The Highlights

If you live in the United States, Air Canada is a complicated alternative to United Airlines, though better value can be found.

• Similar to United, you can access Star Alliance international flights through Air Canada, but sometimes at lowerr point totals
• You cannot book flights between two U.S. cities
• Air Canada can be useful for international flights that naturally route through Canada.
• Aeroplan allows up to two stopovers per flight for 5,000 points each

What to Know About This Point System

Air Canada shouldn’t be overlooked as a founding member of Star Alliance with destinations across 6 continents. Aeroplan miles are super useful and can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Rewards, a ratio of 2:1.5 from Capital One Rewards or 3:1 from Marriott Bonvoy transfers.

Note, though, that you can no longer book multi-city and round-the-world flights, which use to be the big niche within the program. So you may be asking yourself just how useful Aeroplan miles are now. Well, for starters, you have to compare apples to apples -- and if you hold up the Aeroplan program next to your favorite way to travel with points, you’ll notice that it still holds a competitive spot in the game.

Let’s start with domestic travel. North America is revenue based, which means award rates will fluctuate depending on the price of the ticket. if that sounds familiar, it’s because Southwest does this. The award charts are published for most of their flights, adding to the transparency of the program.

Going international, Aeroplan has been able to keep some of the longest hauls reasonably priced. Plus, because Air Canada is part of Star Alliance, you can use your points to book on any travel partner. The Aeroplan search engine is extremely easy to use and astonishingly reliable for Star Alliance award availability.

As we become more and more points savvy, changes are on the horizon. But points and miles are still very useful, with competition bringing in more creative ways to earn and redeem. Air Canada is no exception.

How to Redeem

Air Canada has around 50 airline partners, so redeeming your miles for a flight is your best option. Searching is simple on Air Canada’s website or app. Click “Book with Aeroplan points” when searching to see what’s available. You can view results by the week and easily sort by airline. Nearly all partners are included in the award search, which makes the process straightforward.

Air Canada has award charts, kind of. It uses a blend of traditional, distance-based charts with some dynamic pricing, so it’s not fully fixed. The prices shown are “starting at” amounts, and there is usually a range depending on the zones you’re flying between. You can view the award charts here.

Utilize Stopovers

One of the best ways to maximize Aeroplan points is to use their stopover program. A stopover is a layover of more than 24 hours, and with Aeroplan you can stay between 24 hours and up to 45 days.

• For any international award booking, you can add a stopover for just 5000 points.
• Stopovers are only available outside the US and Canada.
• You can add stopovers to one-way, round-trip, and multi-city itineraries.
• You are allowed one stopover per direction of travel.

You can book stopovers online by selecting the “Multi-city/Stopover” option when searching for flights:

• Enter your departing and arriving cities.
• Click “Add stopover for flight 1” to choose your stopover city and how many days you’ll stay.
• Repeat the process for your return flight, if desired.
• If the itinerary gets too complex, you can also call Aeroplan to book by phone.

Stopover example

• Round trip from Los Angeles to Bangkok normally costs 120,000 miles in economy.
• Add a stopover in Taipei on the way there and stay 1–45 days.
• Add a stopover in Seoul on the way back and stay 1–45 days.
• Total trip cost: 130,000 miles (an extra 5000 points for each stopover).

In many cases you’d have a layover in one of these cities anyway, so extending the stay can break up long flights and add extra destinations for a low cost. With smart planning, you can even build a round-the-world style trip by adding stopovers between segments for only 5000 points each time.

Visit Air Canada Aeroplan