Aeroplan (Air Canada) is now selling points

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Just thought I'd share that I took part in the recent points sale and bought myself 160,000 miles for $2800 CAD. I then transferred over 60,000 miles from AmEx to Aeroplan to build out the following itinerary:

1. Sydney to Zurich:
   • VA 832 - SYD > MEL
   • EY 463 - MEL > AUH
   • EY 73 - AUH > ZRH
2. Zurich to Toronto:
   • TP 929: ZRH > LIS
   • TP 257: LIS > YYZ
3. Los Angeles to Seoul:
   • BR5: LAX > TPE
   • BR150: TPE > ICN
4. Seoul to Sydney:
   • OZ 601: ICN > SYD

All of this travel is occurring in business class, and I'm purchasing a couple of tickets here and there to complete the trip (i.e. KL from ZRH <> HAM and DL (WS): YYZ > LAX). Overall, I think this is decent value given I got the routing I wanted and more or less pieced together a round the world itinerary for peanuts:

View attachment 286687

Some notes for those curious on making such a booking:

• Find partner availability when possible, it's often the cheapest when it comes to points required. In addition, I would go so far as to say the partners provide a better quality service than AC. Certainly I would choose NZ J over AC any day of the week to come back to SYD, despite having to connect in AKL. And given NZ has release some sporadic J award availability to partners it's not a bad idea to book with them.
• How did I book this for 220,000 miles? Per the Aeroplan Terms & Conditions, you can request one stopover on a one-way and 2 stopovers on a return award ticket with each stop over costing 5,000 miles extra and the total cost being based on mileage flown. Since SYD > YYZ is between Asia-Pacific and North America zones, we would use the highest band in the Aeroplan award chart (i.e. travel above 11,000 miles) which is 105,000 miles for Partner J.
• Stopovers can only be requested over the phone. Do not follow what other bloggers may tell you and book online then call in to add the segments as you'll be assessed a change penalty which sadly I was assessed. Have the flights you want to book ready and indicate to the agent that you are looking to flying from X to Z with a stopover in Y. For instance, "I'm looking to fly from Sydney to Toronto with a stopover in Zurich".
• If an agent tries to book it as a multi-city just say no and insist that it can be booked as a stopover for 5,000 miles extra. If they don't believe you hang up and call again (HUCA). Eventually you will be greeted to an agent who knows what they are doing
• The Aeroplan booking engine agents are using seems to be a black box, with certain routings not being allowed. For instance, I originally wanted to fly Swiss from Zurich to Chicago then connect onto a United flight but their computer said that routing wasn't permitted. Fortunately I had a backup with Tap J and that worked
• Further details on the rules and permissible routings with the Aeroplan program can be found in this AC document.
• In terms of finding partner availability your best bet is to use United Airline's award search tool which will show you partner J availability a month at a time.

Hope someone finds marginal value from this article!

-RooFlyer88

This is wonderful. Thanks so much for taking the time to spell all of this out

 

[AFF Editor]

For anyone who hasn't been following, Air Canada will increase the cost of some Aeroplan redemptions next month. There's a summary below of the changes that will affect Australians:

Aeroplan Award Chart Changes from 1 September 2022

Air Canada is changing its Aeroplan flight reward charts, effective from 1 September 2022. The good news is that the changes are minor.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can still access the current pricing by booking this month, and thankfully most of the changes aren't too scary.

 

[Limewood]

I sure did. Been using QFF points for decades for 2 in J, mainly long haul, but now the points required have all but doubled, this has opened up a new points world to me so I will take advantage f it. Thanks all.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I sure did. Been using QFF points for decades for 2 in J, mainly long haul, but now the points required have all but doubled, this has opened up a new points world to me so I will take advantage f it. Thanks all.

Aeroplan is the new lifemiles/BA diamond club/US Airways. Great availability, can combine multiple partners including those outside star alliance on the one ticket for no extra cost, can stopover for just 5000 points on even the lowest redemption levels, very generous routing options (provided you don’t use air canada). And cheap!

