As Air Canada continues to phase out Aeroplan, they are putting more emphasis on creating their own loyalty program. Air Canada already has an elite qualifying program called Altitude. Some changes were made to their earning options in their Economy fare pricing. Some of the highlights are as follows:
It has been over a year since this post was lasted updated. With some changes to their airline partners and an upgrade to the co-branded RBC credit card, this post is due for an update.
Expiry Policy
First of all, one change that I was hoping for has yet to occur. The expiry policy for Asia Miles continues to be 36 months after your miles are deposited. This means that you need to redeem your miles within 36 months of being deposited unless the member pays $40 USD for every 2,000 miles to renew for another 3 years. That means, you will be paying 2 cents for every mile that you want to renew. Not worth it to me.
A press release just came out announcing that Aeroplan is teaming up with Amazon.ca, effective April 24, 2018. Just when we thought Aeroplan was taking a nose-dive, they came out with a strong response.
Note that you can earn Aeroplan miles through their shopping portal. Below are the steps:
Effective May 31, 2018, Esso stations will no longer issue Aeroplan miles. The current earning options are as follows:
I have been a fan of Aurora Rewards since it was launched. Unfortunately, they have a very niche market, but if you do travel within these destinations frequently, you will definitely want to have Aurora Rewards in your frequent flyer portfolio. Right now, you can earn 3x the points on select routes:
Aeroplan has a strong relationship with Costco in Canada, that allows you to earn bonus miles.
First of all, there is a current promotion where referring a friend to sign up for a Costco membership can both earn bonus Aeroplan miles. This offer runs until August 31, 2018:
RBC Rewards is once again offering a 15% transfer bonus to WestJet between February 1, 2018 and February 28, 2018, so we are already halfway through the promotion. We have seen 25% transfer bonuses before, but I highly doubt we will see those generous days any time soon. For WestJet, 15% seems to be the bonus for the foreseeable future. At this point, I am just glad that there is even a bonus offer.
In Canada, after Aeroplan, I would say, British Airways’ Executive Club Avios are the easiest miles to collect without flying. Canadian financial institutions offer a wide range of options to earn Avios. Personally I have an Executive Club account and I rack up most of my Avois through transfer partners and taking advantage of transfer bonuses (see below).
Aimia is a data-driven marketing and loyalty analytics company that owns frequent flyer program, Aeroplan. Not only do they own Aeroplan, but they also own other minor loyalty programs.
Delta Air Lines is one of the most prominent foreign airlines that flies through Canada. That being said, I would be more than happy if they continued to expand their presence here. Today, I will provide an updated rundown on Delta’s rewards program, SkyMiles for Canadians.
Expiry Policy
Delta SkyMiles is one of the rare programs that do not have an expiry policy, regardless of activity. So I am more than happy to give them my business.