Yesterday we saw Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus announce that they’d extend current elite status for members by 12 months (and more), and now Air Canada is announcing a similar initiative.
Air Canada is even getting a bit creative, so let’s take a look at what they’ve announced:
Air Canada Altitude status extended by 12 months
All Air Canada Altitude status for 2020 will automatically be extended to the end of 2021. If a member does reach a higher status tier before the end of the year, they’ll still enjoy that status, and will maintain it for next year as well.
Air Canada Altitude status can be gifted
This is where Air Canada is getting creative. Those who currently have status will maintain it for an extra year, but there’s a reward for those who earn status anyway.
If a member who had their status extended achieves that status for next year by the end of 2020, they can gift it to a friend or family member. What a cool initiative!
Earn Altitude elite miles for donations
Through April 30, 2020, Air Canada is offering something pretty generous to those who donate miles. For every five Aeroplan miles that a member donates to a charity engaged in fighting COVID-19, they will be awarded one Altitude Qualifying Mile (AQM).
This is limited to a maximum of 25,000 AQMs, which would be earned after donating 125,000 Aeroplan miles. That can either count towards your status this year, or if you already have status, can help you gift status to a loved one.
Bottom line
It’s great to see Air Canada not only extending elite status by a year, but even making it a bit more interesting than that.
I’ve long said that my favorite kinds of elite benefits are those that I can share with loved ones (it’s why I love Hyatt’s “Guest of Honor” perk, for example), and so I like the concept of being able to share status with a loved one.
Well done, Air Canada!
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