Air Canada has now released details of their new revamped Aeroplan rewards program which starts on November 8th, 2020. With this transformation, Air Canada hopes to make Aeroplan a more rewarding travel program for it’s members.
The airline has indicated that for current Aeroplan members, the transition to the new program should be simple and straightforward. To begin, Aeroplan miles will be renamed to “Aeroplan points”. For existing Aeroplan members, their balance will be converted 1:1 from miles to points and their Aeroplan number will stay the same. Also, members can still make a flight booking or check their account at aeroplan.com until Nov 8th, 2020.
There are many new exciting features and benefits for this updated Aeroplan but in this article, I wanted to discuss some of the highlights of the new program.
Better seat availability
A common complaint among Aeroplan members is the lack of flight availability with blackout dates and restrictions. This will no longer be an issue with the new Aeroplan program as members will be able to redeem points for every Air Canada seat that’s available to buy in cash.
Thus, members will have the ability to redeem points for a flight on any date and for any cabin class as long as there’s a seat available for purchase. No restrictions and no blackout dates!
Also, currently Aeroplan shows flight search results in 2 different sections called Fixed Mileage Flights Rewards and Market Fare Flight Rewards. With the new program, Air Canada will remove this distinction and make it much simpler to search for flight award availability.
No more carrier surcharges
This is a great improvement on the part of Air Canada! All Aeroplan flight redemptions have taxes and fees to pay. Currently, Air Canada and some Star Alliance partners (like Lufthansa & Austrian Airlines) include an additional fee called a fuel or carrier-imposed surcharge (YQ) when redeeming miles for a flight. This fee could be an additional $280 to $500 to pay on top of the necessary taxes and airport fees!
The exciting news is that with the new Aeroplan program, Air Canada will eliminate carrier surcharges even on partner airlines!
Although, there will be a new $39 partner booking fee (per ticket) when redeeming Aeroplan points on partner airlines (like Lufthansa or United Airlines). This fee is significantly lower than regular carrier surcharges so it’s a welcome improvement from Air Canada.
Pool your points with Aeroplan family sharing
Currently with Aeroplan, individuals have their own separate account and can’t combine their points with other family members.
So to remedy this issue, Air Canada is introducing Aeroplan Family Sharing which will allow families and households to pool their Aeroplan points together. Up to 8 people can join a family account and all points earned by members are combined into a shared balance.
Plus, another great feature is that if a member has Aeroplan elite status or is a Aeroplan credit cardholder, everyone else in his/her group also benefits from their preferred pricing! In essence this means that everyone in the family group can redeem fewer points for a flight!
This Air Canada video explains more about Family Sharing.
New Aeroplan award charts
With the new Aeroplan program, Air Canada is introducing new pricing for flight rewards. The number of Aeroplan points required for a flight will depend on the travel zone and the distance traveled.
First off, Air Canada will have 4 travel zones for award flights: North America, South America, Atlantic & Pacific.
Air Canada has award charts for flights within each zone and flights between one zone and another. I’ve posted a link below to view (or download) all 9 award charts.
Distance based award charts
Secondly, the Aeroplan price will depend on the distance (in miles) between your origin and destination. For example, within the North America zone, the distance bands are 0 to 500 miles, 501 to 1,500 miles, 1,501 to 2,750 miles and 2,751 miles plus.
Finally, the exact number of Aeroplan points required will depend on your cabin class and if you’re flying Air Canada or a partner airline.
For flights with Air Canada, the price you’ll pay in points varies and will be related to the price of the ticket in cash. If a flight is expensive in cash, it’s likely you’ll need more points for the flight redemption (up to a maximum depending on the distance).
On the other hand, flights with partner airlines, will have a fixed price for each distance band and cabin class. Overall, point prices with partners airlines are lower or equal to Air Canada prices. Generally, it will be cheaper in points booking a flight with a partner airline but the trade-off is that you’ll have to pay the extra $39 partner booking fee.
Learn how many points it will require to fly between your origin and destination with the Points Predictor Tool™ on the Air Canada website.
Also, you can learn more about Aeroplan flight rewards with the video below.
Summary
The new Aeroplan program launches on November 8th, 2020 and members will see lots of new features and benefits. Highlights include better seat availability, no more carrier surcharges and the ability to pool points with family members.
In addition, Air Canada will introduce new award charts for flight redemptions. The number of Aeroplan points required for a flight will depend on a variety of factors. This includes the airline (AC or partner), the cabin class, the travel zone and the distance between your origin and destination.
Finally, visit the Air Canada website to learn more details about the new Aeroplan program.
What do you think of the new Aeroplan features and benefits? Let me know in the comments below.
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