Apr 4, 2021, 10:23 am
Last edit by: Adam Smith
I am including the link and full text of the AC Press Release issued on March 31 2021 so we have a record of the exact wording.
Mods are free to move this into a post with a reference note in the wiki.
https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2021-03-31-Air-Canada-Further-Extends-Aeroplan-Elite-Status-and-Provides-Additional-Flexibility-for-All-Members
Air Canada Further Extends Aeroplan Elite Status and Provides Additional Flexibility for All Members
"Loyalty is a two-way street, and we understand and appreciate why so many of your travel plans are interrupted this year. For that reason, we are automatically extending Aeroplan Elite Status for an additional year—through to the end of 2022," said Mark Nasr, Senior Vice President, Products, Marketing and eCommerce at Air Canada. "These changes are some of the many ways we're recognizing our members and demonstrating our commitment to welcoming them back onboard, whenever it's the right time for them to travel again."
This is the second year Air Canada has extended the status of its Aeroplan Elite members. In order to provide greater ease and flexibility, changes for Aeroplan Elite Status members include:
Automatic extension of 2021 Aeroplan Elite Status
All Aeroplan Elite Status for 2021 will automatically be extended through to the end of 2022.
Priority Reward Vouchers also extended
Air Canada is also extending the validity of all unused Priority Reward vouchers issued in 2020 by one full year, making them valid for use until October 2022.
Elite Status Qualification Jumpstart for 2022
For Aeroplan members who earn any Elite Status through their 2021 flight activity, the Status Qualifying Miles, Segments, and Dollars earned in 2021 will be honoured the next year, jumpstarting their status qualification in the years to come.
These improvements come in addition to other changes for all Aeroplan members:
Change or cancel Flight Rewards, free of charge
Aeroplan flight rewards booked through April 30, 2021 (for travel through April 2022) can be changed or cancelled free of charge, at any time. Members who opt to cancel will receive all of their Aeroplan points back in their account, plus a full refund of any associated taxes, fees and surcharges on the unused value of their travel.
Temporary pause to expiration of Aeroplan points
We have further paused expiry of Aeroplan points until January 31, 2022. This means that between now and January 30, 2022, any points which would have expired will not. Effective January 31, 2022, our recently improved expiration policy will apply, meaning that points will expire if an eligible transaction has not been completed prior to this date.
For more information, please visit this page.
Mods are free to move this into a post with a reference note in the wiki.
https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2021-03-31-Air-Canada-Further-Extends-Aeroplan-Elite-Status-and-Provides-Additional-Flexibility-for-All-Members
Air Canada Further Extends Aeroplan Elite Status and Provides Additional Flexibility for All Members
- Members will enjoy their current Elite Status through the end of 2022
- Validity of all Priority Reward vouchers issued in 2020 extended by one full year, and valid for use until October 2022
- Other flexible policies, including a pause on points expiry, also extended
"Loyalty is a two-way street, and we understand and appreciate why so many of your travel plans are interrupted this year. For that reason, we are automatically extending Aeroplan Elite Status for an additional year—through to the end of 2022," said Mark Nasr, Senior Vice President, Products, Marketing and eCommerce at Air Canada. "These changes are some of the many ways we're recognizing our members and demonstrating our commitment to welcoming them back onboard, whenever it's the right time for them to travel again."
This is the second year Air Canada has extended the status of its Aeroplan Elite members. In order to provide greater ease and flexibility, changes for Aeroplan Elite Status members include:
Automatic extension of 2021 Aeroplan Elite Status
All Aeroplan Elite Status for 2021 will automatically be extended through to the end of 2022.
Priority Reward Vouchers also extended
Air Canada is also extending the validity of all unused Priority Reward vouchers issued in 2020 by one full year, making them valid for use until October 2022.
Elite Status Qualification Jumpstart for 2022
For Aeroplan members who earn any Elite Status through their 2021 flight activity, the Status Qualifying Miles, Segments, and Dollars earned in 2021 will be honoured the next year, jumpstarting their status qualification in the years to come.
These improvements come in addition to other changes for all Aeroplan members:
Change or cancel Flight Rewards, free of charge
Aeroplan flight rewards booked through April 30, 2021 (for travel through April 2022) can be changed or cancelled free of charge, at any time. Members who opt to cancel will receive all of their Aeroplan points back in their account, plus a full refund of any associated taxes, fees and surcharges on the unused value of their travel.
Temporary pause to expiration of Aeroplan points
We have further paused expiry of Aeroplan points until January 31, 2022. This means that between now and January 30, 2022, any points which would have expired will not. Effective January 31, 2022, our recently improved expiration policy will apply, meaning that points will expire if an eligible transaction has not been completed prior to this date.
For more information, please visit this page.
Air Canada extends Elite status and Priority Rewards to 2022, adds SQx rollover
Mar 31, 2021, 6:00 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, FOTSG Platinum
Posts: 5,725
Air Canada extends Elite status and Priority Rewards to 2022, adds SQx rollover
Air Canada extends Aeroplan Elite Status through the end of 2022
Good news for Canadian frequent flyers this morning, as Air Canada announces that Aeroplan Elite members will have their status automatically extended until the end of 2022. They’ve also added new a rollover bonus for anyone who’s been flying a lot in 2021, but more on that further down.
