Air Canada’s loyalty program, Aeroplan, is a favourite amongst award vacationers, and for good motive. It is simple to earn Aeroplan factors, and the redemption charges are nice, with loads of candy spots.
Not like some main U.S. loyalty packages, Aeroplan’s award chart hasn’t disappeared fully, and the lengthy checklist of airline redemption companions is spectacular (and has continued to develop). Plus, Aeroplan is a extremely helpful awards program because the airline is a part of Star Alliance. Due to this fact, we have rounded up the perfect methods to make use of Air Canada Aeroplan factors for max worth.
How one can redeem Aeroplan factors
You may redeem Aeroplan factors for flights to greater than 1,300 locations on greater than 50 airline companions worldwide. Companions embrace Star Alliance carriers and a few non-alliance companions like Azul Brazilian Airways, Bamboo Airways and Etihad Airways. Plus, you’ll be able to combine and match companions as you see match, which will be helpful if award availability is difficult to return by.
Aeroplan’s award chart is effective for short-haul economic system flights or worldwide premium-cabin seats, significantly on accomplice airways.
Air Canada’s flights have variable pricing to make each considered one of its seats out there for award reserving. Associate awards have a hard and fast value based mostly on a chart, and seats could also be restricted.
The Aeroplan program makes use of a hybrid award chart, factoring within the distance you fly and the departure and arrival areas.
Flights inside North America
The chart beneath exhibits the one-way award prices for Aeroplan awards inside North America, with round-trip awards out there for double the price.
One of the best candy spot right here is for the short-haul economic system flights lower than 500 miles on United Airways and Air Canada, which price as little as 6,000 factors. TPG values Aeroplan factors at 1.5 cents every, so 6,000 factors are value $90. Routes underneath 500 miles embrace most flights inside the Northeast of the US and to and from Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ).
Quick-haul flights, resembling one-way flights from Montreal-Trudeau Worldwide Airport (YUL) to Washington’s Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD), will be extremely costly. You may e book these awards for six,000 to 10,000 Aeroplan factors.
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Longer economic system flights inside North America usually value out between 10,000 and 12,500 factors every approach, across the business common. The exception is flights over 2,751 miles, resembling from the East Coast to Hawaii, which vary between 17,500 and 25,000 factors. The advantage of utilizing Aeroplan is the versatile switch choices you’ve got for incomes factors within the first place.
Associated: 6 award chart candy spots that may prevent cash on home flights
Journey to Europe
Aeroplan shines with award charges for long-haul journey — much more so now that Aeroplan has eradicated gas surcharges. Up to now, you would have paid near $1,000 every approach in charges for a premium-cabin award from the U.S. to Europe, consuming away on the worth of your “free” award, however that is not the case anymore.
Typically, when touring from the continental U.S. to Europe on considered one of Air Canada’s companions, you may pay 35,000 to 40,000 factors for economic system, 60,000 to 70,000 factors for enterprise and 90,000 to 100,000 factors for top notch. To offer you a greater thought, a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is roughly 3,900 miles, placing it within the first pricing band. In the meantime, a flight from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) to Frankfurt is about 5,800 miles, which falls within the second band.
This implies you’ll be able to e book enterprise class from the East Coast of the US to most of Western Europe for simply 60,000 factors (or simply 70,000 factors from the West Coast).
That is decrease than what you’ll now be charged for a similar flights utilizing United Airways MileagePlus miles following this system’s 2023 devaluation.
Associated: 5 of the perfect methods to redeem 75,000 Air Canada Aeroplan factors
Journey to Asia
You may also get nice offers heading west. Associate awards between North America and the Pacific price 35,000 to 75,000 factors in economic system, 55,000 to 105,000 in enterprise and 90,000 to 140,000 in top notch, relying on the space.
Take, as an example, a flight from Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) operated by All Nippon Airways. This route is just below 5,000 miles in distance; due to this fact, a business-class ticket would price 55,000 factors. Money fares are normally upward of $3,000 every approach, yielding a worth of over 5 cents per level, which is phenomenal.
Associated: Is EVA Air enterprise class value it on the Boeing 787-10?
Use Aeroplan for household journey
Aeroplan is without doubt one of the finest loyalty packages for households. Other than the household factors pooling characteristic, Aeroplan fees a few of the lowest charges for touring with a lap toddler. Toddler awards are free for journey wholly inside Canada and between Canada and the US and price simply 25 Canadian {dollars} ($19) or 2,500 Aeroplan factors for all different itineraries.
You may also add stopovers for simply 5,000 factors every. You may add one stopover for every one-way journey and two for every round-trip itinerary. Simply be aware that flights inside North America aren’t eligible for stopovers.
One other beauty of Aeroplan is that it provides an extremely dependable search engine for Star Alliance award availability. Aeroplan additionally highlights mixed-cabin itineraries, so there is no confusion about what class of service you are reserving. Moreover, Aeroplan’s reserving engine was designed to attenuate phantom award availability — a reasonably frequent downside previously.
How one can earn Aeroplan factors
The simplest option to earn numerous Air Canada Aeroplan factors is with the proper bank card.
New Aeroplan® Credit score Card candidates can presently earn 60,000 factors after spending $3,000 within the first three months from account opening.
TPG values Aeroplan factors at 1.5 cents every, making this sign-up bonus value $900.
Regardless of such a helpful welcome bonus, the Chase Aeroplan card has an annual payment of simply $95.
With triple factors in a number of classes, month-to-month bonus factors, assertion credit, Aeroplan elite standing and discounted award pricing, that is an extremely helpful card, particularly if you happen to ever fly Air Canada.
Aeroplan switch companions
You may also switch the next bank card rewards to Aeroplan at a 1:1 switch ratio:
Which means that the next playing cards all presently provide robust welcome bonuses with rewards that you would be able to switch to your Aeroplan account:
Learn extra: Why transferable factors are value greater than different rewards
Backside line
Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program provides strong redemption charges, versatile stopovers and no gas surcharges. This implies you will get some wonderful offers on award tickets. It additionally companions with most of the largest transferable-points packages, so you could be sitting on numerous rewards that may finally develop into Aeroplan factors.
Remember the precious Aeroplan bank card that provides loads of advantages, particularly if you happen to fly with Air Canada.
As main packages swap to totally dynamic pricing with eye-watering redemption charges, Air Canada’s Aeroplan program stays an underrated and helpful possibility to your subsequent factors redemption.
