Canadians may already be at least somewhat familiar with the Aeroplan rewards program introduced by Air Canada. The loyalty program was recently bought back by Air Canada, and it has many wondering about how to use it to your best advantage.
Here, I’ll discuss the three best tricks you can know. Whether you’ve been using it for years or are just getting started, these Aeroplan tricks are definitely ones to keep in your savings arsenal.
1. Book with the revamped Aeroplan
It should already be obvious that Air Canada is the best way to start collecting Aeroplan points. Instead of booking with the cheapest airline, make sure you’re booking flights with either Air Canada or Star Alliance partners. You can still find cheap flights and will collect points in the meantime for free flights in the future!
But know this: the revamped Aeroplan comes into effect next week on Nov. 8. While there is some bad news of higher redemption rates, there’s a significant update of no surcharges! So, overall, it’s a far better deal. As an example, it will take about 100,000 points to equal about $87.
2. Use family pooling
Aeroplan family sharing isn’t new, but the new program basically is. Air Canada built it from the ground up, making it easier to redeem, collect points, and prevent “gaming.” Up to eight people in your family can join an account, including yourself. You can then pool your points, even those collected before creating the shared account.
What’s really great about the program is, if someone has elite status or a cobranded credit card like the TD Visa Aeroplan credit card. Other family members can take advantage of the higher point collection, along with preferred pricing. Whoever collects the most points would take the “Family Lead” position, basically making them the owner of the account. There’s no cost to join the program, and everyone takes advantage. It’s a win-win for everyone!
3. Add a stopover
It’s been a long time since you’ve been able to travel, so why not take advantage of it? With Aeroplan rewards, you can now add stopovers for just 5,000 points! This is a maximum for one stopover per one-way trip, or two stop overs per round-trip. However, you cannot do this within North America.
But given the value of how many points you need to book a trip, this can be an incredible add on. Let’s say you already used 300,000 points to get to Spain; you can add a stopover in Portugal for just 5,000 points. That’s an absolute steal and worth only about $4. $4 for a trip to Portugal? I’m in.
Bottom line
Aeroplan is coming up with some significant changes under Air Canada. And that’s just in time for holiday travel. With more sun destinations, holiday travel, and family and friends’ bookings, it’s a great time to look into joining Aeroplan. By taking advantage of the new Aeroplan, family pooling, and the stopover feature, you can start traveling for the lowest price possible. And frankly, it’s about time.
