[ANALYSIS] Canadian North Aurora Rewards
On March 31, 2014, Canadian North became the latest Canadian airline to have a rewards program, along with Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines. I really welcome this new addition.
The loyalty program is called Aurora Rewards. The points are earned as follows:
| DISTANCE FLOWN EXAMPLE |
FARE TYPE |
BOOKING CODE | FARE CLASS CALCULATION (% of flight mileage) |
POINTS YOU’LL EARN |
| 500 | Super Flex | Y, H, V, P | 125% | 625 |
| 500 | Flex, Corporate, Medical, GN Duty Travel | M, A, T, C, O | 100% | 500 |
| 500 | Saver, PIVUT, Bereavement |
X, L, Q, R, S, B | 25% | 125 |
Amazingly, even on flights that are less than 500 miles in distance, the points are calculated on a minimum of 500 miles, which is amazing, though probably not many of the flights are under 500 miles anyway.
The reward redemption program is quite simple. You can redeem your points for either a short- haul (12,000 points for a short-haul) or a long-haul flight (20,000 points). A short-haul flight is 625 miles and under. Unfortunately there are no one way award flights available yet.
Achieving award status is very straightforward:
| BENEFIT DESCRIPTION | AURORA REWARDS |
AURORA CONCIERGE SILVER |
AURORA CONCIERGE GOLD |
AURORA CONCIERGE DIAMOND |
| Qualifying Points (QPs) | – | 12,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 |
| Qualifying Segments (QSs) | – | 12 | 18 | 30 |
A net feature is that you can earn Aeroplan and Aurora points at the same time for double dipping opportunities for a flight. You just need to provide both your loyalty account numbers at the time of the booking. However you will not be able to transfer your Aurora points into your Aeroplan account.
The expiry policy is not stated on the website. If anyone signs up for the program, feel free to share your experience with the expiry policies below.
This is a very exciting new program and I look forward in seeing what else they will have to offer. We will have another post discussing the details of the elite status program.
Note that there is a current promotion that runs from March 17 – May 31, 2014 where you can earn double the Aeroplan points on Canadian North flights.