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deleted duplicate post
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Originally Posted by A_Lee
(Post 11148032)
OZ's program requires only 40K in two years (average 20K per year), which is a much lower level than AC's 35K in one year, and doesn't require you to fly any flights on OZ metal. So I think for 99% of frequent flyers, OZ *G would be easier to reach than AC *G (not taking into account any possible differences in earning on various booking classes). If one were to fly 35K in the first year and then none (or less than 5K) in the next year, then AC would be easier. But if someone's flying dramatically dropped off or completely stopped like that in the second year, then *G status wouldn't be much value to them. *G is only valuable when you're flying *A and not of any value if you're grounded. SK, for example, only awards 25% points on many ordinary economy fares. LH and AC have a number of fares that only get 50% points. UA and US tend to give 100% points on most of their flights. If you fly on changeable/refundable (i.e. more expensive) economy fares, then this won't be so much of an issue for you. Otherwise, you should look more closely at how many points you'll actually earn on flights you are likely to take, before you make a choice. |
I agree that you can't just compare raw points, which is why I put the disclaimer in my post, "not taking into account any possible differences in earning on various booking classes." My post was in reply to jbb who has since edited his/her post, but originally came off as sounding like AC was in general always easier to qualify for, which it is not. The key word being 'in general', which does not take into account the specifics of which airline/classes someone is flying in. Of course once you fully understand the FFPs you always need to consider how much the booking classes will earn for each FFP, so in reality there isn't really such a thing as 'in general'. My post was only meant to be taken in the context of the post I was replying to.
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Originally Posted by jbb
(Post 11137424)
Air Canada Aeroplan has some serious advantages if you're aiming for *Gold, but don't fly alot of J or F. As others have mentioned it has the lowest single-year mileage threshold: 35,000. The standard for most Star FF programs is 50,000 miles.
That said, there are some caveats. First, a key factor for you is that Air Canada does a terrible job of non-* partners... as a matter of fact I don't think they have any major international carrier partner beyond * Alliance. Certainly not Qatar or Virgin. Second, the mileage accrual period is the calendar year as opposed to the more generous 12-month period on some other airlines. Third, again as others have mentioned and bluebomber's chart shows, the bonus status miles for flying J or F are limited (25%/50%). I'll also point out that there are other complaints in the AC forum (and I would concur) about other issues with the Aeroplan programme such as poor IT (bad website) and steadily declining perks that come with top tier status. In short, in many cases Air Canada can by far be the easiest way to get *gold, but if you know you're going to exceed 40-45k there might be other plans out there which will be better. Hope it helps! 1. Since my reply you deleted your erroneous point about other programs requiring you to fly on their metal, so there is only one possible slight advantage remaining, not 'some serious advantages'. 2. I wouldn't really call 50K any standard. It is probably the most common amount among all the *A carriers but there's certainly many programs that are not 50K. There really is no standard and without spending the time to check each and every program I doubt that 'most' of the programs use 50K. 3. It's 'BlondeBomber' not 'bluebomber' 4. I would choose the term 'in a few cases' rather than 'in many cases' and would drop the term 'by far'. 5. OZ requires only 20K average per year. So talking about 40/45K, I presume meaning per year, is meaningless. Better to delete that point entirely. |
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