Low Segment, Low mileage, High spend = Super Elite Please??
 

I do about 45-50 AC flights a year, most of them within North America

Would never hit super elite at this rate. However, a lot of my flights are last minute bookings. So my overall spend with AC is around 50-60k per year. Hell I've spent 6K this week alone booking last minute YYZ-YYC R\Ts

So my question is why isn't there a pathway to super elite for flyers like myself who spend quite a lot on AC but aren't necessarily road warriors and do 100 flights a year or travel transocean?

Why does AC care more about someone who does 4-5 YYZ-HKG trips a year over someone like me? Why is that person easily eligible for SE but I don't even make it halfway there.

They have made some huge changes to cut the number of SE's (including needing the $20,000 you mentioned which is much higher than the $9,000 required for 75K (I think)). Why would they then go and make it easier to get it for some people when they just spent all that time cutting it?

I understand AC wants to make SE this ethereal and prestigious status that very few achieve but as a publicly traded company, I'd think their primary concern would and should be $$$$

So if I am giving them lots of $$, why not make me SE? Who exactly is their target market for the SE status? It's all kinda random right now.

High segment low mileage flyers with low spend can get it
Low segment high mileage moderate spend flyers can get it
Low segment Low mileage high spend flyers cant

The hell? Aren't businesses about generating money?

You answered your own question.

Yes - Businesses are about generating revenue.
Yes - You are already giving them tons of revenue

So why would they give you something when you're already giving them tons of revenue? They'll only give you something if they feel they can get more from you because of it.

I don't use AC for my (few) international flights, nor for personal vacation travel or for big family trips, even within Canada. I don't use them soon as I hit 50K because getting 75K is pointless to me and the next big threshold is 100K and I'll never reach it.

I think there is much to gain for AC from a flyer like me.

Again you answered your own question, they have provided a path to get to SE, but you choose to not fly with AC for the things you mentioned above. So why would they reward you when you are giving your business elsewhere?

Basically you have posted that you want SE, but that you don't meet the mile requirements, and that you don't fly AC when you could but choose to fly other carrier anyway, which would have put you closer to the mile requirements.

So you know the path to SE but you choose to not take it - and then suggest you should get it anyway?

I know I'm coming across as a jerk right now for being blunt like this - and sorry - if you ever meet me I promise I'm not a jerk, but this is how I see it - you've knowingly made your own choices not to meet the requirments.

No it's fine I do see your point. I guess my beef with AC is, I disagree with the pathway that currently exists to get SE

What you're saying is, look heres a way to get SE. Shut up and follow the way, get SE and be on your way.

What I'm saying is there are some fundamental flaws in the pathway as it exists today. It seems aligned more towards segment and mileage versus spend and my point is it should be the other way around. They should focus more on spend first and then consider mileage and segments. That's all

Or at the very least, provide an avenue for me to get SE based on spend alone. Say 40K spend with 50K miles/ 50 segments. Some other pathway that prioritizes spend. The fact that nothing at all exists except get your ... on a plane and fly fly fly to get SE is dumb imo

Ah!

Well first of all you are correct - that is what I'm saying and I agree with your comments as such.

They can't give it on AQD alone. If they did every person buying a last minute J from YVR - SYD, YVR - HKG, etc would be SE. They have to have milage and segment requirments or else there would be SOOOO many.

I highly doubt there are many people buying last minute r\t J fares for 13000

What are we talking about here...<0.1% of the population? It's not like those people shouldn't be SE anyways if they're willing to drop that kinda money on a last minute trip

I think AC cares about those who do 4-5 HKG R/T a year because they are competing with UA,AA,DL,CX etc on those long haul routes.

YYZ-YYC? I mean, sure there is West Jet... but

Well that's probably the root of where we disagree. Personally I know 7 people who did because I booked their flights YVR - PER (all different occasions). And while there is a chance I know more than the average person - it's not as rare as you might think.

All of these ones were people who fly 1-2 times a year.

These are not frequent fliers and should not be put into a FF program because there is no benifit to the airline to add them (because the airline won't get anymore business from it).

Can you please explain how someone can spend $60K on 50 segments and not make SE? Is that possible? What routes are you flying on a reg bases?

OP - I'm in the same boat as you. Typically book last-minute fares. E35K (will probably end the year at E50K) with more spend than probably many SEs.

OP, I think the answer to your question is - yes, AC would obviously increase AQD and decrease AQS requirements for SE accordingly if they could. However, that would mean lots of lost business for them. The problem is that the majority of SEs are going to fall into the 20-30K spend range, and AC does not want to lose that business.

I would argue that if they are flying only a couple of times a year, in paid J, they would gain no meaningful benefit from SE status anyway. Or any status.

Oh Sean, I can always depend on you to write the response that I'm too jetlagged to put into sane words.

It's a frequent FLYER program. If you want to earn status, you need to fly more often, or further.

People who drop mid to high five figures without worrying about status don't need to be rewarded, because they won't change their behavior for it.