Comments on: How To Use Aeroplan Points

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:32:15 +0000

It seems like I never have any luck booking with Aeroplan travel online. It is either the date I have selected are not available or they give you the crappiest schedule. Then you have the option to pick a better schedule which cost you more than double or triple the aeroplan miles. I have been meaning to book a trip for the past 2 years and never able to land one. Am I doing something wrong? I have about 150,000. I remember the day where I can book a trip to Vegas from Toronto for about 25,000 points.

By: Ross Probert

Ross Probert — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:23:32 +0000

We have used the Aeroplan program for numerous long haul flights over the years with consistant success. Unfortunately the US Star Alliance partner is United. They have to rank among the worst airlines. I am concerned about the economic viability of AC in the long term. They are reported to be choking on poor fuel hedges and pension liabilities.
Aeropln should add Westjet to their options before WJ brings out the own plan.

By: Carl Pentilchuk

Carl Pentilchuk — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:52:32 +0000

Regarding use of aeroplan points for flights, your comments about having to book 1 year in advance, etc. don’t at all reflect my experience.
My experinece has be that, when flexible (even a day or two) on travel dates I have had excellent success. For instance both last summer and this summer I secured flights when booking 6 weeks or less in advance of departure date.
In 2 weeks I fly to Whitehorse (from Kamloops) for a major 3 week kayaking adventure. I booked the flight on June 7th for July 17th departure …..and the “cost” was 15,000 points.
No question, I’m a satisfied Aeroplan member – for over 25 years.

By: randy

randy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:40:45 +0000

We use our Aeroplan points for flights.

My spouse is a teacher so we must travel in the summer. When the cost of flights are high, it seems to us that is the best or highest return on using say 120,000 points for us to fly to Rome return from the west coast.

It seems to me that if you don’t fly in peak season that one might be better of with a card which gives cash back. Recently, at least one card provides more than 1% back and it has a rising scale for big spenders.

An article on the worst value cards compared to the best cash back cards might be of interest to readers.

By: Barry Millman

Barry Millman — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:29:20 +0000

The article’s comment about not using Aeroplan miles for travel is confusing.

We recently used our Aeroplan points to go to Hawaii from Ottawa (round trip). We called the Aeroplan line and paid the $30 for the service for each ticket.

They found us flights for 40,000 Aeroplan miles each person, round trip.

I highly recommend the telephone service and didn’t mind the $30 charge at all. It was a great trip.

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By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:22:16 +0000

Nobleea – It says right on their website that the cards expire after 12 months. Maybe there are exceptions to the expiry rule?

Shaynepathum – I agree that flights are the best bang for your buck but you do have to book pretty far in advance. I may have exaggerated a bit when I said “1 year”.

Jerry – I can’t disagree with your math but I have absolutely zero use for a short-haul flight. In fact I doubt I’ll be doing any flying for the next few years which is why I’m not actively accumulating points anymore.

I guess the moral of the story is to analyse the rewards programs along with your own behaviour and make sure pick the one that benefits you the most.

By: Jerry Hung

Jerry Hung — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:10:03 +0000

Mike your 32,000 miles can give you 2 short-haul flights (say Toronto-Montreal). Say each flight is $170 + $80 taxes (usually it’s more than $170 while the surcharge/tax stay the same), you should come out ahead than the gift cards

This is always a heated topic, as well as AC vs WestJet
but despite not a big fan of AC and AE, I do agree, best use for AE miles is Business class for long-haul flights (so 75000 miles can redeem you a ~$1500 flight to Asia, 100000 miles can redeem a $4000 biz flight to Asia, 120000 miles can be $6000 first class to Asia)

Usually you don’t need to book 1 year ahead unless you’re on some very popular route (YYZ-Sydney for one, or YYZ-Tokyo NRT)

By: Shaynepathum

Shaynepathum — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:08:40 +0000

Good post Mike. I use my Aeroplan points exclusively for flights between Vancouver and Toronto. In my opinion, flights offer the best bang for ‘points’ compared to any other merchandise or gift cards. This is taking into consideration the annual CIBC Aerogold VISA fees ($120) and the fees and taxes I pay when booking a flight on Air Canada. In 2.5 years since I had the card, I have booked 5 return flights between Vancouver and Toronto. I figure that with 25000 points it cost to book such a ticket, the savings are at least $300 but likely about $350 – 400 (better than your dining card example). Furthermore, I have never booked flights more than 5 months in advance to get this rate with points. I have heard that collecting enough points to book international flights is even a better deal than domestic flights. But we don’t fly overseas that often.