Buying Air Canada Aeroplan points

[MG1]

@MG1 - yes to your question about expiry.

Thanks, @luxury-lizard. I'll perform one of those two actions to extend my expiry.

 

[Nexus007]

Thanks, @luxury-lizard. I'll perform one of those two actions to extend my expiry.

Aeroplan points expiry paused until November 30, 2025​

FYI for those who may not be aware.

More flexibility for our members

More flexibility for our members

www.aircanada.com

 

[Cynicor]

what’s Aeroplane like for TG J availability and general award cost?

Being from PER and heading to SEA and EU more than N America, lifemiles was the go previously. I have just managed to burn my final 200k!!!! (Thank god) and am now free of that debacle, until I get tempted back in by hubris.

Anyway, wouldn’t mind exploring AC eventually, so thanks all for the info.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

what’s Aeroplane like for TG J availability and general award cost?

Being from PER and heading to SEA and EU more than N America, lifemiles was the go previously. I have just managed to burn my final 200k!!!! (Thank god) and am now free of that debacle, until I get tempted back in by hubris.

Anyway, wouldn’t mind exploring AC eventually, so thanks all for the info.

TG availability is not great at the moment… read basically zero. It was there late last year for some close-in departures (day before). And IIRC it was there earlier in 2024 for advance bookings as well.

But no longer it seems. It’s hard to predict.

But 1000 times easier than LM. And you can always use SQ instead (albeit two hours longer with the transit in SIN)

 

[kangarooflyer88]

what’s Aeroplane like for TG J availability and general award cost?

Being from PER and heading to SEA and EU more than N America, lifemiles was the go previously. I have just managed to burn my final 200k!!!! (Thank god) and am now free of that debacle, until I get tempted back in by hubris.

Anyway, wouldn’t mind exploring AC eventually, so thanks all for the info.

Would you mind doing the reverse? Flying first to Australia then later to Seattle? The reason k ask is you can book the whole thing as a one way (with a stopover in Europe) for 120,000 Aeroplan points in business

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Would you mind doing the reverse? Flying first to Australia then later to Seattle? The reason k ask is you can book the whole thing as a one way (with a stopover in Europe) for 120,000 Aeroplan points in business

Not sure I follow. The OP is based in Perth and wants to fly to Seattle and the EU.

 

[NZflygirl]

Would you mind doing the reverse? Flying first to Australia then later to Seattle? The reason k ask is you can book the whole thing as a one way (with a stopover in Europe) for 120,000 Aeroplan points in business

Not sure I follow. The OP is based in Perth and wants to fly to Seattle and the EU.

I'm reading SEA as south east Asia rather than Seattle as they said they weren't going to North America as much so, that rules out Seattle.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm reading SEA as south east Asia rather than Seattle as they said they weren't going to North America as much so, that rules out Seattle.

Ohhhhhh! makes sense.

Yeah, i thought maybe they were meaning seattle only (easy to get to from canadia), and no where else in NA.

But asia makes far more sense!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Not sure I follow. The OP is based in Perth and wants to fly to Seattle and the EU.

Aeroplan has a unique feature where you can add a stopover enroute for very minimal points (5,000). The benefit here is it effectively allows you to visit multiple destinations/continents on a one-way ticket. For instance, in 2023 I flew Sydney to Toronto with a 2 week stopover in Zurich for 110,000 points at the time. This by the way was all in business class. So if they are planning to fly to North America or even just South East Asia, they should be able to make use of this benefit and save considerable points along the way.

-RooFlyer88

 

[jgm]

Just had a major win. My return flight YYC-MEL was YYC-YVR-DEL-BKK-MEL in J, today I found YYC-YVR-SFO-MEL in J. I couldn't change on line because the "change flight" screen errored out. I called Aeroplan at 4:00 PM Mountain Time and got straight onto an agent. The change cost me ~CA$40 (the difference between the initial taxes and the change fee) but got me a refund of over 13,000 Aeroplan miles, and saved me about 9 hours total travel, and having to spend around 15 hours in an old AI 77W.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Just had a major win. My return flight YYC-MEL was YYC-YVR-DEL-BKK-MEL in J, today I found YYC-YVR-SFO-MEL in J. I couldn't change on line because the "change flight" screen errored out. I called Aeroplan at 4:00 PM Mountain Time and got straight onto an agent. The change cost me ~CA$40 (the difference between the initial taxes and the change fee) but got me a refund of over 13,000 Aeroplan miles, and saved me about 9 hours total travel, and having to spend around 15 hours in an old AI 77W.