In short, anyone currently holding Aeroplan Elite Status will see it extended at the same level, pretty much as if you had requalified normally; you’ll choose Select Benefits and receive a new set of eUpgrade credits again in early 2022.
Any Priority Rewards earned in 2020 will remain valid until the end of October 2022, which is a huge bonus for anyone waiting for the perfect time to use the “Latitude Trick” for a huge discount on long-haul travel.
Elite Status Qualification Jumpstart for 2022
I was a bit surprised to read this, but it’s smart marketing: anyone who flew enough in 2021 to qualify for at least the entry-level 25K status (or higher), will see their 2021 totals rolled forward into their 2022 qualifying totals.
To hit 25K, you’ll need either 25,000 Status Qualifying Miles or 25 Status Qualifying Segments, plus $3,000 CAD in Status Qualifying Dollars (qualifying spend) or $1,500 CAD for non-Canadian residents. If you do, then on January 1 of 2022, you’d already be halfway towards qualifying for 50K status and the accompanying Star Alliance Gold. However, anyone who doesn’t reach at least the qualification level for 25K, won’t roll anything forward to 2022.
To be clear, Air Canada offers the following example:
“Based on your 2021 flight activities, if you earn 26,000 SQM, 15 SQS, and 3,500 SQD, you’ll have met the qualification requirement for Aeroplan 25K, and therefore all 26,000 SQM, 15 SQS, and 3,500 SQD will be added to your qualification balance in 2022.”
I’m a 75K member, who qualifies primarily on business travel that’s been reduced to 0% since the start of the pandemic, and won’t even begin to recover until at least September this year. Based on my current calendar, I’m likely to reach December just below the threshold for this offer, so the incentive to do an end-of-year mileage run will be pretty strong.
What’s Still Unclear
The announcement notes “this special grant will be incremental to Rollover Status Qualifying Miles” normally offered to any Elite member holding a premium Aeroplan-branded credit card, but it’s not entirely clear how that math will work. I’m following up with Air Canada, and I’ll post details here when I have them.
Air Canada is publishing details and ongoing updates at:
https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/.../covid-19.html
Good news for Canadian frequent flyers this morning, as Air Canada announces that Aeroplan Elite members will have their status automatically extended until the end of 2022. They’ve also added new a rollover bonus for anyone who’s been flying a lot in 2021, but more on that further down.
In short, anyone currently holding Aeroplan Elite Status will see it extended at the same level, pretty much as if you had requalified normally; you’ll choose Select Benefits and receive a new set of eUpgrade credits again in early 2022.
Any Priority Rewards earned in 2020 will remain valid until the end of October 2022, which is a huge bonus for anyone waiting for the perfect time to use the “Latitude Trick” for a huge discount on long-haul travel.
Elite Status Qualification Jumpstart for 2022
I was a bit surprised to read this, but it’s smart marketing: anyone who flew enough in 2021 to qualify for at least the entry-level 25K status (or higher), will see their 2021 totals rolled forward into their 2022 qualifying totals.
To hit 25K, you’ll need either 25,000 Status Qualifying Miles or 25 Status Qualifying Segments, plus $3,000 CAD in Status Qualifying Dollars (qualifying spend) or $1,500 CAD for non-Canadian residents. If you do, then on January 1 of 2022, you’d already be halfway towards qualifying for 50K status and the accompanying Star Alliance Gold. However, anyone who doesn’t reach at least the qualification level for 25K, won’t roll anything forward to 2022.
To be clear, Air Canada offers the following example:
“Based on your 2021 flight activities, if you earn 26,000 SQM, 15 SQS, and 3,500 SQD, you’ll have met the qualification requirement for Aeroplan 25K, and therefore all 26,000 SQM, 15 SQS, and 3,500 SQD will be added to your qualification balance in 2022.”
I’m a 75K member, who qualifies primarily on business travel that’s been reduced to 0% since the start of the pandemic, and won’t even begin to recover until at least September this year. Based on my current calendar, I’m likely to reach December just below the threshold for this offer, so the incentive to do an end-of-year mileage run will be pretty strong.
What’s Still Unclear
The announcement notes “this special grant will be incremental to Rollover Status Qualifying Miles” normally offered to any Elite member holding a premium Aeroplan-branded credit card, but it’s not entirely clear how that math will work. I’m following up with Air Canada, and I’ll post details here when I have them.
Air Canada is publishing details and ongoing updates at:
https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/.../covid-19.html
Last edited by YOWgary; Mar 31, 2021 at 6:38 am
Mar 31, 2021, 6:00 am
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,302
This link is to an online source to which I contribute: https://canadiankilometers.boardinga...-through-2022/
tl;dr
All status extended through EOY 2022.
Priority rewards being extended an extra year.
Points will not expire for anyone until Jan 31 2022, but make sure you have activity within the prior 18 months or they will expire on Jan 31.
If you qualify for any status in 2021, all your SQM/SQS/SQD will roll over to 2022.
Way better than "give a friend what you qualify for".
