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The Aeroplan rewards program (owned by Air Canada) is one of the most popular frequent flyer programs in Canada. It has a wide network of travel and retail partners in addition to 5 million active members across the country. This makes it easy to earn Air Canada rewards at some of Canada’s most popular stores and redeem them for a wide array of travel and merchandise.
Aeroplan works just like any other frequent flyer program. You get a membership card and a membership number, which is linked to any Aeroplan credit card you have. You can then shop for daily purchases with your membership and credit card, or make online purchases through the Aeroplan eStore.
Aeroplan works with 3 main categories of partners:
The value of each individual Aeroplan Point is a subject of hot debate, with estimates ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 cents per point. That said, it’s very difficult to provide an exact estimate because your points will typically be worth different amounts based on the Aeroplan rewards you want to redeem them for.
As a rule of thumb, you’ll usually get a much higher value if you redeem your points for flights and other travel-related purchases. Your points will typically be worth less when you redeem them for items from the Aeroplan rewards catalogue such as merchandise or gift cards. Find out how many points you’ll need to use for flights with Aeroplan’s Points Predictor Tool.
Elite Status members get a ton of extra perks with Aeroplan. These include priority reservation services, VIP treatment at the airport, cabin upgrades, free checked bags and lounge access. Elite members will also earn more points for flights than the average traveler and they can share all of their perks with family members. Based on miles flown, they can also earn up to 11 travel vouchers each year to get as much as 50% off booked flights.
You can sign up for a selection of basic and premium Aeroplan credit cards with CIBC, TD or American Express. Available cards include the following:
CIBC Aeroplan credit cards | TD Aeroplan credit cards | American Express Aeroplan credit cards | |
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Premium cards |
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Basic cards |
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Business cards |
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The number of points you can earn depends on where you spend your money, and whether you have an Aeroplan credit card. You’ll get one Aeroplan Point for every dollar you spend with partners on top of the points you earn when you pay with your Aeroplan credit card. You’ll also get a return of between 0.5 and 1.5 Aeroplan points for every dollar you spend on your credit card at non-partner stores.
So how does this translate to real dollars? Let’s say you want to collect 25,000 points to redeem for a long-haul flight from Toronto to California. You’ll have to spend $25,000 with partner stores to earn this amount with your membership alone. If you have an Aeroplan credit card, you’ll only have to spend $12,500 with partners, or between $16,000 and $25,000 with non-partner stores.
You can earn points faster if you take advantage of Aeroplan promotions. These include the following:
There are a number of ways to maximize the number of points you can earn if you want to make the Air Canada rewards program worth your while.
Once you bank a decent number of points, you can redeem them for travel and merchandise through the Aeroplan rewards catalogue. All you need to do is sign into Aeroplan by entering your nine-digit membership number and password. You can redeem your Aeroplan points in two ways:
Aeroplan reward charts are kind of like “cheat sheets” made by Aeroplan to help you figure out how many Aeroplan flight rewards you’ll have to redeem to fly on popular routes. These charts split Aeroplan travel destinations into 4 different zones: North America, Atlantic, Pacific and South America.
Each zone has its own Aeroplan rewards chart to outline points redemption rates for that zone. The number of points you’ll have to redeem to purchase an Aeroplan flight in that zone will be based on your flight distance and seat class. The charts for each zone are shown in the tables below and can give you a rough idea of how many Aeroplan flight rewards you’ll need to collect before you’re eligible to fly to certain destinations.
The map of Aeroplan zones above is from the Aeroplan website.
Airline | Economy (pts) | Business (pts) | |
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0 – 500 miles | Air Canada | 6,000 – 10,000 | 15,000 – 25,000 |
Partner | 6,000 | 15,000 | |
501 – 1,500 miles | Air Canada | 10,000 – 15,000 | 20,000 – 35,000 |
Partner | 10,000 | 20,000 | |
1,501 – 2,750 miles | Air Canada | 12,500 – 17,500 | 25,000 – 60,000 |
Partner | 12,500 | 25,000 | |
2,751+ miles | Air Canada | 17,500 – 25,000 | 35,000 – 70,000 |
Partner | 22,500 | 35,000 |
The Atlantic Zones include countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Africa. The number of Aeroplan points you’ll have to hand over for flights within this zone range from 35,000 to 100,000 points for a one-way economy ticket.