Great to hear you managed to find that better routing. Two points to consider:

• Flying business class on United to MEL you’ll have access to the United Polaris lounge at SFO which features a La carte dining (similar to Qantas First lounge), showers and buffet. It’s a very nice lounge. You’ll also have access to the Air Canada lounges at YYC and YVR provided you are flying business class out of those airports
• Did you know you can add a stopover to your trip for 5,000 points more? For instance you could keep what you have but tack on MEL-AKL or MEL to PER or MEL to SIN for that matter for like 5,000 points more in business

 

[Cynicor]

Apologies all for being unclear. SEAsia, not Seattle.
Maybe the EU at times but really with small kids I like to stay in the +8 time zone, or within 5 hours of it.

My last foray into jetlag with the kids was a disaster.

 

[RooFlyer]

You’ll also have access to the Air Canada lounges at YYC and YVR provided you are flying business class out of those airports

Soup & crackers and salad.

 

[jgm]

Great to hear you managed to find that better routing. Two points to consider:

• Flying business class on United to MEL you’ll have access to the United Polaris lounge at SFO which features a La carte dining (similar to Qantas First lounge), showers and buffet. It’s a very nice lounge. You’ll also have access to the Air Canada lounges at YYC and YVR provided you are flying business class out of those airports
• Did you know you can add a stopover to your trip for 5,000 points more? For instance you could keep what you have but tack on MEL-AKL or MEL to PER or MEL to SIN for that matter for like 5,000 points more in business

Yes well aware of the perks. Unfortunately only in SFO for 2 hours, just time for a quick visit. As long as Trump doesn't change things, I clear US customs in YVR so don't have to face the zoo in SFO. I realised after my previous post that I save and extra 6 hours in YYC. I looked at the stopover options many times since the initial booking, bat couldn't find anything that worked for me.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Soup & crackers and salad.

I would not recommend the soup as I have seen people use their hands as a ladle to scoop soup out of the serving bowl. With that being said, I'd argue the selection of food at the Maple Leaf Lounge is better than what you would find at a Qantas lounge.

Yes well aware of the perks. Unfortunately only in SFO for 2 hours, just time for a quick visit. As long as Trump doesn't change things, I clear US customs in YVR so don't have to face the zoo in SFO. I realised after my previous post that I save and extra 6 hours in YYC. I looked at the stopover options many times since the initial booking, bat couldn't find anything that worked for me.

One thing to keep a look out for are flights between YYC > SFO. If you happen to find availability pop up it might make sense to change to the nonstop. The fewer stops you have to make, the less likely you are to misconnect at SFO. I should also point out that since your trip begins in Canada you are eligible for consumer protections under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulation (APPR). The APPR requires airlines to rebook you on the next flight with them in any class of service should they cancel your flight. They must also put you on the next flight with any airline for delays caused by anything other than weather should you end up being delayed by more than 9 hours. There are also requirements for meals and hotel (if an overnight stay is required) for delays. And this applies for the entirety of your itinerary, so even if you get to SFO fine but your flight to MEL gets delayed, United will still have to offer you the same protection since SFO to MEL is part of the Canadian itinerary. Lastly, there is a cash compensation component should you arrive in your final destination of MEL more than 3 hours late. For instance a delay of 9 hours or more attracts compensation of $1,000 CAD. And I say all of this from experience, having gotten Air Canada to pay me $1,000 CAD when they cancelled my flight back in 2022 resulting in me having to overnight it in Toronto.

-RooFlyer88

 

[FlyingFiona]

I have seen people use their hands as a ladle to scoop soup out of the serving bowl.

What the....