yosemite1

I'm a bit of a newbie with some of the more complex strategies, but I was hoping to get some help! I've gotten a job that allows me to travel frequently (both dom/intl) and I'm trying to tier up to use some priority perks next year. I mostly fly with Air Canada fwiw.

My first question would be do my Lufthansa, United, and TAP Portugal flights count as segments towards Air Canada Status? And if a flight is SYD > LAX > YYZ is that three segments (did I get that correct)?


Altitude Info:
13,844/25000 AQM
16/25 AQS
2671/3000 AQD (with a EWR > LHR pending)

Current Bookings in segments (by end of 2017):

1. LHR > YYZ (Air Canada)

2. YYZ > YOW (Air Canada)
3. YOW > YYZ (Air Canada)

4. YYZ > LGA (Air Canada)
5. LGA > YYZ (Air Canada)

6. YYZ > YVR (Air Canada)
7. YVR > YYZ (Air Canada)

8. YYZ > FRA (Lufthansa)
9. FRA > BLR (Lufthansa)
10. BLR > FRA (Lufthansa)
11. FRA > LIS (Lufthansa)
12. LIS > BCN (TAP Portugal)
13. BCN > FRA (Lufthansa)
14. FRA > YYZ (Lufthansa)

15. YYZ > IAD (United)
16. IAD > LAX (United)
17. LAX > MEL (United)
18. SYD > LAX (United)
19. LAX > YYZ (United)

Does this get me to Altitude 35K? I doubt I could actually get to Altitude 50K, but is there any way to get those last 15 segments easily?


Thank you for reading through this and your help!

YVRtoYYZ

1) SYD-LAX-YYZ would be 2 segments

2) Rough calculation for your AC flights would be approx 8000 AQM

3) For the Lufty, UA and TAP flights - were they booked via AC (014 eTicket number)?

yosemite1

hey thanks for the info!

3) they were not booked via AC - does that mean I don't get AQS for those?

garykung

You will still get AQS. AQS is just a fancy name for qualifying segment.

yosemite1

Oh okay! So I should actually get to 35 segments by the end of the year (16+19)! That'd let me qualify for Altitude 35 I believe.

Now the question is, is it possible to do some quick fares with a few stops to get 15 more segments lol

garykung

Getting the AQS is not difficult.

Getting the needed AQD may be difficult.

yosemite1

Funny enough I was thinking that too.


Because my flights weren't booked through AC (the lufty/united/TAP flights) - will those still count towards AQM?

garykung

Yes. Again - AQM is just another fancy word for qualifying mile.

evochuck

You will easily get the 35k aqm, and will be harder, I would aim for 50k. 35 is quite weak compared to 50

dr_torch

You need to know how many Altitude Qualifying Dollars you have spent. You get AQD when your bum is on an Air Canada flight (or Air Canada Rouge, or Air Canada express) or your ticket was issued by Air Canada (ticket number starting with 014, aka Air Canada stock)

The best way to determine this is to log into the Altitude website and check. You need to have spent $4,000 for E35K and $6,000 for E50K

global happy traveller

fyi - sometimes AC fares are bought into the lower booking classes on *A carriers when codeshared (i.e. AC to NH/TG/SQ etc)
dont want you to be disappointed by shortfall of miles at end of year.

yosemite1

Sorry for the late reply, I was flying :P



Question about AQD: will my Lufty/United/TAP flights accumulate AQD for my status eligibility if i didn't book it via AC? (Seems as if it might not as previous non-AC booked partner flights didn't grant AQD)


I used the AQM/AQD Estimate Calculator and made a spreadsheet (black has happened, red hasn't happened yet & are estimates).
• AQM: All the AQM for the rest of the year amounts to 62k/50k. (as long as I get AQM from the partner flights)
• AQD: The AQD from all flights would be enough IF I get AQD for the partner flights that weren't booked via AC. But if I don't get AQD from those flights I'm about $1300 short.





Any thoughts? (If I don't get the AQD requirement, what's the easiest way to get the AQD?)

RatherBeInYOW

1. You only earn AQD on 014 (Air Canada) tickets flown on AC or *A partners or when you are flying AC metal on someone else's ticket. So to earn AQD on an UA or LH or TAP flight you need to be on an Air Canada ticket.

2. AQM depends on the fare class. If you check the FAQ there will be earning charts where you can see what your fare class earns. Most intra-EU LH flights in economy book in to something silly like 25% of miles flown, so you may not be getting as much as you think there.

3. If a flight earns any AQM then it counts as an AQS.

My $0.02 is that if you qualify for E50 great, *G is nice to have when travelling internationally. If you do not then unless you are very very close just live with E35 - paying for better seats or international lounge access is going to cost you less than mileage runs and more importantly won't waste your time.

yosemite1

Thanks for all the info. Your 2 cents is totally on point, I'm going to go through the earning charts and recalculate my mileage and go from there.

I've verified that they aren't 014 tickets, so I won't be getting AQD only AQM/AQS.

I'll try to post another update later tonight after doing some work on recalculating everything to get a better picture of where I'll be by the end of the year (E35 / E50 etc)

Thanks again!

global happy traveller

My partial two cents is *A benefits can be replaced by Priority Pass benefits internationally. Though the quality is different. My personal opinion.