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Avoid using Air canada unless you can find saver inventory. Dynamic pricing is extreme, and using air canada for any part of an extended itinerary will make the whole booking subject to dynamic pricing and routing restrictions (based on AC’s tarifs and rules), even if the majority of travel is on partner airlines.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Travel in style with 85-100% bonus Aeroplan Points - Point Hacks

Buying Aeroplan Points is a savvy way to redeem for cheap Business Class flights.

www.pointhacks.com.au

So in this article it states it will cost around $3575aud to fly bkk to oz return if u buy 100% points redemption. But I need to spend almost $20k to get the 100% bonus. Isn’t there a golden rule that I should not buy points speculatively? So I will need to spend $20k to get award flights for $4k or have I missed something?

 

[mel-world]

Just bought some points with an 85% bonus offer valid to 4 September.

 

[andye]

Travel in style with 85-100% bonus Aeroplan Points - Point Hacks

Buying Aeroplan Points is a savvy way to redeem for cheap Business Class flights.

www.pointhacks.com.au

So in this article it states it will cost around $3575aud to fly bkk to oz return if u buy 100% points redemption. But I need to spend almost $20k to get the 100% bonus. Isn’t there a golden rule that I should not buy points speculatively? So I will need to spend $20k to get award flights for $4k or have I missed something?

I think you misread the article. The $20k is for a max purchase of 1 million (500k +500k bonus) points. The 100% bonus kicks in at 80k base points around the AUD3k mark

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think you misread the article. The $20k is for a max purchase of 1 million (500k +500k bonus) points. The 100% bonus kicks in at 80k base points around the AUD3k mark

But also that’s an historic article. Aeroplan’s promos have recently been alternating between 85% and 100%. The current one is 85. Different promos can also have different thresholds for the max bonus to kick in.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

I think you misread the article. The $20k is for a max purchase of 1 million (500k +500k bonus) points. The 100% bonus kicks in at 80k base points around the AUD3k mark

Thank you. I did misunderstand... I did wonder who would have $20k to buy points and then just let them sit there.... That now makes a lot more sense now

Shows I have a lot more to learn

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thank you. I did misunderstand... I did wonder who would have $20k to buy points and then just let them sit there.... That now makes a lot more sense now

Shows I have a lot more to learn

While I agree you shouldn’t generally buy points speculatively, Aeroplan is one of those programs that is the exception IMO. When they have their 100% bonus it is very attractive, and given they have non alliance partners including etihad, gulf air and virgin - plus very flexible routing allowances - it makes it a decent ‘investment’.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

I have been looking for flights for next year for SE Asia. I can't find much in Bus class and nothing in First class. Most of them have been only in Econ and with 2 couple of connections. I used the AC and United website to search. I looked early in the year and a few different months and couldn't see much.

Is it too late to get seats for the first 6 months of next year? I thought from doing my research that they had heaps of seats available or is it like some other FF seats and you need to book more than 300 or 350 days in advance?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have been looking for flights for next year for SE Asia. I can't find much in Bus class and nothing in First class. Most of them have been only in Econ and with 2 couple of connections. I used the AC and United website to search. I looked early in the year and a few different months and couldn't see much.

Is it too late to get seats for the first 6 months of next year? I thought from doing my research that they had heaps of seats available or is it like some other FF seats and you need to book more than 300 or 350 days in advance?

Thai airways is only releasing business class within three months of departure to/from AU.

Singapore Airlines you can’t use premium aircraft for business or first, but regional are fine. So for SQ look out of DRW, CNS or PER. That’s going to put a stop in. Connections are on VA.

BR is flying out of BNE to TPE.

Another connecting point is DPS, with VA flying there from MEL/SYD/BNE/OOL, and connections available from other ports, but that might up the mileage band.

Availability is usually pretty good, but subject to the limited number of star alliance partners and schedules out of AU at the moment.

While Etihad was pretty easy to get, that’s dried up out of australia, but still available out of Singapore easily. I have an upcoming redemption SYD-DPS (five day stop) on VA, then DPS-SIN-LHR on SQ and EY. Gulf Air is also available.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Thai airways is only releasing business class within three months of departure to/from AU.

Singapore Airlines you can’t use premium aircraft for business or first, but regional are fine. So for SQ look out of DRW, CNS or PER. That’s going to put a stop in. Connections are on VA.

BR is flying out of BNE to TPE.

