COVID-19: Air Program Status Guide

Update: April 13, 2020

On April 06, 2020, Air Canada announced that it has automatically renewed its Altitude status from 2020 to the end of 2021.

Members who achieve a higher status by the end of the year will be able to benefit from it as soon as they obtain it and until the end of 2021 as well. For these members, they will be able to share their status with another person (see below).

Updated information on this topic is available here.

On April 06, 2020, Air Canada announced the opportunity to share its Altitude status with a friend or a family member.

This measure applies to those who would have already qualified for the status for next year and who benefit, by the previous measure, of an automatic renewal of the status until the end of 2021.

Updated information on this topic is available here.

On April 06, 2020, Air Canada announced the ability to advance to Altitude status by donating their Aeroplan miles.

From April 6 to April 30, 2020, for every 5 Aeroplan Miles donated to a charity committed to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, you will receive 1 Altitude Qualification Mile (ALM). The limit is 25,000 Altitude Qualification Miles. This will count toward the 2021 status.

Updated information on this topic is available here.

On April 7, 2020, Alaska Airlines announced that it will extend, automatically, its members’ 2020 status to December 31, 2021.

In addition, Mileage Plan members who enrolled in a statusmatch between December 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 will have their status automatically extended through December 31, 2021. It doesn’t matter how many flights you make during the challenge period.

Finally, the certificate for a companion ticket obtained with an Alaska Airlines credit card has been renewed. All certificates expiring in 2020 are now valid until December 31, 2020 for travel until November 26, 2021.

Updated information on this topic is available here.

On April 13, 2020, American Airlines announced actions regarding AAdvantage members including:

• The extension of AAdvantage status until January 31, 2022
• Reduced criteria to obtain a statute in 2022

On March 26, 2020, British Airways announced that it had eased the requirements for status this year.

Members whose status was up for renewal in April, May and June of this year will be able to requalify with 30% fewer Status Points:

• Bronze: 210 Status Points (instead of 300)
• Silver: 420 Status Points (instead of 600)
• Gold: 1,050 Status Points (instead of 1,500)

Also all companion tickets have had their validity extended by 6 months.

Updated information on this topic is available here.

On April 5, 2020, Delta Airlines was the first U.S. airline to announce the expansion of its membership. Since the beginning of the crisis, Delta Airlines has often been at the forefront and is one of the easiest companies to obtain a refund rather than a travel credit.

Regarding the status: whatever status the members obtained in 2020, it will be renewed for the year 2021 (with an expiration date of January 31, 2022).

Also, all 2020 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) will be credited in 2021 for qualification to 2022 status.

The status extension will automatically appear on members’ accounts on February 1, 2021.

Updated information on this topic is available here.

Flying Blue (the joint Air France-KLM program) has announced that it has eased the requirements for obtaining status this year.

Members whose status was up for renewal in April, May and June of this year will be able to requalify with 25% less Experience Points (XP):

• Silver: 75 Experience Points (instead of 100 XP)
• Gold: 135 Experience Points (instead of 180 XP)
• Platinum: 225 Experience Points (instead of 300 XP)

Updated information on this topic is available here.

United Airlines announced that it has extended its 2020 status for 2021 (through January 31, 2022).

Also, United will lower the number of points required to achieve Premier status by 50%.

Updated information on this topic is available here.

WestJet has extended the validity of the following companion vouchers:

• Companion vouchers not redeemed and expiring in March, April or May 2020.
• Companion vouchers with an earlier expiration date that were redeemed for travel between March 1 and May 31, 2020 and were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Sign into see vouchers that have been extended after April 7 or within 14 days of your cancellation.

WestJet has extended or updated the levels of members who were on track to reach another level in March, April or May. WestJet also stated that it will not forget the members whose level may be affected in the coming months.

Updated information on this topic is available here.