My thoughts so far as I approach the halfway point of an unlimited flight pass
Mar 21, 2019, 10:44 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: YOW
Programs: AC E75K *G
Posts: 7,106
My thoughts so far as I approach the halfway point of an unlimited flight pass
So I bought an unlimited flight pass - six months, Flex, Rapidair (YYZ/YTZ/YUL/YOW) and I'm approaching the halfway point of using it. The cost is about $2200 per month. Availability is based on M fares. I currently have no status, but that will change at the end of March. Here are my thoughts so far. Because my thoughts are very important and I know you are interested in all of them.
Cost: Obviously the value of anything will be in the eye of the beer-holder. I've used 17 credits so far, booked anywhere from 2 days to 2 hours in advance. Almost always a same day return. By the end of the first three months I will have travelled on flights that would have cost between 6500 and 7000 if booked one at a time. So I'm mostly breaking even so far by that measure. There's the non-monetary value of having the ability to book any flights for no more cost that I have enjoyed. So for me the cost has been worth it.
Booking: Always used the Android app. Fast and easy every time. Never any problem.
Availiability: Mostly good. There have been a few occasions where M fares are gone on the best "business travel" flights of the day, but I've always been able to manage.
Flexibility: Other than the occasional M fare issue, I've always gotten the flight I want, which is the flight I booked about 60% of the time. Since Flex fares give you free standby on Rapidair routes, I just book the YYZ-YOW flight I know I will be able to make, and then I've always been able to step on the next outbound flight whenever I happen to get through security. Essentially I walk into the airport and onto a plane. I've only had to cancel one flight. So buying up to Latitude wouldn't have been worth the extra 1100 per month for me (despite the instant E50K, more status miles, flight pass upgrades etc.)
WTSHTF: An unlimited pass is a secret self service weapon during IROPS, such as winter weather. I was stuck in YOW during the YYZ freezing rain-ocalypse as delay after delay piled on. So eventually I just gave up and walked out. I had booked a flight to YYZ the next morning before I got out of the terminal. Last week we were diverted to YUL during a snowstorm at YOW. As soon as we were wheels down in YUL I booked myself on the last YUL-YOW flight of the day, which got in an hour and a half before the original flight finally made it back to YOW.
Misc: There's usually someone on all the same flights as I am on a given day, even given the randomness of standby.
I always sit one row away from the only people on each flight who absolutely must, due to a quirk in the way their bodies process oxygen, talk the entire time to the person sitting next to them. On only one occasion was their any utility to the conversation, as it happened that one guy was in charge of getting parking spaces for people, and the other guy happened to be a parking space salesmen, so that was a happy coincidence.
I will pass through 25, 35, 50, and perhaps 75K (depending on other things) over the next few months so I would be able to upgrade some of these flights. I'm mostly looking forward to the priority security lanes.
Cost: Obviously the value of anything will be in the eye of the beer-holder. I've used 17 credits so far, booked anywhere from 2 days to 2 hours in advance. Almost always a same day return. By the end of the first three months I will have travelled on flights that would have cost between 6500 and 7000 if booked one at a time. So I'm mostly breaking even so far by that measure. There's the non-monetary value of having the ability to book any flights for no more cost that I have enjoyed. So for me the cost has been worth it.
Booking: Always used the Android app. Fast and easy every time. Never any problem.
Availiability: Mostly good. There have been a few occasions where M fares are gone on the best "business travel" flights of the day, but I've always been able to manage.
Flexibility: Other than the occasional M fare issue, I've always gotten the flight I want, which is the flight I booked about 60% of the time. Since Flex fares give you free standby on Rapidair routes, I just book the YYZ-YOW flight I know I will be able to make, and then I've always been able to step on the next outbound flight whenever I happen to get through security. Essentially I walk into the airport and onto a plane. I've only had to cancel one flight. So buying up to Latitude wouldn't have been worth the extra 1100 per month for me (despite the instant E50K, more status miles, flight pass upgrades etc.)
WTSHTF: An unlimited pass is a secret self service weapon during IROPS, such as winter weather. I was stuck in YOW during the YYZ freezing rain-ocalypse as delay after delay piled on. So eventually I just gave up and walked out. I had booked a flight to YYZ the next morning before I got out of the terminal. Last week we were diverted to YUL during a snowstorm at YOW. As soon as we were wheels down in YUL I booked myself on the last YUL-YOW flight of the day, which got in an hour and a half before the original flight finally made it back to YOW.
