Imagine the scene: you’ve flown tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of miles. You’ve slept in two dozen or more beds that aren’t your own. You’ve collected half a dozen strategic credit cards to help you with your mileage or mattress run. You or your company has probably spent a boatload of money.
And now, the reward pays off. You’re awarded with a prestigious high-level status in your chosen airline or hotel loyalty program of choice. What now?
Well, the good news is that you may have earned enough to reward your friends and loved ones with status in that same program. While it’s probably at a lower level, it could make their travel experience that much better. And isn’t it nice to give a gift that keeps on giving?
And for those of you who think that the opening paragraph of all that travel and hotel staying sounds unpleasant, the good news is that here at Frugal Flyer, we dedicate a lot of time to finding tips and tricks to get you there faster and with less effort. Now, let’s dive into the loyalty programs that allow status gifting and are easiest for Canadians to access.
Airline Programs That Let You Gift Elite Status to Others
Air Canada Aeroplan
There should be no surprises here, obviously the first entry on this list is Air Canada Aeroplan, because it’s the easiest available program for Canadians to use. Just because it casts a wide net doesn’t make it bad; the status perks of the program were so good we wrote a dedicated guide.
The key thing to note is that your sweet spots to gift status are for the bigger spenders. 50K, 75K, and 100K elites are able to gift status; respectively awarding 25K, 35K, and 50K status to their friends or loved ones.
You can read the guide I linked earlier if you want to go further in depth, but these are a great benefit because every single one of these categories gets access to waived baggage fees and the ability to use their Air Canada eUpgrades at any time, assuming there’s availability.
50K and 75K also let you choose Status Passes as a possible perk, while 100K gets two such passes for free. These provide 3 free checked bags, priority check-in, baggage, security, and boarding, as well as Maple Leaf Lounge access. It’s not the greatest perk, but it is a nice way to give someone a “day as an elite”.
Recently there’s been a slew of changes to the Aeroplan program. If you want to go into a super deep dive on guaranteeing your status every year, listen to Miles Ahead podcast Episode 22 which talks all about Aeroplan.
Finally, if you’re a big spender who finds yourself perhaps short of status qualifying segments or miles, you might want to consider the American Express Aeroplan Reserve card, which can help you boost your earning even faster.
The American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve card offers Air Canada benefits including Priority Airport Services, Eligible free first checked bags, and access to Maple Leaf Lounges™* across North America.
Check out our American Express Aeroplan Reserve card review for more details.
Earn when you apply through Frugal Flyer.
85,000 Aeroplan points
$10,000
$1,910+
$599
Yes
–
Atmos Rewards
Next up on our list is the Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards program. This is a program that really only rewards the top-end elites who earn higher status thresholds like Atmos Platinum (75K threshold) or Atmos Titanium (100K threshold). But also at various intermediary thresholds, Atmos members earn Milestone Rewards, which are benefits you can choose to receive from a list.
At the 85K reward level, you can choose a Milestone Reward that lets you award (nominate) someone for Atmos Silver status, which they will retain for a year. At the 100K reward level, which is Titanium, you can do the same but for Atmos Gold status.
To be honest, that’s a lot of flying to do for status perks that are not particularly strong. This doesn’t mean Atmos Silver or Gold are worthless, they just are niche as the main way a Canadian is likely to use them is for their reciprocal status on all Oneworld airlines.
However, if the person to whom you wish to share status with doesn’t normally fly a lot, there is also an avenue to gift Elite status for a single trip. This benefit is a Milestone Reward that can be earned at the 55K level where you can gift Silver status, and/or at the 85K level where you can gift Gold status.
That’s a lot of precious metals to give away!
What is nice about these perks is that, especially for the one-time status gifts, you are granting your giftee the chance to not get dinged for luggage, to breeze through security, and to just be treated better a cut ahead of other passengers. That’s not bad for threshold benefits you may not have used on anything better.
American Airlines AAdvantage
Like most airlines on this list, American Airlines AAdvantage Program also rewards only its most dedicated flyers with the privilege of gifting status.
What’s interesting though is that they tie what you’re able to give to the amount of Loyalty Points you accrue in a given year. Loyalty Points are not the same thing as miles; they are a fancy way of recording how much real cash revenue you’re giving to American Airlines through flying and other partner activities.
So with that out of the way, American grants you the ability to give status once you reach certain Loyalty Point thresholds.
The fun starts at 175,000 Loyalty Points, where you can make two of your favourite people AAdvantage Gold for the year. As you climb higher, the gifts get better. The option to grant a single person Platinum status unlocks at the 400,000, 550,000, and 750,000 point milestones. I don’t have a calculator, but that would translate to a lot of money spent and miles flown.
For the jetsetters, hitting one million points lets you bestow the gift of Platinum Pro status. If you are a CEO and for some reason reading a site called Frugal Flyer, then congratulations on potentially earning at the 3 million and 5 million point levels because that lets you give one very lucky person top-tier Executive Platinum status.
The benefits of each tier are dedicated in the guide I linked to earlier; what is key is that the higher your status, the earlier before takeoff you can be upgraded. Though honestly, I don’t think an airline that is this insistent on making cash revenue is going to be overly generous with free upgrades.
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles
Finally, the last major airline whose program Canadians may be able to earn status in and gift to others is Delta Air Lines’ SkyMiles.
