Bonaventure

Because 50k and SE are the only statuses worth buying up to but SE is the much higher cost of the two to AC. There's a reason other airlines don't allow buy ups to their top tier or limit it with a very high price or close-in threshold.

YOWgary

I often feel like it's difficult to see the outside world from inside the SE bubble.

35K would be worth buying up to for lots of people.

For example, last year I flew mostly American, so I had to do a hot-lap YVR-YYC, the last week of December, to hit 35K.

This year, I have had a 65-pound Pelican case with me, on probably twenty-five transcon legs.

If I had been a 34-segment flyer, holding 25K status, that single bag alone would have cost me $2,500 in overweight-bag fees.

As a 35K, it's been free.

Assume I received a value of $0 from any other 35K perk, including eUps, lounge, etc, and my $250 round-trip to Calgary still returned value at ten to one.

Now, say that instead, this year, the buy-up to 35K is $500, or $1,000. Some fliers will be better off doing a MR, other fliers won't find any value in it, but others will still be much better off paying hundreds of dollars to buy up to 35K.

DrunkCargo

I'd like to ask, was that pelican case for work? Does your employer not let you expensive the overage charge?

And seriously, $2500? What business cares about that? Sorry to be blunt.

canadiancow

I'd prefer to charge $2500 to a company I don't hold stock in, regardless of whether I'm the one actually paying.

YOWgary

Yes, it's for work, for a technical consulting firm that I own.

I could certainly invoice that $2500 to my clients, instead I use the $200/round-trip savings as an incentive for my Canadian clients to consistently book me on AC instead of Westjet, which has improved about a hundred hours of my life this year.

However, we're getting off-track on the example above; My opportunity cost for 35K status in 2016 was $250, for 2017 it'll be zero as I'll clear 50K with room to spare.

While I consider that initial $250 to be a solid bargain for the additional eUps I've cleared, as well as lounge access, the original point was that that $250 returned ten-to-one value solely in saved baggage fees.

I have found over the years that treating my clients' money the way I'd treat my own has paid dividends.

That's me; you should feel welcome to waste as much money as you'd like.

Shareholder

So any evidence this is actually going to be offered? All three of the major US airline programs have sent out their "invitations" to purchase status if they're not likely to fly enough this month.

ridefar

This is FT, who needs evidence?

jc94

It does make me wonder how they can send out letters right now. Personally I won't clear the threshold until 12/28 (I'm assuming even AC can manage to get me on a single TATL flight in 4 full days) - so if I was to pay up... I'd want to do it after that.

Even excluding a +1 limit assumption, why pay to go up 2 levels now if I'll clear enough to only need to pay for +1 level on 12/29, or whenever those miles actually clear.

Random question. Say I fly YYZ->DEL on the daily 21:20 on 31/12. What year do those miles go into? It lands 21:40 IST 01/01, which is some earlier time on 01/01, but it leaves the day before. Unless the entire trip is counted in local arrival time...

gabdusch

Local departure time/date is what counts IME.

jasdou

I just received an email offering me to buy up from E35K to E50K for 799$. Of course I requalified for E50K over the last week and I guess their marketing department does not have not the most up to date information so I will politely decline.

Offer is valid until January 3rd.

Kudos to Sean Peever for breaking the news ahead of the official announcement!

alc

A co-worker got an email from AC just now, offering him $399 CAD (not sure about Tax) to "Step up" to P25K for 2017.

He is at 23 AQS, ~10K AQM, and ~$2.6K AQD

SO, it look like AC is just asking for missing AQD in this case.

jasdou

Not sure about AQD being the criteria as in my case, my AQD was over the requirements of E75K but my AQM was just a bit under E50K requirement.

meagicano

I started a new job this year and am back on the status hunt. Made it to P25K as of a few weeks ago. I have 30 AQS right now but will hit 36 on December 31, 2016 (or 38 if I end up travelling next week as well).

Sure enough, just received an email from AC offering me E35K for $599.

Edited to add: My AQD is $7,000. So they're certainly not trying to make up for any AQD differentials.

jc94

This reminds me of LMUs. At T-24 it's this much, sometimes it goes up... sometimes down. But it does seem to validate Sean's advanced warning.

I wonder what I'll get though as I'm well past E35k AQD just 4500 miles short... until later this year. I wonder if we need a separate thread dedicated to status buy up offers as with LMUs.

Questions...

jasdou was $799 reasonable based on flights that one can assume AC had picked up on?

alc did you co-worker have status before? Wondering if AC are making any distinction between people who have / have not previously or currenrly have status?

jasdou

So it seems like you can only buy up one level from your current status, P25K for 399$, E35K for 599$, E50K for 799$.

Should I bet on E75K being 999$ and SE100K being 1199$?

I would expect SE100K to be more than that though, based on the huge difference in benefits between god-like SE status and mere mortal E75K.