjoying your upper deck window seat and hopping over your neighbour in UA J to use the washroom, or taking the aisle and having another climb over you?
He really enjoys talking to his neighbor or travel partner, as he mentions in many of his posts. He must gets neighbors/strangers that I don't get, ever! Well except for this hot news anchor I had as a neighbor for the CBC when I flew to Regina...then her bf met her at the carousel, dammit.
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Old Jan 6, 2015, 9:14 am
  #3774  
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Originally Posted by winnipegrev
So if you're travelling solo... I'm wondering if you'll be enjoying your upper deck window seat and hopping over your neighbour in UA J to use the washroom, or taking the aisle and having another climb over you?
For a confirmed upgrade weeks in advance on a fare that costs hundreds less than "Flex", I'll take the upper deck, with all the extra space and the extra storage locker, in a larger, more comfortable seat, with better IFE, even if it means having to step over the neighbour once or twice to go pee.

I like my money. If it wasnt my money, maybe I'd have no issues paying hundreds more for an inferior or at best equivalent product like AC.
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Old Jan 6, 2015, 10:39 am
  #3775  
 
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I have to agree with what some of the posters are saying here.

If UA distributes J upgrades like cupcakes, it really cheapens the product.

And it really messes you up for potential upgrades (say you are doing a flight you would REALLY like to be upgraded on, you would still not be guaranteed).

Whereas yeah, maybe AC eUps are ...... and annoying, but at least (from my understanding), there are ways to almost guarantee an upgrade on a flight you really wanted.

Also, it's also easy to print on the 1K benefits list (all upgrades, all the time), but if you don't get them cause there are too many 1Ks, how does it differ from the eUp system? At least the eUps give you some kind of 'control' over your upgrade likelihood...
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Old Jan 6, 2015, 11:22 am
  #3776  
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Originally Posted by SparseFlyer
At least the eUps give you some kind of 'control' over your upgrade likelihood...
And how is that?

Lets say I buy a B fare on either carrier (or DL for that matter)
I try to apply an eupgrade, and there are 10 SEs on Y fares in front of me, or there are 10 1Ks on Y fares in front of me, how is that different?

The only difference is with AC, you never have a clue where on the list you are.
How would you know that there arent 20 people on he AC upgrade list?
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Old Jan 6, 2015, 11:32 am
  #3777  
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Originally Posted by rankourabu
And how is that?

Lets say I buy a B fare on either carrier (or DL for that matter)
I try to apply an eupgrade, and there are 10 SEs on Y fares in front of me, or there are 10 1Ks on Y fares in front of me, how is that different?
I would not buy a B fare in the absence of upgrade availability. At which point the number of upgraded Y/B is typically quite low.

However admittedly I have no idea if the same would apply on UA. But then, for my current trip, UA P was cheaper than flex on AC. Given that the second leg would have been in rouge, I went with UA. I must say though that on balance, I would rather have flown AC J and Premium Rouge. My back still aches from the poorly designed UA front seat. AC food is not as bad. While AC wine may well actually be more expensive, I actually preferred the UA selection.

But eh, given that sitting in front on AC will entail spending more this year, one has to find ways to lower expenses elsewhere...
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Old Jan 9, 2015, 1:21 pm
  #3778  
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Interesting, now on the Altitude dashboard...

Threshold eUpgrades

Next threshold: 100,000 AQM or 100 AQS

And...

Threshold Gifts

Next threshold: 60,000 AQM or 100 AQS <--EH?
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Old Jan 9, 2015, 4:11 pm
  #3779  
 
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
That's not what I said at all.

But if you want to go there, I can't seem to find any Tango options for SFO-YYZ on a few dates I just checked. So yes, the cheapest ticket would allow you to request an upgrade.

And I'm not trying to say upgrades are guaranteed on AC any more than anywhere else. My point is just that I've requested an upgrade on every flight I've been on that had a J cabin. So if there was space, I got it.

My upgrade success out of SFO is better than any UA 1K I know, so I have that going for me too. If that costs a little more, it's still a small price to pay.
True, but with the new upgrade requirements after March 1, and no threshold Upgrade credits until 60K, how many flights will you be able to upgrade SFO YYZ? Not many is the answer.
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Old Jan 9, 2015, 4:23 pm
  #3780  
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Originally Posted by LockheedElectra
True, but with the new upgrade requirements after March 1, and no threshold Upgrade credits until 60K, how many flights will you be able to upgrade SFO YYZ? Not many is the answer.
He's on a latitude FP...
superangrypenguin is offline  


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