Making the most of your Aeroplan points

Aeroplan online retail partners

There are quite a few popular retailers, including Amazon, Apple, Chapters, Under Armour, Rail Europe, and many, many more. All you do is access your shop of choice through Aeroplan, and you will earn points on your entire purchase (double if you use an Aeroplan credit card).

Additionally, they often have special offers that can multiply your points earned, so if you are not in a rush, wait for bonus points to maximize my reward (see the image as an example). 

If you fly for work, even if your employer paid for the flight, you, as the traveller, get the points, so make sure to add that number to your itinerary.

Tip: You can add your reward number to any Air Canada flight up until departure day, so even if you forgot or were not a member at the time of purchase, you can still catch up. If you do happen to forget, you can request missing points on this page.

Tips for using the points

Use them on shorter flights, the ones that cost under 45,000 points. That’s still a lot of destinations, and they have lower taxes (typically under $200) with a lot of direct flight options. Longer flights (such as Europe) use a lot more points, while you can get those flights on sale for much less in cash.

If there is a good seat sale, take that into consideration. For example, flying to Vancouver is generally not cheap, so if the seat sale is under $400, cash will be a better spend than points.

Tips for earning points 

It is important to remember that not all fairs are equal. On Air Canada, you can earn 100% points and SQM on your spend with Flex Fair. Standard fare earns 25% points and 50% SQM, while Basic only earns 10% points and no SQM. The Basic fare is the cheapest but earns basically no rewards and allows zero changes; you cannot even apply upgrade credits to it. It is important to note that these rules do change, so check AirCanada.com to see what the earnings are on the day of your booking.

Ways to maximise your earnings

• Combine your points with those of other family members to have a shared points pull. More about Aeroplan family sharing here.
• Transfer points from other programs you know you won’t cash in. For example, you can convert your Marriott Bonvoy Points to Aeroplan: 3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 Aeroplan point. See the full list of possible conversions here.

Status perks and discounts

Since the program revamp status is easier to reach, even the first level, 25K, offers plenty of amazing benefits. There are core perks of the level, and some that you can choose from based on your goals (free stuff or expedited points earning). Currently 25k status level offers complementary preferred seats, priority airport check-in, two complementary checked bags, priority boarding, and 5 eUpgrade credits.

eUpgrade credits

eUpgrade credits are a really cool perk because you can use them to upgrade to a higher cabin. When avaialbel, you request the desired upgrade using your eUpgrade credits, for example, 3 credits to upgrade to business class. In some instances, there is an additional cash fee, stated upfront. The upgrade is not guaranteed, but it is very possible. You can be notified a few days before or even at the last minute during boarding. In the past, I’ve been able to upgrade to flat-lay business using only 3 credits and no cash (Toronto to Cancun), or 3 credits to premium economy, Toronto to Paris.

Aeroplan support

It’s no secret that Air Canada support is, well, not the best, but when you book on points, you get Aeroplan support, and they are much, much more useful – loyalty goes a long way. I once had to reschedule 2 flights over one weekend due to a snowstorm and still got home in time for a good night’s sleep before work on Monday.