Misc: There's usually someone on all the same flights as I am on a given day, even given the randomness of standby.
I always sit one row away from the only people on each flight who absolutely must, due to a quirk in the way their bodies process oxygen, talk the entire time to the person sitting next to them. On only one occasion was their any utility to the conversation, as it happened that one guy was in charge of getting parking spaces for people, and the other guy happened to be a parking space salesmen, so that was a happy coincidence.
I will pass through 25, 35, 50, and perhaps 75K (depending on other things) over the next few months so I would be able to upgrade some of these flights. I'm mostly looking forward to the priority security lanes.
Last edited by zorn; Mar 21, 2019 at 1:15 pm
Mar 21, 2019, 10:48 am
#2
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Having done both Flex and Latitude UFPs for Rapidair, E-W Connector, and the full-blown NA pass, I agree the Flex UFP isn't bad... but the Latitude UFPs are still winners in my books. 
Mar 21, 2019, 11:17 am
#3
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Great review.
Especially since you have no status, are you aware that with a Latitude FP, not only would you have a much higher chance of being able to book the flight you want, but you'd also be pretty much guaranteed to sit in business class on every flight?
The complementary upgrades are why I switched from Flex to Latitude (granted, on longer routes), and that was as a Super Elite missing the occasional upgrade.
Especially since you have no status, are you aware that with a Latitude FP, not only would you have a much higher chance of being able to book the flight you want, but you'd also be pretty much guaranteed to sit in business class on every flight?
The complementary upgrades are why I switched from Flex to Latitude (granted, on longer routes), and that was as a Super Elite missing the occasional upgrade.
Mar 21, 2019, 11:21 am
#4
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Great review.
Especially since you have no status, are you aware that with a Latitude FP, not only would you have a much higher chance of being able to book the flight you want, but you'd also be pretty much guaranteed to sit in business class on every flight?
The complementary upgrades are why I switched from Flex to Latitude (granted, on longer routes), and that was as a Super Elite missing the occasional upgrade.
Especially since you have no status, are you aware that with a Latitude FP, not only would you have a much higher chance of being able to book the flight you want, but you'd also be pretty much guaranteed to sit in business class on every flight?
The complementary upgrades are why I switched from Flex to Latitude (granted, on longer routes), and that was as a Super Elite missing the occasional upgrade.
Not to mention that during IROPS, agents "see" "J" (when T-48 applied) and "react" to that.
Mar 21, 2019, 12:08 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2016
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Maybe I’m missing something obvious but if a M flight pass is unlimited, why would one cancel (at cost) flights instead of just no showing? Is this somewhere in the T&Cs?
And yes I get the ethical thing to do is to cancel it, but if it’s $200 to cancel each time ... I mean it’s not like AC is a charity.
And I assume to cancel one has to use the app (which even if normally good may still suffer from AC ITitis) or phone AC who may be experiencing a higher than normal call volume.
And yes I get the ethical thing to do is to cancel it, but if it’s $200 to cancel each time ... I mean it’s not like AC is a charity.
And I assume to cancel one has to use the app (which even if normally good may still suffer from AC ITitis) or phone AC who may be experiencing a higher than normal call volume.
Mar 21, 2019, 12:12 pm
#6
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Maybe I’m missing something obvious but if a M flight pass is unlimited, why would one cancel (at cost) flights instead of just no showing? Is this somewhere in the T&Cs?
And yes I get the ethical thing to do is to cancel it, but if it’s $200 to cancel each time ... I mean it’s not like AC is a charity.
And I assume to cancel one has to use the app (which even if normally good may still suffer from AC ITitis) or phone AC who may be experiencing a higher than normal call volume.
And yes I get the ethical thing to do is to cancel it, but if it’s $200 to cancel each time ... I mean it’s not like AC is a charity.
And I assume to cancel one has to use the app (which even if normally good may still suffer from AC ITitis) or phone AC who may be experiencing a higher than normal call volume.
Mar 21, 2019, 12:36 pm
#7
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Mar 21, 2019, 12:43 pm
#8
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Mar 21, 2019, 1:13 pm
#9
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In no particular order:
The cancellation fee is $50. No-show is $150. I have cancelled one booking only. I haven't been charged for either no-show (both were flights I abandoned due to lengthy pre-departure delays.)
I did strongly consider the Latitude pass, but I don't think I would quite have gotten the value out of it that I wanted. I didn't put much value on upgrading these flights. I did a little research into availability one and two days out, and found that it pretty much always met my needs, and that prediction has been largely accurate once I bought the pass.
