You have probably read about different airlines and hotel chains extending their elite statuses. Now it is Air Canada’s turn. They are not only offering an elite status extension, but also the ability to gift your status to a family or friend. Below are the details of the initiatives.
Elite Status Extension
The 2020 Altitude status will automatically be extended through to the end of 2021.
I was hoping that it would be not come to this. But airline layoffs are real. Personally, I really thought that there would be more “leave without pay”, so that they can retain their employees and slowly bring them back. But maybe there is more to the story if they want to cut their ties. I guess they can always hire them back later?
Anyway, here’s the current count to date. May airlines are careful to say that these are temporary layoffs, so the door is open for people to come back.
A good friend of Pointshogger, Kathy Ye, went to the YVR Signature Suite unveiled on our behalf and shared her experience with us. Thank you so much Kathy for representing Pointshogger!
On March 14th, 2020, Air Canada unveiled its second Signature Suite at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Pointshogger had the opportunity to get a sneak peak of the lounge and enjoy the premium amenities before it is opened to the public.
Back in 2016, I began a new tradition of trying to predict the travel / rewards market in Canada. The first year was rough, but it got better over the years. How did it go this year though?
Below are my previous scores:
Starting today (September 9, 2019) until November 29, 2019, Air Canada is once again running it’s Earn Your Wings campaign. This is where Air Canada Altitude members can participate in a number of travel-related challenges in order to earn Wings and Badges that translate into bonus Aeroplan miles.
As you probably know, I have rarely written about Air Transat, due to a bad experience (which I got a lot of heat for). But a more relevant reason is because they do not have any loyalty programs associated with it. And the theme of our site is “maximizing rewards for Canadians”. All that may change once the full agreement passes. Until then, we can only speculate what will happen. I was actually quite surprised to find out that Air Canada wanted to purchase Air Transat, since Air Transat is considered more of a low cost, charter airline. So what value would it bring to Air Canada, other than buying out the competition, like how Air Canada bought out Canadian Airlines back in 2000.
A few days ago, Air Canada and Air Transat announced that they are in exclusive negotiations for Air Canada to buyout Air Transat.
I’m somewhat torn by this announcement. So I’ll share my pros and cons regarding this deal.
Air Canada and American Express Canada have come to a new agreement to renew and expand their partnership. The plan is for American Express to continue beyond 2020 when Air Canada launches their new loyalty program, as this is a new 10-year deal.
If you read the news release closely there are some hints to some positive news.
It’s official. Aimia (owner of Aeroplan) is now sold to Air Canada for approximately $497 million (Press releases: Air Canada, Aimia).
Deep down inside, I had still hoped that the deal would fall through, because I was excited for all the initiatives that Aeroplan was planning in my interview with their CEO, for life after Air Canada. I really wanted to see Aeroplan compete with Air Canada, as competition is usually a positive for consumers.
Back in 2016, I began a new tradition of trying to predict the rewards world. The first year was rough, but it got better (2017, 2016). Let’s see how I did this year and my predictions for the following year.