If I hit 300k SQM with 20k SQD, I'll get 300k SQM through this promo, and 200k from my credit card, meaning I'll start 2022 with 500k SQM.
tl;dr
All status extended through EOY 2022.
Priority rewards being extended an extra year.
Points will not expire for anyone until Jan 31 2022, but make sure you have activity within the prior 18 months or they will expire on Jan 31.
If you qualify for any status in 2021, all your SQM/SQS/SQD will roll over to 2022.
Way better than "give a friend what you qualify for".
If I hit 300k SQM with 20k SQD, I'll get 300k SQM through this promo, and 200k from my credit card, meaning I'll start 2022 with 500k SQM.
Mar 31, 2021, 6:09 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: MEX
Programs: AC E75K
Posts: 4,171
Why October 2022 instead of December 31, 2022?
And can you elaborate on what the "Latitude Trick" is? I haven't been following the forum closely since my travels evaporated during Covid.
Mar 31, 2021, 6:17 am
#5
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,742
Air Canada announces that Aeroplan Elite members will have their status automatically extended until the end of 2022. They’ve also added new a rollover bonus for anyone who’s been flying a lot in 2021
[...]
Any Priority Rewards earned in 2020 will remain valid until the end of 2022
[...]
Any Priority Rewards earned in 2020 will remain valid until the end of 2022
So the competitive landscape looks very different from a year ago when AC announced their extension - the US3 had all already done it at that point, so AC was just following the crowd. Which means I think those who are expecting/hoping for an extension soon just because it aligns with last year's timing may be disappointed.
Interesting to see AC being proactive and not waiting for the others to do something though
Last edited by Adam Smith; Mar 31, 2021 at 6:23 am Reason: Trim quote for space
Mar 31, 2021, 6:23 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Vancouver
Programs: AC SE100K 1MM, FB Platinum, Bonvoy Platinum Elite, IHG Gold Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 1,602
Very glad to see them do this. Anyone have any idea if the status we may have left to gift will get extended as well if it hasn't already been gifted?
Mar 31, 2021, 6:23 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, FOTSG Platinum
Posts: 5,725
I'm confused by this: "Air Canada is also extending the validity of all unused Priority Reward vouchers issued in 2020 by one full year, making them valid for use until October 2022." (Source)
Just adding one year to the expiry date, as far as I can tell. The "2020" credits are the ones we were automatically given as the program launched, and until now they expired in October 2021, a year after they were awarded.
Sorry about that, the link didn't copy through. That's just the name I gave to "use Priority rewards to book a half-price Latitude fare and immediately eUpgrade, thereby getting a long-haul round-trip in Business for ~60,000 points". I try to stay on the right side of FT's rules about linking to my own site, so I haven't put the link to my more-detailed explanation here.
Mar 31, 2021, 6:25 am
#8
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,742
I'm confused by this: "Air Canada is also extending the validity of all unused Priority Reward vouchers issued in 2020 by one full year, making them valid for use until October 2022." (Source)
Why October 2022 instead of December 31, 2022?
Why October 2022 instead of December 31, 2022?
Mar 31, 2021, 6:33 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: MEX
Programs: AC E75K
Posts: 4,171
Just adding one year to the expiry date, as far as I can tell. The "2020" credits are the ones we were automatically given as the program launched.
Sorry about that, the link didn't copy through. That's just the name I gave to "use Priority rewards to book a half-price Latitude fare and immediately eUpgrade, thereby getting a long-haul round-trip in Business for ~60,000 points". I try to stay on the right side of FT's rules about linking to my own site, so I haven't put the link to my more-detailed explanation here.
They currently expire October 25, 2021, so a one-year extension is to October 2022. Why not December? Well, why didn't they make them valid until December 2021 in the first place? I don't know, but the one-year extension is consistent with the one-year status extension.
Mar 31, 2021, 6:38 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, FOTSG Platinum
Posts: 5,725
For certainty, if a 2021 50K member who also holds a premium Aeroplan credit card earned the following in 2021:
- 60,000 SQM, 10 SQS, 6,500 SQD
- 60,000 SQM, 10 SQS, 6,500 SQD (as they earned an Aeroplan Elite Status for 2022)
- 10,000 SQM (as they earned Aeroplan 50K status, and therefore the 10,000 SQM above 50,000 SQM would be eligible for the Rollover SQM benefit)
70,000 SQM, 10 SQS, 6,500 SQD
Last edited by YOWgary; Mar 31, 2021 at 6:51 am
Mar 31, 2021, 6:47 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, FOTSG Platinum
Posts: 5,725
Mar 31, 2021, 6:54 am
#14
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: YQB
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 2,139
I'm thinking of the status pass I received a few weeks ago as part of launch promo of the new Aeroplan. As an E75K member, status passes are a select benefit (that I am unlikely to pick!). I was hoping that promo status pass would get extended by a year too.
Mar 31, 2021, 6:55 am
#15
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,742
@YOWgary or @canadiancow, are these rollover SQM Aeroplan miles? i.e. if I fly 60K AQM this year, will that be 60K SQM + 60K Aeroplan next year, or only 60K SQM?