Aeroplan Rewards: How to Earn Aeroplan Points & Points Value
What You Should Know
- Aeroplan rewards can be used for booking flights, buying Aeroplan merchandise, and purchasing gift cards.
- There are many ways to earn Aeroplan points, with the most effective being using select Aeroplan and American Express credit cards.
- The best way to redeem Aeroplan points is for flight booking. You can get up to 2.8 cents per 1 Aeroplan point in redemption value on flights.
- Aeroplan loyalty program is one of the most flexible in the industry because it has over 48 airlines and over 250 retail partners.
About Aeroplan - The Air Canada Rewards Program
Aeroplan is Air Canada’s loyalty program. The Aeroplan program allows customers to book flights with Air Canada at significant discounts for various destinations. Aeroplan has over 50 partner airlines, making it one of the most versatile airline loyalty programs in the world.
There are many ways to collect Aeroplan points, including collecting credit card rewards, flying with Air Canada, buying items with Air Canada’s partners, and buying Aeroplan points directly. Earning points through a credit card is arguably the best way to accumulate points fast, but other ways can also supplement the points you receive.
There are also many ways to redeem the Aeroplan points. The best and most common way to redeem Aeroplan points is for flights with Air Canada or partner airlines. The Aeroplan program provides great flexibility in redeeming Aeroplan points by including all available routes, providing a clear price distribution for each route, and allowing for stopovers. Other ways to redeem Aeroplan points include gift cards and merchandise with great deals sometimes.
How to Earn Aeroplan Points
There are many different ways to earn Aeroplan points. Some ways can help you earn many Aeroplan points fast, while others may supplement your points balance with rewards on everyday purchases. The following list provides a detailed description for earning Aeroplan points.
Aeroplan Credit Cards
American Express, TD Bank, and CIBC offer credit cards that earn Aeroplan points. These credit cards earn Aeroplan points for select spending categories and offer welcome bonuses that can be useful to receive many points quickly. Many people use credit card churning techniques with Aeroplan credit cards to accumulate Aeroplan points quickly and cheaply.
| Welcome Bonus | |
|---|---|
AMEX Int. Rate: 20.99% Annual Fee: $599.00 | Up to 85000 Aeroplan points in Welcome Bonus Rewards:
|
CIBC Int. Rate: 20.99% Annual Fee: $599.00 | Up to 80000 Aeroplan points in Welcome Bonus Rewards:
|
TD Bank Int. Rate: 20.99% Annual Fee: $599.00 | Up to 75000 Aeroplan points in Welcome Bonus Rewards:
|
American Express Credit Cards
Most American Express cards earn MR points that can be converted to Aeroplan points with a 1:1 conversion rate. This is a very generous conversion rate, given that American Express credit cards offer up to 5X reward points for every $1 spent. The generous welcome bonuses and rewards make American Express credit cards a very attractive option for earning Aeroplan points.
| Welcome Bonus | |
|---|---|
AMEX Int. Rate: 30% Annual Fee: $799.00 | Up to 100000 AMEX points in Welcome Bonus Rewards:
|
AMEX Int. Rate: 20.99% Annual Fee: $250.00 | Up to 60000 AMEX points in Welcome Bonus Rewards:
|
AMEX Int. Rate: 20.99% Annual Fee: $155.88 | Up to 15000 AMEX points in Welcome Bonus Rewards:
|
Earning Aeroplan Points With Air Canada Flights
Base Points for Air Canada Flights
Air Canada customers with an Aeroplan account can earn points when taking their flights. Aeroplan points the customers get depend on the distance and fare option. Different fare options have different point multipliers. The list of multipliers is in the table below.
Aeroplan Point Multipliers Based on Fare Options
| Fare options | Aeroplan Points Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Business | 150% points |
| Premium Economy | 125% points |
| Latitude | 125% points |
| Comfort | 115% points |
| Flex | 100% points |
| Standard between Canada and the U.S., and Canada and International | 50% points |
| Standard within Canada | 25% points |
| Basic between Canada and International | 25% points |
| Basic between Canada and the U.S. | 25% points |
| Basic within Canada | 10% points |
To calculate the total value of points you get, you also need to know the distance of your trip in miles. You can calculate the total amount of Aeroplan Points using the following formula:
Example - Aeroplan Points for a Flight
Suppose you take a flight from Toronto to New York. Your fare is Premium Economy, which means that your Aeroplan Points Multiplier is 125%. The shortest distance between Toronto and New York is around 343 miles. You should expect to receive around 429 Aeroplan points for this flight.
