Worth of Air Canada Aeroplan Points

The worth of your Air Canada Aeroplan points depends on several factors. For example, redeeming them for economy class tickets with Air Canada comes with a value of around 1.7 cents per point, while a business class ticket is about 2.7 to 2.8 cents per point. However, redeeming your points for hotel stays usually won't give you the most bang for your buck, and you stand to receive relatively poor value if you use points for gift cards, car rentals or shopping.

Once you're part of the Air Canada Aeroplan program, you can earn points when you fly with Air Canada and its airline partners and spend through the program's hotel, car rental and other partner merchants. You can earn points even faster with a co-branded Air Canada Aeroplan credit card. You also earn bonus points as you move up the program's membership levels, and achieving Elite status with Air Canada Aeroplan comes with unique and valuable perks.

If you're wondering how to redeem your Air Canada Aeroplan points, consider using them for flight tickets with Air Canada and its airline partners. Spending them on flight upgrades is another worthwhile option.

The average value of Air Canada Aeroplan points is around 1.7 cents per point when redeemed for economy class tickets and goes up to 2.8 cents for business class tickets. The overall average value is somewhere between 1.5 cents and 1.9 cents per point. If you find an award flight where the value of your points is less than 1.5 cents per point, you may want to consider other options.

The Air Canada Aeroplan redemption chart can give you a general idea of how many points you might need for an award flight with Air Canada and the program's airline partners based on different travel zones, flight distances and cabin types.

You may also use the airline's point predictor tool to get an even better understanding of how many points you might need to fly between different destinations.

The monetary worth that the Air Canada Aeroplan program offers through its points is as good as it gets compared to frequent flyer programs run by other prominent airlines. However, there are other factors for you to consider, such as Elite-level perks.

You can earn Aeroplan points when you fly with Air Canada and the program's partner airlines, use co-branded Air Canada Aeroplan credit cards or spend with the program's partner merchants.

Chase offers a co-branded Aeroplan credit card for residents of the U.S. This card offers 3X points per dollar on Air Canada purchases as well as on a few other bonus categories. It also comes with a generous welcome bonus after meeting a spending requirement within the allotted timeframe.

Alternatively, consider getting a credit card linked to a rewards program that lets you transfer your points/miles to your Aeroplan account. These include American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles and Bilt Rewards.

If you're a Canadian resident, you may choose from four different TD Bank-issued Aeroplan credit cards. These include three for individuals and one for businesses. CIBC and American Express also have Aeroplan credit cards for Canadians.

Joining the Air Canada Aeroplan program is easy, and you may enroll online. You start by providing your email address and creating a password, after which you will need to provide your name, date of birth and contact information.

Luckily, there are no fees to join this rewards program, but you also don't receive any bonus points upon enrollment. This program comes with five Elite statuses. You stand to enjoy various Air Canada Aeroplan Elite benefits as you move up the ladder, including the ability to earn bonus points.

You earn Aeroplan points when you use the Air Canada website or app to make flight reservations. The number of points you earn depends on the distance your flight travels and the travel class. For example, Standard fares within Canada earn 25% points on the distance traveled, whereas Standard fares between Canada and the United States and Canada and other international destinations earn 50% points.

You may use the Air Canada points chart to get an indication of how many points and Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) you can earn based on different fare classes.

Earning Aeroplan points works similarly through the program's over 50 partner airlines and Air Canada codeshare airlines, where the number of points you earn depends on the distance your flight travels and the fare class.

You can earn points from Air Canada Aeroplan partners by staying at certain hotels, shopping, using specific car rental companies and utilizing other transfer partners. We explore these options in detail below.

Buying points from Air Canada is possible. You typically pay around 3.5 Canadian cents, which, as of this writing, equates to about 2.6 U.S. cents per Aeroplan point. That is more than the average value you stand to receive when you redeem your points, so you'll want to do the math before moving forward.

Air Canada runs promotional offers through which it offers bonuses when you purchase points. Over time, these bonuses have ranged from 30% to a staggering 115%. These bonuses can help you get considerably better value.

For example, if you buy points and get a 100% bonus, you'll pay around 1.3 U.S. cents per point. If you need extra points to redeem an award flight that offers a value of over 2 cents per point, buying them with even a 30% bonus might work well for you.

If you're wondering how to use Air Canada Aeroplan points, start by logging in to your Aeroplan account. Then, you can choose from the various redemption methods on offer.

Using the Air Canada flight search tool will give you an idea of how many points you might need across different routes and fare types. It also includes partner airlines in your searches, allowing you to select the best option.

Consider this: as of this writing, if you plan to fly from Toronto, Canada, to Melbourne, Australia, in April, a business class flight with Air Canada and Virgin Australia would require around 470,000 Aeroplan points. However, you could get a first-class ticket on the same route and date with Air India for as little as 150,000 Aeroplan points.

When you use your points for economy class tickets, aim for a value of 1.7 cents or more per point. For business class tickets, you should get at least 2 cents per point to maximize your value.

If you look at the Air Canada flight rewards chart, you'll notice that it provides a range of points you may need for redemption on Air Canada flights. This range is due to your fare depending on when you choose to fly and, therefore, the points you need for redemption.

For example, flying from New York to Toronto on a Saturday in April would require around 8,000 points for an economy-class ticket and about 30,000 points for a business-class ticket. If you move the same flight to the following Tuesday, you'll need around 6,000 points for an economy class ticket and about 14,600 points for a business class ticket.

When it comes to business class tickets, you stand to get the best value if you book 15 days before the intended travel date. This might also be the case with some economy-class tickets.

A few other factors play a role in how much value you receive for your Aeroplan points. For example, economy class tickets on short-haul flights that travel less than 500 miles require just 6,000 points and tend to provide good value. For example, this would apply when you fly from New York to Toronto.

Further, you need around 10,000 points for economy class tickets on flights within North America that cover 501 miles to 1,500 miles. If you wish to fly business class, you'll need around 20,000 points. The next bracket that covers flights of over 2,750 miles can get you from the West Coast to Hawaii for about 12,500 points in economy class. The Aeroplan program also works well with long-haul business class reward flights with some of its partner airlines, such as Lufthansa, ANA and Air India.

The Air Canada Aeroplan program comes with five Elite statuses that you may achieve by earning Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs), flying Status Qualifying Segments (SQSs), and earning Status Qualifying Dollars (SQDs). You earn SQMs based on the distance you fly, every flight segment and all eligible spending on flight tickets. To reach each Elite status tier, you must meet the following thresholds within a calendar year:

• 25K: 25,000 SQMs or 25 SQSs plus 3,000 SQDs
• 35K: 35,000 SQMs or 35 SQSs plus 4,000 SQDs
• 50K: 50,000 SQMs or 50 SQSs plus 6,000 SQDs
• 75K: 75,000 SQMs or 75 SQSs plus 9,000 SQDs
• Super Elite: 100,000 SQMs or 100 SQSs plus 20,000 SQDs

We explore the valuable perks of these Elite tiers below.

Take a look at our answers to commonly asked questions about the Air Canada membership program to determine how best to use your Aeroplan points.