The New Aeroplan: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Air Canada has released details of the new Aeroplan program launching on November 8th. Existing members win some and lose some in the updated program, which will ultimately change the way people earn points, redeem points and ultimately get the best value out of the program. 

Let's take a look at what's changing.

Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart

The biggest change to the Aeroplan program is that instead of a fixed mileage chart, there is now a distance-based award chart depending on the region/continent.

The Good:

• This still allows loyalty members to take advantage of expensive flights, as the points will remain the same 
• There are still some sweet spots in terms of distance, such as the following:
• YYZ-LGA Economy (Toronto to New York LaGuardia) only requires 12,000 miles round trip instead of 15,000 miles.
• YVR-HND Business (Vancouver to Tokyo Haneda) only requires 55,000 miles one-way instead of 75,000 miles.
• YYC-HND First (Calgary to Tokyo Haneda) only requires 90,000 miles one-way instead of 105,000 miles.
• YVR-HNL Business (Vancouver to Honolulu) only requires 25,000 miles one-way instead of 40,000 miles, with the added bonus of no fuel surcharges.
• YYZ-SYD Business (Toronto to Sydney) only requires 85,000 miles one-way instead of 90,000 miles, with the added bonus of no fuel surcharges. Note that there does appear to be a wide range for Air Canada flights (85,000-200,000 miles) so TBD on availability of 85,000 mile flight rewards.

The Bad:

• Previous sweet spots will now require slightly more points for the same product, such as the following:
• YYZ-TPE Business (Toronto to Taipei) now requires at least 85,000 miles one-way instead of 75,000 miles.
• YYZ-LHR Economy (Toronto to London Heathrow) now requires at least 35,000 miles one-way instead of 30,000 miles, though this is partially offset by no fuel surcharges (up to $700).
• YVR-LHR Economy (Vancouver to London Heathrow) now requires at least 40,000 miles instead of 30,000 miles, though this is partially offset by no fuel surcharges (up to $700).
• YYC-CDG Economy (Calgary to Paris) requires at least 40,000 miles one-way instead of 30,000 miles, though .
• YYC-CDG Business (Calgary to Paris) requires at least 70,000 miles one-way instead of 60,000 miles.

The Ugly:

• Traveling to Asia/Europe in Economy is going to get a lot more expensive, mainly for those of us on the East Coast:
• YYZ-TPE Economy (Toronto to Taipei) requires at least 50,000 miles one-way instead of 37,500 miles.
• YYZ-PEK Economy (Toronto to Beijing) requires at least 45,000 miles one-way instead of 37,500 miles.
• YYZ-IST Economy (Toronto to Istanbul) requires at least 40,000 miles one-way instead of 30,000 miles, and this route typically did not have high fuel surcharges.
• YYZ-IST Business (Toronto to Istanbul) requires at least 70,000 miles one-way instead of 60,000 miles, and this route typically did not have high fuel surcharges.

Flight Reward Availability

There will now be no blackout dates or seats on Air Canada flights, while previously you had to search specific dates to see the flights and seats available.

The Good: This frees up tons of award space and seats on Air Canada flights, which you previously had to search for day by day until you found availability.

The Bad: There are ranges provided for Air Canada flights, which means that popular dates and seats will likely require more points for redemption.

The Ugly: Not much here that I would say is ugly - the increase Air Canada availability is mostly a win, provided that award availability on partner airlines remains the same or better.

Earning Aeroplan Miles

The Good: People with existing Aeroplan miles will have their points transfer over on 1:1 basis.

The Bad: From the flight reward changes, one can infer that Air Canada is trying to incentivize people to accumulate more points for premium products (e.g. Business and First Class) rather than spend the points earlier on Economy flights, which are faster achieve from a points earning perspective.

The Ugly: Currently Aeroplan miles are earned on flights based on distance and fare class. On November 8th, it will be based purely on revenue - so the more you pay for flights, the more points you earn. This is good news for business travelers, but likely will reduce the amount regular travelers earn on Air Canada flights.

Fuel Surcharges

A big win is that fuel surcharges will be eliminated on all airlines (website states that cash surcharges will be eliminated on all Air Canada flights), however there will be a $39 booking fee for all partner airlines.

The Good: This is fantastic news for those of us who want to redeem on airlines with historically high fuel surcharges, such as Air Canada, Lufthansa, SWISS International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Asiana Airlines and All Nippon Airways.

The Bad: The booking fee will apply regardless of airline, but is a small price to pay all things considered.

The Ugly: Given that many routes increased drastically in price, the lack of fuel surcharge will not be enough to offset the increased mileage, e.g. Economy class to Asia.

Air Canada Status

The Air Canada Altitude program will be replaced by the Aeroplan Elite Status program, which has pretty much the same tiers as before (25K, 35K, 50K, 75K and Super Elite). 

Aeroplan Elite Status is overall an improvement compared to Altitude, with new features such as:

• Status Pass: Share Elite Status benefits with family or friends when they're travelling without you.
• Priority Rewards: Based on Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD), earn a voucher that discounts 50% off the points fare of a flight reward by 50%.
• Everyday Status Qualification: The Altitude program was purely based on flights, but Aeroplan points earned on credit cards now seem to count towards status as well. CIBC, TD and American Express will be releasing new cards later this year in accordance with the new program.

Change and Cancellation Fees

Overall, change and cancellation fees look much higher than before and differ based on the class of fare purchased. Of course, even before the COVID-19 pandemic it would have been a good idea to firm up your plans before booking, but this is even more imperative than before given the increased fees.

Other Features of the New Aeroplan

Some other features of the new program include:

• Family Points Sharing: A pet peeve of mine was having odd points amounts in various family accounts, but it appears Aeroplan will allow family members to pool their points together which will allow people to redeem for flight rewards sooner. Up to 8 family members can group together.
• Points + Cash: Similar to Marriott, Aeroplan will be introducing a combination of Points + Cash redemption option, though no details have been released yet.
• Stopovers: No stopovers will be allowed on North American flights, but stopovers will be allowed on international flights for 5,000 Aeroplan miles.

Overall Verdict (and what to do by November 8th)

This is the first time Air Canada has released concrete details of the new Aeroplan program, and most of the changes appear quite reasonable. While we lose out on some sweet spots on the new distance-based chart, we do appear to win some new sweet spots especially with the fuel surcharge eliminated.

If you were previously planning on traveling within the next year to some of the "disappearing sweet spots", it may be a good idea to book your flight before November 8th to take advantage of current redemption rates. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic does throw a lot of uncertainty into the mix and there may be a $75 cancellation fee, so definitely book at your discretion.