Bonus Points for Aeroplan Elite Status
Aeroplan Elite Status allows users to earn bonus points on top of base flight points. Aeroplan provides various elite statuses to frequent flyers who accumulate a certain number of Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) or Status Qualifying Segments (SQS) and Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD). The amount of SQM received depends on the distance and the booking class of a flight. A customer's SQM can be calculated as follows:
SQS and SQD are earned similarly to SQM but are counted differently. For example, an SQS counts the number of trip segments while an SQD counts the number of dollars the flight costs. SQM, SQS, and SQD expire every year. Some Aeroplan credit cards allow for the rollover of some status-qualifying credits to make it easier for customers to qualify for elite status next year. Some Aeroplan credit cards also allow customers to earn SQM and SQS based on their credit card spend.
SQM, SQS & SQD Multipliers Based on Booking Class
| Fare | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Standard | Flex | Comfort | Latitude | |||
| SQM | ❌ | 50% | 100% | 115% | 125% | 125% | 150% |
| SQM (Air Canada Vacation Packages) | ❌ | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 125% | 150% |
| SQS | ❌ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| SQD | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Qualifying for elite status helps you to earn more points on top of base points. The following table provides the qualification requirements and the base points multiplier for each Aeroplan Elite Status.
| Elite Status | 25K | 35K | 50K | 75K | Super Elite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification Requirements | |||||
| Flight activity | 25,000 SQM | 35,000 SQM | 50,000 SQM | 75,000 SQM | 100,000 SQM |
| Or | |||||
| 25 SQS | 35 SQS | 50 SQS | 75 SQS | 100 SQS | |
| And | |||||
| $3,000 SQD | $4,000 SQD | $6,000 SQD | $9,000 SQD | $20,000 SQD | |
| Rewards | |||||
| Base Points Bonus | 25% | 35% | 50% | 75% | 100% |
Elite status members can earn bonus points only on eligible flights from the following airlines:
- Air Canada (Express & Rouge)
- Copa Airlines
- United Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Brussels Airlines
- SWISS
Earning Aeroplan Points With Partner Airlines
Aeroplan users can earn points even on partner airlines. Air Canada is a Star Alliance member, allowing customers to earn and redeem points and SQM on all Star Alliance flights. To receive Aeroplan points from partner airlines, you have to put your Aeroplan number when booking or checking in. Aeroplan points can be earned on the following airlines.
Star Alliance Partner Airlines
- Air Canada (AC)
- Brussels Airlines (SN)
- Scandinavian Airlines (SK)
- Aegean Airlines (A3)
- Copa Airlines (CM)
- Shenzhen Airlines (ZH)
- Air China (CA)
- Croatia Airlines (OU)
- Singapore Airlines (SQ)
- Air India (AI)
- EGYPTAIR (MS)
- South African Airways (SA)
- Air New Zealand (NZ)
- Ethiopian Airlines (ET)
- Swiss (LX)
- Nippon Airways (NH)
- EVA Air (BR)
- TAP Portugal (TP)
- Asiana Airlines (OZ)
- Juneyao Airlines
- Thai Airways (TG)
- Austrian Airlines (OS)
- LOT Polish Airlines (LO)
- Turkish Airlines (TK)
- Avianca (AV)
- Lufthansa (LH)
- United Airlines (UA)
Aeroplan program also partners with many non-alliance airlines. Some non-alliance airlines do not provide SQM, but it is possible to earn Aeroplan points from all of them. The list of non-alliance airlines is below.
Non-Star Alliance Partner Airlines
- Aer Lingus (EI)
- Central Mountain Air (9M)
- Olympic Air (OA)
- Air Creebec (YN)
- Emirates (EK)
- Oman Air (WY)
- Air Dolomiti (EN)
- Etihad Airways (EY)
- PAL Airlines
- Air Mauritius (MK)
- Eurowings (EW)
- SriLankan Airlines (UL)
- Azul Brazilian Airlines (AD)
- Eurowings Discover (4Y)
- Virgin Australia (VA)
- Bamboo Airways
- GOL Airlines (G3)
- Vistara (UK)
- Canada North (5T)
- Gulf Air (GF)
- Cathay Pacific (CX)
- Middle East Airlines (ME)
Earning Aeroplan Points With Purchases
Aeroplan e-store allows Aeroplan members to earn points on everyday purchases. They have a wide range of featured retailers that offer Aeroplan points for every dollar spent. This website and a credit card offering Aeroplan points can be powerful. The following snippet shows frequently offered deals.
