How Much Are Air Canada Aeroplan Points Worth?

How much your Air Canada Aeroplan points are worth 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, whereas a business class ticket might come with a value of about 2.7 to 2.8 cents per point. Redeeming your points for hotel stays doesn't provide great value, and you stand to receive rather poor value if you use them 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 when you spend through the program's hotel, car rental and other partner merchants. You may earn points faster if you have a co-branded Air Canada Aeroplan credit card.

If you're wondering how to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points, know that you may use them for flight tickets with Air Canada and its airline partners. Using them for flight upgrades is an option. Other redemption methods include using them for hotel stays and car rentals.

In addition, you earn bonus points as you move up the program's membership levels. Achieving an Elite status comes with other perks too.

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The average value of Air Canada Aeroplan points stands at 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 hovers 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 might 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 when compared to frequent flyer programs run by other prominent airlines. However, there are other factors, such as Elite level perks, to consider as well.

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.

The Chase Aeroplan Card comes with a $95 annual fee. You stand to earn a sizable welcome bonus by meeting a spend-based requirement. There is also an opportunity to earn bonus points each month.

Using this travel rewards credit card to make purchases directly with Air Canada comes with 3X points per dollar. You also get 3X points per dollar on grocery store and dining purchases (including eligible delivery and takeout services). All other purchases earn 1X points per dollar.

All cardholders get complimentary Aeroplan 25K status for the rest of the calendar year in which they apply and the calendar year that follows. You and up to eight companions on the same Air Canada booking made using this card get your first bag checked for free.

Additional benefits include:

• No foreign transaction fees
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/NEXUS fee credit once every four years
• Purchase and travel protection
• Access to Mastercard 24/7 Concierge

Consider getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card if you travel frequently and are okay with paying a $95 annual fee. New cardholders can earn a sizable welcome bonus if they meet a spend-based requirement. If you book hotel stays through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you stand to receive statement credits of up to $50 each year.

You get 5X points per dollar on travel purchases made through Chase Ultimate Rewards (other than those that qualify for the $50 annual hotel credit). All other travel purchases earn 2X points per dollar. Eligible dining, online grocery and streaming service purchases earn 3X points per dollar. You get 1X points per dollar on all other purchases.

Redeeming your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards offers 25% more value than other redemption methods. Using this card outside of the U.S. will not incur foreign transaction fees. You may transfer your points to Air Canada Aeroplan as well as other airline and hotel transfer partners.

We recommend the Venture Rewards credit card from Capital One to travelers who don't mind paying a $95 annual fee to take advantage of various benefits. For starters, new cardholders receive 75,000 bonus miles by spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months. In addition, this card offers 2X miles per dollar on all purchases, so you don't have to keep track of bonus categories. The one exception to this is that cardholders earn 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars they book through Capital One Travel.

All cardholders get two complimentary visits to Capital One Lounges each year. You get a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit once every four years. Other benefits include complimentary Hertz Five Star status, no foreign transaction fees, travel coverage and the ability to transfer your miles to various rewards programs — Air Canada Aeroplan included.

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.

There are no fees to join this rewards program, and you don't receive any bonus points upon enrollment. This program comes with five Elite statuses. And 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 through the program's over 50 partner airlines and Air Canada codeshare airlines work in a similar manner, where the number of points you earn depends on the distance your flight travels and the fare class. You can earn points from certain partners by staying at certain hotels, shopping, using certain car rental companies, and from other transfer partners,

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 may help you get considerably better value.

For example, if you buy points and get a 100% bonus, you'll end up paying around 1.3 U.S. cents per point. So, 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 to get a value of 1.7 cents or more per point. For business class tickets, you should be looking at getting at least 2 cents per point.

Air Canada Aeroplan Points can be used to redeem more than just flights. While flights often provide the best value, you may be able to score great deals on hotels, rental cars and more.

If you look at the Air Canada flight rewards chart, notice that it provides a range of points you may need for redemption on Air Canada flights. This is because when you choose to fly has a bearing on the actual fare and, therefore, the points you need for redemption.

For example, flying from New York to Toronto on a Saturday in April would need 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. This is the case 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 qualify for by earning Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) or flying Status Qualifying Segments (SQSs) along with earning Status Qualifying Dollars (SQDs). You earn SQMs based on the distance you fly, you get SQMs for every flight segment and you earn SQDs for 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

MoneyGeek experts have taken a close look at how the value of Air Canada Aeroplan points changes based on different redemption methods. They have also carried out in-depth market research to determine the worth of your points.

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