It’s official, in 2014 I flew over 25,000 miles on Air Canada, which qualified me for the first tier of Altitude status. I’ve been a frequent flier ever since I started school out East (2,000 km from home), but since I started traveling for work I’ve done a number of trips out West, which is undoubtedly what pushed me into the 25K club. With this new status comes some airline perks like discounts and lounge vouchers, and also a pretty cool membership card with my name on it.
This is my first year having a recognized status with an airline reward program, and I must admit I’m pretty thrilled! Air Canada has been my favorite airline for years, and after being on the inaugural customer-carrying flight of their Dreamliner last year I’m hooked on their quality service and consistent investment in the well-being of their passengers. I fly them whenever I can, but sometimes they’re significantly more expensive than their competitors or have more stopovers, so the next best option is WestJet. WestJet has also been great lately, as they did a status match earlier this year, and matched (and exceeded, actually) my Air Canada 25K status, promoting me right to WestJet Gold, the top tier of their frequent flyer program.
I’ve got a lot of trips coming up this year, and I’m hoping I can fly enough on Air Canada to make it to the 35K or even 50K tier. That’s when the benefits get really good! Unfortunately Air Canada is quite expensive, and is often not within the lowest logical fare range for corporate travel, so I have to fly other airlines and can’t rack up those miles. But hey, I still get to travel for work so I can’t complain!