Converting Other Loyalty Points to Aeroplan Points
American Express is not the only company that allows them to convert their points to Aeroplan points. Multiple loyalty programs around Canada and the US allow conversion to Aeroplan points. The following chart provides a reference to the conversion rate of different loyalty programs to Aeroplan points.
Conversion Rate Chart of Loyalty Programs to Aeroplan Points
| Loyalty Program | Number of Points | Number of Aeroplan Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy* | 3 | For | 1 |
| Hilton Honors | 10000 | 1000 | |
| Accor Live Limitless | 2 | 1 | |
| Best Western | 5 | 1 | |
| Choice Privileges | 5 | 1 | |
| Coast Rewards | 1 | 1 | |
| IHG One Rewards | 5 | 1 | |
| Shangri-La Golden Circle | 1 | 1 | |
| Wyndham Rewards | 5 | 1 |
Source: Air Canada Conversion.
*Marriott Bonvoy provides extra 5000 Aeroplan points for every 60000 Marriott Bonvoy points converted. Thats an extra 25% bonus Aeroplan points!
Other Ways to Earn Aeroplan Points
Over 250 other Aeroplan partners allow you to earn points when shopping with them. These partners include travel, retail, and other businesses. Some of the most notable partners are listed below.
- Uber & Uber Eats: Link your Aeroplan and Uber accounts and earn points on Uber rides for and from any Canadian airport, and Uber Eats on orders over $40. Earn 1 Air Canada flight credit with a value of CAD$20 or CAD$10 (for one-way bookings) for every 10 Uber rides (excluding UberX Share) taken in Canada and the United States.
- LCBO: Earn 1 Aeroplan point for every $4 spent in LCBO retail stores, and earn bonus points on select products.
- Starbucks: Link your Aeroplan and Starbucks Rewards accounts for great offers.
Buying Aeroplan Points
One of the ways to get Aeroplan points is to buy them. Buying Aeroplan points should be used as a last resort because they are expensive. Every point costs 3.5 cents. To compare, you can convert AMEX points to Aeroplan points at 1:1. One AMEX point is worth 1 cent, so the worth of an Aeroplan point can be estimated as 1 cent. Buying Aeroplan points may only be worth it if you are missing a few thousand points for a flight discount you need to secure as soon as possible.
How to Redeem Aeroplan Points
On Air Canada And Partner Flights
The best way to redeem Aeroplan points is for the flights. By booking flights, you can redeem Aeroplan points at up to 2.8 cents for every point. More specifically, Aeroplan points for business class flights can be redeemed for an average of 2.8 cents per point and up to 4 cents per point. Aeroplan points for economy class flights can be redeemed for up to 1.7 cents per point.
The number of points you must pay depends greatly on the departure, destination areas, and seat class. Generally, buying Air Canada flights with points is worth it for short-distance flights and long-distance flights in business class because the redemption value is generally higher. You can choose your departure and destination areas to estimate how many points you would have to redeem for the flight.
Aeroplan Sweet Spots
Aeroplan’s award chart bins different zones and distances into different categories. This means that two similar flights that differ in distance by some miles may have a significant difference in price. Sweet spots allow Aeroplan customers to save on journeys by finding the most optimal travel packages. Sometimes it may even be worth changing the destination airport to get the sweet spot deal.
Aeroplan Stopovers
Aeroplan program has one of the most generous stopover policies in the industry. It allows the traveler to stay for up to 45 days in one of the cities on the way to their destination. This limit applies to one-way flights, meaning you can do it twice on a round-trip ticket.
The stopover costs only 5000 points to add, and they can be booked with the Air Canada website when you select Multi-City/Stopover booking. You can book a stopover anywhere except Canada and the US.
Example: Aeroplan Stopover Flight
Let’s say you want to travel from Toronto, Canada to Tokyo, Japan. Before arriving in Tokyo, you would like to stay for a few days in New Delhi, India. The flight from Toronto departs on April 15, 2024, and the flight from New Delhi departs on April 23, 2024. We can compare the cost of a stopover flight package or a combination of 2 separate flights.