Another connecting point is DPS, with VA flying there from MEL/SYD/BNE/OOL, and connections available from other ports, but that might up the mileage band.

Availability is usually pretty good, but subject to the limited number of star alliance partners and schedules out of AU at the moment.

While Etihad was pretty easy to get, that’s dried up out of australia, but still available out of Singapore easily. I have an upcoming redemption SYD-DPS (five day stop) on VA, then DPS-SIN-LHR on SQ and EY. Gulf Air is also available.

Goodness, thank you @MEL_Traveller I have not found this info anywhere else.

I would not have thought to try through those other connection points, DRW, CNS or PER or even going via Bali and using that as a stop over for the 5,000 points... That could be a great option

Ok more searching for seats... Thank you again.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Goodness, thank you @MEL_Traveller I have not found this info anywhere else.

I would not have thought to try through those other connection points, DRW, CNS or PER or even going via Bali and using that as a stop over for the 5,000 points... That could be a great option

Ok more searching for seats... Thank you again. Do you use United to search or just go straight to AC website?

Straight to aeroplan as all the partners are listed. Not sure if UA lists domestic connections on VA yet?

Logging in to aeroplan allows quick and easy searches, just tap on the dates at the top of the page. If you don’t log in you can still search but only one day at a time.

Mixed cabin awards are displayed amongst single class awards. So sometimes you might have to scroll right to the end of the results to find one that’s all in business class.

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Straight to aeroplan as all the partners are listed. Not sure if UA lists domestic connections on VA yet?

Logging in to aeroplan allows quick and easy searches, just tap on the dates at the top of the page. If you don’t log in you can still search but only one day at a time.

Mixed cabin awards are displayed amongst single class awards. So sometimes you might have to scroll right to the end of the results to find one that’s all in business class.

You are the best @MEL_Traveller

I have just been playing with the United search tool and it is showing VA connections through CNS and OOL to different locations

 

[Mattg]

Stopovers on Aeroplan awards can now be booked online.

Exciting: Aeroplan Award Stopovers Now Bookable Online

Air Canada's Aeroplan frequent flyer program now lets you book stopovers on award tickets directly on aircanada.com. This is fantastic!

onemileatatime.com

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Stopovers on Aeroplan awards can now be booked online.

Exciting: Aeroplan Award Stopovers Now Bookable Online

Air Canada's Aeroplan frequent flyer program now lets you book stopovers on award tickets directly on aircanada.com. This is fantastic!

onemileatatime.com

Good start… but not perfect just yet. Searching individually for flights to and from the stopover point gives more options than just the point to point with requested stopover. Will have to look into feedback on whether we can still call to request stopover itineraries with different flights than the ones offered.

New pricing also in effect Au—>Europe and vv now 115k instead of 105k (incl stopover)

 

[Limewood]

SQ has 3 direct flights from CNS to SIN per week, on older aircraft, from there much easier to find J seats for onward for long haul.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

SQ has 3 direct flights from CNS to SIN per week, on older aircraft, from there much easier to find J seats for onward for long haul.

The SIN-CNS flights are the MAX8s originally destined for Silk Air. They’re pretty new, and the interiors are fully refurbished with full lie-flats in business class and the latest seats and IFE in the main cabin.

Unfortunately that also means the new 737 toilets… which are tiny

 

[PatMcrotch]

Thai airways is only releasing business class within three months of departure to/from AU.

Singapore Airlines you can’t use premium aircraft for business or first, but regional are fine. So for SQ look out of DRW, CNS or PER. That’s going to put a stop in. Connections are on VA.

BR is flying out of BNE to TPE.

Another connecting point is DPS, with VA flying there from MEL/SYD/BNE/OOL, and connections available from other ports, but that might up the mileage band.

Availability is usually pretty good, but subject to the limited number of star alliance partners and schedules out of AU at the moment.

While Etihad was pretty easy to get, that’s dried up out of australia, but still available out of Singapore easily. I have an upcoming redemption SYD-DPS (five day stop) on VA, then DPS-SIN-LHR on SQ and EY. Gulf Air is also available.

Nice redemption Mel.

How do the stopovers for 5000 work?
Can I do a stopover in the same country? EG: ADL-PER(7 day stop)-BKK-KIX ?