Airlines (Reward Programs)

Preview of Top 3 Features of Air Canada’s Revamped Aeroplan Program

ByMatt

Air Canada announced the features and benefits of its refreshed Aeroplan loyalty program, along with the additional benefits that come with TD, CIBC and American Express affiliated credit cards that will come into effect in November 8, 2020. We will be discussing the credit card benefits in another post.

In today’s post, I ranked my top 3 changes based on my level of excitement. You’ll also probably notice that it is probably also ranked as top current Aeroplan complaints.

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Current Frequent Flyer Miles and Hotel Points Expiry Extensions

ByMatt

See also: COVID-19 Updates for our most up-to-date tracking. 

Things have evolved quite a bit since March 2020 when the coronavirus lockdowns hit the travel industry. As time went on, airline and hotel program made adjustments to stay afloat. They also tried to make things more generous for customers, while trying to juggle their balance sheet.

Many people would argue that airlines would get government bailouts anyway, so all they really need to do is sit back and relax. Whether true or not, today’s post focuses on extensions given to member account balances. Several of those extensions have now expired, while some programs made some more permanent changes to their expiry policies.

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Aeroplan Expiry Policy Extended from 12 months to 18 months

ByMatt

Aeroplan initially paused Aeroplan miles expiry until July 14, 2020. When that came to an end, a few days later, on July 20, 2020, Aeroplan announced that it will be expanding its expiry policy from 12 months to 18 months. Basically miles continue to stay active as long as there is an activity, i.e. earn or redeem. 

Since we are this topic, here is a quick recap of their current policies due to the pandemic. Also note that we have a page that is continually updated found on the menu bar called COVID-19 Updates. 

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Air Canada and Azul Brazilian Airlines Partner Up!

ByMatt

Air Canada seems to be hard at work, after teaming up with Etihad, they are not welcoming Azul Brazilian Airlines (Azul) as its newest travel partners. Effective today (July 8, 2020), Aeroplan Members can earn and redeem Aeroplan miles for travel (all cabins) with Azul. 

Azul is a Brazilian carrier based in São Paulo that operates a fleet of 145 aircraft including two-class Airbus A330s. 

Below is the Aeroplan accrual chart for flights operated by Azul.

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50% Off Aeroplan Canada/US Reward Redemption

ByMatt

Effective today, June 17, 2020 to July 1, 2020, trips booked from July 1, 2020 to October 15, 2020, qualify for a 50% miles back promotion for Air Canada flights within Canada or to the United States.  

Our friend over at Prince of Travel did a great job breaking down the offer: 
Aeroplan’s Best-Ever Redemption Offer: 50% Miles Back in Canada & US!

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Recap of Miles and Points Temporary Extensions

ByMatt

Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, airline and hotel loyalty programs have paused/extended expiry policies to their miles and points. Today’s post is a current snapshot of the state of these programs. 

Please note that we ongoingly update our COVID-19 updates page as well for most up-to-date information. 

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Air Canada Teams up with Etihad Airways

ByMatt

Starting today, Aeroplan members (Air Canada’s frequent flyer program) can accumulate and redeem miles with Etihad Airways.

Etihad Airways is the National airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who currently operates flights to 76 destinations around the world, but expecting service to resume on other previous destinations.

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[PROMOTIONS] Aeroplan Mega Event

ByMatt

The Aeroplan eStore is having a 2-Day Mega Event where you can earn 5x the miles site-wide from May 30, 2020 to May 31, 2020. 

Keep in mind that this is in addition to the 5x the miles per $1 spent promotion when using a co-branded Aeroplan card (American Express, CIBC or TD). So if you combine the two, you can top 10x the miles for online purchases. 

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Last Chance to Fast Track Air Canada Elite Status

ByMatt

There are only a few days left to fast track to Air Canada elite status with the Travel at Home campaign. I say fast track because there is not a lot of work involved (i.e. no flying required) to earn Air Canada elite status.

Recap of Travel at Home

If you are looking for a quick suggestion, figured out how many eligible miles you earn between April 20, 2020 and today, then transfer whatever else you need from American Express Membership Rewards to top up your account. You will need to have earned the miles by May 31, 2020 to qualify.