This one works more conventionally and is similar to Air Canada Aeroplan and Alaska Atmos. You get benefits when you reach the Platinum or Diamond Medallion statuses, which once again are the highest ones available. Expect to spend bigly.
On the plus side, you get to award status to not one, but two other people. Platinum gets to award two Silver Medallions, Diamond two Gold ones.
Both of these are more notable for their priority security, boarding, and free bags, but Silvers can get domestic upgrades up to 24 hours in advance whilst Golds might get it up to 72 hours. As with all North American flights, I’d be wary of relying on these benefits if you want to fly at the front of the plane.
Notably Absent: United MileagePlus and WestJet Rewards
Interestingly, we’re missing both the American flag carrier, United, and the second largest airline in Canada, WestJet and its program
This is no mistake, it appears as if neither airline wants to give people who fly on them a lot the opportunity to gift status to others. In some ways, this is understandable, as it prevents too many “non-flying” elites from being on their aircraft or in aspirational lounges like the Elevation lounge in Calgary.
One good thing is that while you can’t gift United status, you can earn it with Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite status, and we’ll be getting more into that in a moment.
Hotel Programs That Let You Gift Elite Status to Others
Marriott Bonvoy
First up is Marriott Bonvoy, which is to Canadians a bit to hotel loyalty like what Aeroplan is for airline miles. It’s the first point of entry into Miles & Points for many, and is the easiest program to actively participate in.
This one is easy. Every year, if you earn Platinum or Titanium, one benefit you can select is to reward a loved one with Silver or Gold status, respectively. Be aware of the opportunity cost: to give this benefit, you must forego another one such as getting 5 free Elite Qualifying Nights.
I’d argue that of the two, Gold status is actually worth more and is the only real point at which Marriott ever starts treating you like an Elite, assuming they bother doing so. It’s not known for being great within North America due to credit card-induced elite inflation. Speaking of elite inflation, any Marriott co-branded credit card like the American Express Bonvoy Card gives instant Silver.
You can look forward to free wifi and potentially late checkout or a room upgrade with Gold, so it’s not that bad. It does come with premium credit cards like the Amex Platinum, though.
Hilton Honors
Hilton Honors has a straightforward gifting system, but it requires a discerning eye to find the real value.
After staying 60 nights in a calendar year, you can gift Gold status. This is not a great prize because Hilton Gold is notoriously easy to obtain–it’s a standard perk on premium credit cards available in Canada via the aforementioned Platinum Card. If you stay 60 nights in a year, great, but don’t go out of your way to grant a friend something they could get from a single card application (or which could be granted to a supplementary cardholder).
The real prize is unlocked after staying a whopping 100 nights in a year. At this level, you can gift the top-tier Diamond status. Now we’re talking. This is a legitimately valuable gift that provides a shot at suite upgrades, waives resort fees, and, most importantly, executive lounge access and/or breakfast for the recipient. It’s one of the few gifted hotel statuses that can truly transform someone’s stay. If 100 nights is too much, then those in the US game can get it via the Hilton Aspire.
The American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card offers benefits that include a $200 semi-annual Hilton Resort credit, a quarterly $50 airline credit, instant Hilton Honors Diamond Elite status, an annual free night certificate, and more.
Check out our American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card review for more details.
175,000 Hilton Honors points
$6,000
$1,050+
$550
No
Jan 14, 2026
IHG
IHG Rewards is the simplest choice on this list. Only Diamond Elite members can gift a free Platinum status to someone else. Platinum status comes with late checkout, but most importantly a Welcome Amenity which can include free breakfast.
It’s also relatively easy to get with Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Business Card or Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Card.
If you stay in IHG hotels a lot and thus stumble your way into this benefit, go ahead and gift it. Those credit cards both come with instant platinum and cost $99 USD a year though, so it’s not the best value.
Wyndham
Last on this list is Wyndham Rewards. Only its Platinum Elites can award Gold Elite status. The thing is, it’s very easy to earn Gold Elite status as it only requires 5 elite qualifying nights. With the “stay for 1, get 2” elite night promos the company often runs, you can easily earn yourself Gold Elite status if you need to pull into a side-of-the-road Ramada once or twice a year.
So overall, the thought is nice, but it’s a lot harder to earn Platinum status and gift Gold than it is to just get Gold organically.
Honourable Mention: World of Hyatt
Last on this list is the World of Hyatt program. It’s an honourable mention because it won’t let you grant its frankly fantastic status to other travellers. However, it will let you grant the Guest of Honor perk to another guest if you stay at least 40 nights, or earn 65,000 base points, in a given year. Hyatt Globalists can also extend this to anyone they book a room for using their points or free night award for, making Globalist a sought-after status for a reason.
Guests of Honor can expect the red carpet including:
- Room upgrades (up to a standard suite)
- 4:00 PM late checkout
- Free breakfast
- Lounge access
- Waived resort and destination fees
- Free parking (on award stays only)
Not bad for no gifted status, huh?
Conclusion
So, what’s the final verdict on gifting elite status?
As we’ve seen, it’s a privilege almost exclusively reserved for the top-tier elites who spend a serious amount of time and money on the road. For most people, chasing a higher status tier just for the ability to gift it is probably not worth the effort.
Ultimately, if your travel patterns already place you in the elite stratosphere, gifting status is a phenomenal way to share the perks. It’s a generous reward for your loyalty and a surefire way to become your friends’ and family’s favourite traveller. We hope that you’ve found today’s article helpful in doing so.
Kirin Tsang
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