Stopover Flight Details
Separate Flights Details
Toronto - New Delhi Flight Details:
New Delhi - Tokyo Flight Details:
Stopover Package & Separate Flights Price Comparison
| Stopover Flight Package | Points | 50000 | 65000 | 80000 |
| CAD$ | $699.46 | $414.46 | $129.46 | |
| Toronto - New Delhi Flight | Points | 33000 | 44000 | 55000 |
| CAD$ | $522.46 | $313.46 | $104.46 | |
| New Delhi - Tokyo Flight | Points | 24000 | 32000 | 40000 |
| CAD$ | $383.20 | $223.60 | $64.00 | |
| Total Cost of Separate Tickets | Points | 57000 | 76000 | 95000 |
| CAD$ | $905.66 | $537.06 | $168.46 | |
| Savings With a Stopover | Points | 7000 | 11000 | 15000 |
| CAD$ | $206.20 | $122.60 | $39.00 | |
This comparison shows that a flight with a stopover package allows us to save thousands of points and hundreds of dollars depending on the option we choose.
Aeroplan Merchandise
Aeroplan e-store allows Aeroplan members to buy items with their points. Generally, buying merchandise is not the best way to redeem points. The value of points is usually much lower when buying merchandise than when buying a flight ticket. Aeroplan e-store has certain promotions that increase the value of the points for select products, but the value only reaches up to just above 1 cent per 1 point. Redeeming points for flights is a much better deal most of the time.
Example: Buying Merchandise With Aeroplan Points
One of the best Aeroplan merchandise deals currently available is for the Birks Muse Monogram Bangle, which sells for $420 + tax. Aeroplan e-store offers the bracelet for 19,250 Aeroplan points & $210 + tax or for 38,500 Aeroplan points.
We can calculate the Aeroplan points value with the following steps:
1. Estimate the total price after tax. Note that the tax is applied only on dollar purchases.
Total Price of the Aeroplan Merchandise
| Payment Option | Payment | Price | Tax | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAD$ Only | CAD$ | $420.00 | $54.60 | $474.60 |
| Mixed | Points | 19250 | 19250 | |
| CAD$ | $210.00 | $27.30 | $237.30 | |
| Points Only | Points | 38500 | 38500 |
2. Compare the discount each Aeroplan point provides. The discount per Aeroplan point would equal the redeemed value of each point.
Aeroplan Point Redemption Value on Aeroplan Merchandise
| Payment Option | Points | Discount | Aeroplan Point Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed | 19250 | $237.30 | $0.0123 |
| Points Only | 38500 | $474.60 | $0.0123 |
The calculations above show that the Aeroplan Point Redemption value for the bracelet is around 1.23 cents. This is a relatively high redemption value, but it is not close to the redemption value for booking flights.
The Aeroplan Family Sharing
Creating new Aeroplan Family Accounts is currently suspended.
Aeroplan loyalty program allows families to pool their points. Up to 8 family members can join together to share their points while keeping their own accounts. Even though this is not technically a point redemption, maximizing the point value with family members can be useful.
If one member has points to spend but no flights to book, they may have to redeem their points at a low value. On the other hand, if the other family member has a flight to book, they can pool their points and redeem them for a better value.
Aeroplan Points for Gift Cards
One of the worst ways to redeem Aeroplan points is for gift cards. The redemption rate for the gift cards is almost always very low, around 0.7 cents for every 1 Aeroplan point. This is usually the lowest rate you can redeem Aeroplan points for. Even with occasional deals for gift cards, the redemption value of 1 Aeroplan point never surpasses 1 cent. The only exception is Air Canada gift cards, which have a flat redemption rate of 1 cent for 1 Aeroplan point.
Aeroplan Fees & Limitations
Booking flights with Aeroplan points comes with certain fees that users should consider. Generally, these fees are applied only to certain situations and are quite transparent.
- Partner Booking Fee (CAD$39): Applies to flight reward reservations that include a flight operated by an airline other than Air Canada, Air Canada Express, or Air Canada Rouge.
- Change Fee (CAD$100): Applies to the basic flight reward reservations. Usually, these fees are waived for higher than basic flight packages, but the cheapest flights booked with Aeroplane points will have a change fee of CAD$100.
- Cancellation Fee (CAD$150): Applies to most flight reward reservations except the premium flight packages. Usually, this fee is waived for the most expensive flight packages, but other flights booked with Aeroplane points will have a cancellation fee of CAD$150.
- Infant Fees (CAD$25 or 2,500 Aeroplan Points): Applies to flights outside Canada and the US. Unlike other loyalty programs, Aeroplan charges a flat fee of CAD$25 or 2,500 for an infant. Flights within Canada and between Canada and the US do not have that fee.