Airline | Economy (pts) | Business (pts) | First (pts) | |
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0 – 4,000 miles | Air Canada | 35,000 – 60,000 | 60,000 – 160,000 | 90,000 – 180,000 |
Partner | 35,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 | |
4,001 – 6,000 miles | Air Canada | 40,000 – 70,000 | 70,000 – 180,000 | 100,000 – 200,000 |
Partner | 40,000 | 70,000 | 100,000 | |
6,001 – 8,000 miles | Air Canada | 55,000 – 80,000 | 85,000 – 200,000 | 120,000 – 225,000 |
Partner | 55,000 | 85,000 | 120,000 | |
8,001+ miles | Air Canada | 70,000 – 100,000 | 100,000 – 220,000 | 130,000 – 250,000 |
Partner | 70,000 | 100,000 | 130,000 |
The Pacific Zone includes countries in Central and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The average number of Aeroplan points you’ll have to redeem in this zone ranges from 35,000 to 110,000 points for a one-way economy Aeroplan flight.
Airline | Economy (pts) | Business (pts) | First (pts) | |
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0 – 5,000 miles | Air Canada | 35,000 – 65,000 | 55,000 – 150,000 | 90,000 – 200,000 |
Partner | 35,000 | 55,000 | 90,000 | |
5,001 – 7,500 miles | Air Canada | 45,000 – 80,000 | 75,000 – 175,000 | 110,000 – 250,000 |
Partner | 50,000 | 75,000 | 110,000 | |
7,501 – 11,000 miles | Air Canada | 50,000 – 90,000 | 85,000 – 200,000 | 130,000 – 300,000 |
Partner | 60,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 | |
11,001+ miles | Air Canada | 65,000 – 110,000 | 105,000 – 250,000 | 140,000 – 350,000 |
Partner | 75,000 | 105,000 | 140,000 |
The South America zone includes all countries in South America (but it doesn’t include Central American countries such as Panama, Costa Rica or Nicaragua). The number of points you’ll have to hand over for Aeroplan flights within this zone ranges between 30,000 and 70,000 points for a one-way economy fare.
Airline | Economy (pts) | Business (pts) | First (pts) | |
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0 – 4,500 miles | Air Canada | 30,000 – 60,000 | 50,000 – 175,000 | 80,000 – 200,000 |
Partner | 30,000 | 50,000 | 80,000 | |
4,501+ miles | Air Canada | 40,000 – 70,000 | 60,000 – 200,000 | 100,000 – 250,000 |
Partner | 40,000 | 60,000 | 100,000 |
Aeroplan has a number of different destinations you can fly to based on how many Aeroplan flight rewards you’ve collected. Follow these 6 steps to use an Aeroplan rewards chart to trade in your points for your next vacation:
Aeroplan doesn’t offer travel insurance directly, but it does allow you to book insurance quickly and easily through Air Canada’s third-party carrier, RBC Insurance. It’s not possible to redeem your Aeroplan rewards to get this insurance, but you’ll be able to pay a reasonable fee to lock in multiple forms of coverage.
This coverage isn’t explicitly linked to Aeroplan, but is offered to Air Canada passengers at a discounted rate. You can choose from essential emergency medical, travel accident, baggage or flight delay and trip cancellation/interruption insurance. You can also purchase other forms of travel coverage – like car rental insurance – through Aeroplan’s main page.
It may also be useful to note that if you have an Aeroplan credit card, you might already get comprehensive travel insurance as an integrated benefit. Be sure to check whether or not you’re already covered before you spend money to get additional insurance with RBC.
It’s easy to purchase Aeroplan travel insurance when you book with Air Canada. The most common way to do so is by indicating what type of insurance you’d like to book when you cash your points in or pay for your flight online at Aeroplan.com. You can also call Aeroplan directly using its toll-free number if you would like to add travel insurance to your flight after it’s booked.
These are 7 of the most common mistakes you’ll want to avoid in order to get the most out of your Aeroplan rewards:
The Air Canada rewards program lets you earn and redeem points with an Aeroplan membership and a suite of Aeroplan credit cards. Find out more about how you can make the most out of your Air Canada Aeroplan membership and affiliated credit card with this comprehensive guide.
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