The cancellation fee is $50. No-show is $150. I have cancelled one booking only. I haven't been charged for either no-show (both were flights I abandoned due to lengthy pre-departure delays.)
I did strongly consider the Latitude pass, but I don't think I would quite have gotten the value out of it that I wanted. I didn't put much value on upgrading these flights. I did a little research into availability one and two days out, and found that it pretty much always met my needs, and that prediction has been largely accurate once I bought the pass.
Mar 21, 2019, 3:05 pm
#11
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This is the big one.
R doesn't look much better than M (maybe even worse). J gets things done.
The upgrade, as alluded to above, is more than just the seat, snacks, and beverage. Since it actually reissues the ticket with a J fare basis code, in full J class, it makes a WORLD of difference for IRROPS. Standby priority is cabin, status, fare class. So a no-status in J is going to be above an SEMM in full PY.
But it's hard to argue with "I've used M for 3 months and it's worked great".
R doesn't look much better than M (maybe even worse). J gets things done.
But it's hard to argue with "I've used M for 3 months and it's worked great".
Mar 21, 2019, 3:14 pm
#12
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The upgrade, as alluded to above, is more than just the seat, snacks, and beverage. Since it actually reissues the ticket with a J fare basis code, in full J class, it makes a WORLD of difference for IRROPS. Standby priority is cabin, status, fare class. So a no-status in J is going to be above an SEMM in full PY.
But it's hard to argue with "I've used M for 3 months and it's worked great".
But it's hard to argue with "I've used M for 3 months and it's worked great".
Mar 21, 2019, 3:23 pm
#13
Join Date: Jan 2016
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But isn’t it only the unlimited FPs which aren’t available for Intl travel eligible for the complimentary upgrades? If there was an unlimited international one a upgrade into full J might also yield signature lounge access, but the cost would be ... insane?
Mar 21, 2019, 3:57 pm
#14
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Mar 21, 2019, 10:27 pm
#15
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I too have pretty good success (read almost 100%) getting flights I want on unlimited Flex pass. I only use those on AC Express types single cabin (mostly) flights. Example today, pretty much everything was zeroed out from YEG-YYC and concierge in the MLL said it didn't look good for me (five ahead on standby for flight I wanted and only 4 seats available, all in front cabin--the only J cabin flight daily). Eventually she said I could get on if I used eupgrade but she couldn't complete on her computer (likely as it was already done). She phoned the gate and they had already got me on the flight I wanted and put me in the front cabin without using my eupgrade credits.^ Concierge didn't believe what happened but I was home early and had a nice comfy seat! That is a typical experience.I often show up at last minute and see if I can get on a flight and unless they have closed the doors, I get on even if it is last seat available. Of course I carry a bucket of horseshoes with me and SE status does help.
I also agree that it isn't always a savings but it is usually a wash. I have been on $900 YYC-YEG flights as well as $200 versions. I like just being able to largely go when and where I want to within the unlimited flight pass area. The AQMs, flexibility and cost work for me.
I won't buy unlimited for other destinations as I don't need that frequency. I buy regular latitude passes for destinations where upgrading is an issue (sun destinations mostly). Transcons I buy Flex passes mostly but have bought the odd Latitude pass. I have 100% success eupgrading and getting flights I want so Flex it will stay until that changes. I know people who do buy unlimited for sun destinations as they need the frequency and they have good success getting the flights they need.
Intercontinental flights I used to buy Flex passes with almost 100% eupgrade success but now just buy PE and eupgrade as it is not as easy to upgrade as it was in the "good old days". I am sure I would never buy unlimited for those.
I also agree that it isn't always a savings but it is usually a wash. I have been on $900 YYC-YEG flights as well as $200 versions. I like just being able to largely go when and where I want to within the unlimited flight pass area. The AQMs, flexibility and cost work for me.
I won't buy unlimited for other destinations as I don't need that frequency. I buy regular latitude passes for destinations where upgrading is an issue (sun destinations mostly). Transcons I buy Flex passes mostly but have bought the odd Latitude pass. I have 100% success eupgrading and getting flights I want so Flex it will stay until that changes. I know people who do buy unlimited for sun destinations as they need the frequency and they have good success getting the flights they need.
Intercontinental flights I used to buy Flex passes with almost 100% eupgrade success but now just buy PE and eupgrade as it is not as easy to upgrade as it was in the "good old days". I am sure I would never buy unlimited for those.