Aeroplan gives its members the ability to purchase points on a regular basis. Sometimes, they have a bonus offer when making this purchase. Let’s discuss the offer first and then I will share some of my thoughts on purchasing or gifting.
Today’s post is to summarise some of the news and notes to watch for related to Canadian specific companies. Namely regarding Air Canada, Air Miles and Cineplex.
Air Canada has introduced an Infinite Canada Flight Pass that is only available for purchase from September 16, 2020 to September 23, 2020.
The flight pass is for trips within Canada only. Below is the different monthly price options:
In Canada, we are fortunate enough to have 3 credit card companies who have partnered up with Air Canada to offer co-branded credit cards. Since Air Canada has bought out Aeroplan, the plan, at the moment, is for all 3 companies to continue offering such cards, with some changes. The expectation is that the launch of these changes will occur on November 8, 2020, along with a host of other changes to the revamped Air Canada frequent flyer program.
See also: Preview of Top 3 Features of Air Canada’s Revamped Aeroplan Program
Today’s post will preview some of the changes that we can expect to see. Some details still need to worked out, so we will be watching closely.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Air Canada has introduced new cancellation options retroactive to March 1, 2020, for flights until June 30, 2021.
There are two main new polices added.
No changes fees for bookings made up to June 30, 2020 for original travel dates retroactive to March 1, 2020 until June 30, 2021.
In cases where Air Canada cancels flights due to COVID-19, refundable tickets will continue to have the option of refunds.
Even though Air Canada is taking a beating in the news about layoffs, its frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, is offering some fairly competitive bonuses.
Shopping Portal eStore
First up, its shopping portal, eStore has been offering 5x to 7x promotions. This is in addition to the 5x miles per dollar that you can with any of its co-branded credit cards (American Express, CIBC, TD) until May 31, 2020.