[ANALYSIS] Air Canada Elite 100K

This is the final part of the series on Air Canada Elite status. We previously wrote about the Prestige 25K, Elite 35K, Elite 50K and Elite 75K statuses. Today, I will focus on the highest level, which is the Elite 100K status.

To qualify for the Elite 100K status, you need to earn 100,000 Altitude Qualifying Miles (AQM) or flyer 95 Altitude Qualifying Segments (AQS) on Air Canada or Star Alliance flights during a calendar year. Furthermore, you will need to earn at least 10,000 AQM or 5 AQS on eligible flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express or Air Canada rouge.

All the of the perks associated with Elite 100K are encompassed in the Prestige 25K, Elite 35K, Elite 50K and Elite 75K, so I will not repeat those perks. For this post, I will focus on the additional perks that you will receive as an Elite 100K member.

Air Canada Concierge Service – Personalized service of Air Canada Concierge agents, who will assist with special requests and daily operational issues (such as monitoring flight connections, proactively re-booking flights). This service is available at select airports:

• Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
• United States: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia
• International: Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita, Zurich

eUpgrade Nominees – Share your upgrade privilege with other people even when you are not travelling with them.

Aeroplan Flight Reward Fee Waivers – One time waived change fee on the first change made to any Aeroplan Flight Reward reservation. This waiver does not apply for same-day airport changes, or when a reservation is cancelled and Aeroplan Miles are refunded to the members’ account.

Below are additional benefits that you must choose from.

Choose 2 of 4:

1) Altitude Bonus with Air Canada and select airline partners – Earn 100% bonus Aeroplan points on eligible flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Air Canada rouge, Copa Airlines, United, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and TAM. Note that these bonus Aeroplan points do not qualify for AQMs with the Altitude program.

2) eUpgrade Credits – 50 credits will be deposited into your eUpgrade account and be used to upgrade to Business Class on eligible Air Canada and Air Canada Express flights.

3) Lower Requalification Level – Enjoy a lower re-qualification level to reach the following year’s Altitude status. For this benefit, it means that you will only need 95,000 AQM or 90 AQS (instead of 100,000 AQM or 95 AQS) to re-qualify for Elite 100K the following year.

4) Altitude Elite 50K status for a friend – Award Altitude Elite 50K status to a friend, valid through to the end of February of the following year. You must chose this friend before October 15 of every year.

The 100% bonus continues to be a no brainer. The next choice is the difficult one. The lower re-qualification level is the easier one to eliminate because it does not provide as much value as the others. By now you should already have enough eUpgrade Credits because you might have already selected some as you reached the lower level elite statuses, so I would give the edge to granting a friend Attitude Elite 50K status because then they can enjoy a whole slew of benefits themselves.

Choose 2 of 3:

1) eUpgrade Credits – 20 credits will be deposited into your eUpgrade account and be used to upgrade to Business Class on eligible Air Canada and Air Canada Express flights.

2) Maple Leaf Lounge One-Time Guest Passes – Receive 6 one-time passes for access to Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges located in the domestic and trans-border zones of Canadian airports, Los Angeles and New York (LaGuardia). Access applies when you and your guests are traveling on a same-day flight operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express or Air Canada rouge. These passes are in addition to those that you would have received when you hit Prestige 25K first.

3) aircanada.com Travel Options – Enjoy complimentary Onboard Café or Maple Leaf Lounge access on eligible reservations completed at aircanada.com for up to six passengers. There are several restrictions to keep in mind. This options applies only on flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada rouge, and all travel must be booked and completed by June 30 of the following year. Furthermore, Onboard Café only applies on flights within North America over 2 hours. This privilege cannot be used in conjunction with Flight Pass reservations or Aeroplan rewards flights, nor be used together with another promotion code.

The third option has too many restrictions that I would go with options 1) and 2).

Choose 1 of 2:

1) eUpgrade Credits for eligible Flight Pass activities – For every eligible Flight Pass activity, earn 12 eUpgrade Credits that will be deposited into your eUpgrade account. Credits can be used on eligible flights operated by Air Canada and Air Canada Express in order to upgrade to Business Class.

2) Altitude Qualifying Miles for eligible Flight Pass activities – For every eligible Flight Pass activity, earn 2,500 AQMs for the Altitude program and 1,500 Aeroplan points.

I would prefer eUpgrades, but it will depend on your travel habits.