Are you listening British Airways? Air Canada shows how elite status extensions should be done

Air Canada is not an airline we cover much on Head for Points, but it is definitely worth covering its approach to extending the status of its Altitude frequent flyers due to coronavirus.

Air Canada is a little like British Airways.  It dominates its market, with a strategy of buying up competitors (Canadian, Air Transat) with minimal Government pushback rather than wasting time doing anything innovative.  Only WestJet has slipped through its clutches.

Given that background, you could have imagined Air Canada taking a ‘stuff them’ approach to looking after its frequent flyers.  Instead, it has come up with an outstanding package.

The bottom line is that it is effectively wiping out 2020 with some extra benefits for those who will still end up flying.

As it says on its website:

“Loyalty is a two-way street – certainly in good times, but especially so in hard times. As an Air Canada Altitude member, you have proven your commitment to Air Canada, and that is a great honour to us. Just because most of us aren’t flying right now, that doesn’t mean we value your loyalty any less.”

What is Air Canada offering to its Altitude elite members?

There are three elements to this, allowing them to cover all bases:

If you earned Altitude elite status in 2019, to run throughout 2020, your status has been extended to the end of 2021

If – by some miracle – you manage to renew your existing elite status in 2020, you can GIFT the status to a friend.  You won’t need it yourself, as your status has automatically been extended to 2021.  If you go up a status level based on your 2020 flying, your friend gets the higher status level.

If you are working towards earning or improving your elite status, you can donate your Aeroplan miles to charities fighting COVID-19 and receive Altitude elite status miles in return.  The conversion rate is 5:1.  (If you treat British Airways Executive Club Gold as equal to Altitude Elite 50K status, it is the equivalent of British Airways letting you earn up to 750 tier points by donating 167 Avios per tier point to charity.)

There are a few smart elements about this:

No-one needs to get stressed.  If you earned status for 2020, you will still have it next year.  Don’t worry about having to fly.

However …. if you ARE flying, there is still a good reason to stick with Air Canada because of the carrot of being able to give elite status for 2021 to a friend if you requalify

You even have the ability to earn a higher status level by trading in some of your Aeroplan miles

The only thing that is not clear is whether the requirement to also spend a specific amount with Air Canada to earn status is waived or reduced.  If it isn’t, it would drastically reduce the incentive to donate Aeroplan miles to charity in return for additional Altitude status miles.

There is also not a lot of incentive here for someone who currently has no Air Canada status and was hoping to earn it this year.

Air Canada is also letting your earn status miles from home

Whilst the details are not yet public, Air Canada is also launching a series of home-based promotions which will allow you to earn additional Altitude status miles.  Traditional ‘redeemable’ Aeroplan miles will also be available.

The Air Canada website has more information on their coronavirus policies.

PS.  If you missed it, this article on how Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Club airport lounge pass scheme works is worth a read.

How is British Airways handling Executive Club status extensions?

For comparison, this HfP article looks at the British Airways Executive Club coronavirus status extension offer.

The current offer is:

The number of British Airways tier points you need to earn or retain status will be reduced by 30% for members due for renewal on 8th April, 8th May and 8th June

If your membership is due to renew from 8th July onwards, there is no concession.  You will need to earn the full number of tier points to renew or gain status.

The requirement to have flown four BA cash flights (on top of earning the necessary tier points) is waived

All 2-4-1 vouchers and Gold Upgrade Vouchers will automatically be extended by 6 months (which we already wrote about here)

This page of ba.com has more details.  2020 is definitely NOT cancelled for British Airways, even though Delta, Air Canada, Qatar Airways, Qantas, United and many others have already decided to roll over status for 12 months.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.