1. Leverage Aeroplan’s very generous stopover policy
One of the most significant advantages of the revamped Aeroplan program is its enhanced stopover policy. This feature allows you to craft more complex itineraries and essentially get two trips for the price of one.
- You can now add two stopovers, one in each direction (excluding stopovers in Canada or the USA when departing from North America)
- Each stopover costs an additional 5,000 miles
- The previous Maximum Permitted Mileage (MPM) restriction has been removed
- You can create round-the-world tickets with strategic planning
Pro Tip: Consider itineraries like Toronto-London-Dubai-Singapore-Sydney-Toronto. While potentially costly in terms of points, this flexibility allows for incredible multi-destination trips
2. Accelerate your miles earning with an Aeroplan credit card
How do you earn miles faster? Well, the easiest way is to get an Aeroplan credit card. Aeroplan credit cards will earn you points on all purchases, but also allow you to double dip with Aeroplan partners.
Air Canada's Aeroplan offers credit cards for both the Canadian and U.S. markets. One of the reasons why we love the Aeroplan program is because there are so many associated credit card options available, which make it a very accessible loyalty program for Canadians. TD Bank, CIBC, and American Express are all Aeroplan credit card providers. In the United States, Chase is the Aeroplan credit card partner, with the Aeroplan® Credit Card offering a huge welcome bonus, a first checked bag free and no foreign transaction fees.
Read More: Best Aeroplan credit cards in Canada
3. Maximize Aeroplan benefits with family sharing
Under the old program, you could share points by paying a fee but, thankfully, that isn’t the case any longer thanks to Family Sharing. This feature allows up to 8 people to merge their points into one big pool so you can redeem your points faster.
How family sharing works:
- Create a pool with up to 8 members (doesn’t have to be immediate family)
- Points are redeemed proportionally based on each member’s contribution
- Members must stay in a group for at least 3 months
- When leaving, members take their contributed and earned points, minus redeemed amounts
Bonus Tip: Family Sharing also allows members to share benefits. If one member has elite status or preferred rates, others in the group can benefit when travelling together.
4. Explore partner airlines for better value
While Air Canada is the flagship carrier for Aeroplan, don’t overlook partner airlines. Often, these can offer better value for your points.
Why consider Aeroplan partners?
- Fixed pricing on partner airlines (vs. dynamic pricing on Air Canada flights)
- Often lower point requirements for similar routes
- Access to unique routes and destinations
- Opportunity to experience different airline products and services
Notable Partners: United Airlines, Lufthansa, ANA, Turkish Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.
5. Boost your miles with online shopping
Aeroplan has more than 170 online retail partners that make collecting Aeroplan points while doing your regular shopping a breeze. Partners include businesses such as Hudson’s Bay, Indigo, Sephora, GAP, and more. These are everyday businesses that many Canadians shop from fairly regularly, plus many of us prefer to shop online so it’s worth your time to go through the Aeroplan portal to ensure you can earn the Aeroplan points.
To see what brands are Aeroplan online partners, log into your Aeroplan account at Aircanada.ca Aircanada.com or via the app and sign in to Aeroplan. From there you can browse by category, brand, or even current promotions. Money.ca has compiled a a full list of Aeroplan partners in our guide to Aeroplan Points.
Top tip: Make sure to keep an eye out for special promotions and sales too as you can find some pretty great deals.
Final thoughts
This loyalty program may seem a bit daunting, but as per the new Aeroplan changes, these hacks are sure to help you stretch those miles further. Whether you’re planning on traveling anytime soon or holding on to your points for future use, there is nothing holding you back from maximizing the power of your points.
This post was not sponsored. The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
