Why Air Canada Aeroplan is My Preferred Loyalty Program Within Star Alliance

Regardless of how many airlines you use, concentrating on a single loyalty program in each of the major airline alliances—Oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam—makes sense.

By zeroing in on one program per alliance, you can accumulate rewards more rapidly since your points and miles won’t be dispersed among various programs within the same alliance. If you travel frequently (or possess the right credit card), you may achieve elite status, enhancing your travel experience with added comfort and benefits.

Living in the United Kingdom, I've primarily chosen the British Airways Executive Club as my Oneworld loyalty program. Avios can be transferred across five different loyalty programs, and gaining Executive Club elite status is relatively straightforward. For SkyTeam, I previously favored Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club, but Air France-KLM's Flying Blue has become my preferred choice in that alliance.

So, what about the Star Alliance?

Here’s why Aeroplan has become my top choice for a Star Alliance loyalty program, even though I seldom travel to Canada.

Aeroplan collaborates with most of the leading credit card currencies.

Aeroplan has direct partnerships with four out of the six major programs that feature transferable currencies:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Bilt Rewards
• Capital One
• Chase Ultimate Rewards

Many of these programs provide cards with attractive welcome bonuses. Here’s a glimpse of the travel rewards credit cards that earn transferable points or miles, which can be converted to Aeroplan points at a 1:1 ratio:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in your first six months. Some users may be targeted for bonuses of up to 175,000 points via the CardMatch tool (offer may change). Terms apply.
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months.
• American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 in the first six months. Additionally, get 20% back in statement credits on eligible restaurant purchases (up to $100) in the first six months.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus a $300 Chase Travel℠ credit for the first year.

Aeroplan transfer incentives

Credit card companies, particularly American Express and Chase, occasionally provide transfer bonuses, typically around 20%, when converting credit card points to Aeroplan.

This means you can achieve more than a 1:1 transfer ratio during these limited-time offers, enhancing your Aeroplan points balance and making it easier to accumulate points for that dream redemption.

Earn and redeem Aeroplan points across a wide range of airlines

One of the standout features of the Aeroplan program is the impressive array of airlines where you can earn and redeem Aeroplan points. As of now, there are 50 different airline partners available for redemption. I can't think of any other airline loyalty program that boasts this many partners, with most available for online booking.

You can earn and redeem Aeroplan points with the following Star Alliance members:

• Aegean Airlines
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air India
• Air New Zealand
• All Nippon Airways
• Asiana Airlines
• Austrian Airlines
• Avianca
• Brussels Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Croatia Airlines
• Egyptair
• Ethiopian Airlines
• EVA Airways
• LOT Polish Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Shenzhen Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways
• Swiss
• TAP Air Portugal
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• United Airlines

Additionally, you can earn and redeem Aeroplan points with the following non-alliance airlines:

• Air Creebec
• Air Dolomiti (Star Alliance affiliate)
• Air Mauritius
• Air Serbia
• Azul Brazilian Airlines
• Bamboo Airways
• Calm Air
• Canadian North
• Cathay Pacific
• Central Mountain Air
• Discover Airlines (Star Alliance affiliate)
• Edelweiss
• Emirates
• Etihad Airways
• Eurowings (Star Alliance affiliate)
• Flydubai
• Gol Airlines
• Gulf Air
• Juneyao Air (Star Alliance connecting partner)
• Olympic Air
• Oman Air
• PAL Airlines
• SunExpress
• Virgin Australia
• Vistara

While I may not plan to fly with Calm Air or Air Creebec, having Emirates and Etihad—both with extensive route networks—as partners is fantastic.

You can earn and redeem Aeroplan points across all the mentioned airlines, plus four additional earn-only airlines:

• Aer Lingus
• Central Mountain Air
• Middle East Airlines
• SriLankan Airlines

Aeroplan partner awards operate under an award chart that has no surcharges.

While Aeroplan point redemptions for Air Canada flights are now subject to dynamic pricing—often reaching outrageous levels like 550,000 points for a single journey—there's a silver lining: redemptions for partner airline flights follow a unique and more generous hybrid award chart.

Pricing depends on the distance of your flight, but it fluctuates based on the regions you are traveling to and from, with those regions defined quite broadly. For instance, the "Atlantic" region encompasses everything from Norway to South Africa and even India.

Once you've determined the region(s) you wish to explore, you can assess the distance of your trip using tools like Great Circle Mapper. From there, consult the award charts to figure out how many Aeroplan points you'll need for your flight redemption.

For instance, you could book a flight on Singapore Airlines' fifth-freedom route from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany for only 60,000 Aeroplan points in business class, plus around $57 in taxes and fees.

This is an amazing offer on business class flights to Europe with one of the world's top airlines.

You can also book economy flights on United Airlines across the continental U.S. and Canada starting at just 6,000 Aeroplan points for trips up to 500 miles, like from Dulles International Airport (IAD) to various Northeast locations.

Aeroplan also eliminates carrier-imposed surcharges, potentially saving you hundreds compared to redeeming through a program that does have these fees.

You can include a stopover for an additional 5,000 Aeroplan points.

The Aeroplan loyalty program offers a lesser-known yet valuable benefit that lets you add a stopover on your journey for just 5,000 extra points. For round-trip Aeroplan redemptions, you can include a stopover on both your outbound and return flights, each for 5,000 points.

There are some rules regarding stopovers to consider; however, I find them quite manageable:

• Stopovers in Canada or the U.S. are not permitted.
• The distance flown from your origin to destination in one direction must be less than double the nonstop distance.
• Backtracking through the same airport, city, or country in one direction is not allowed.
• Your stopover cannot exceed 45 days.

Optimal ways to book Lufthansa first class using points and miles.

In light of Avianca LifeMiles' sudden increase in redemption rates for flights to Europe, Aeroplan has become the most affordable way to book Lufthansa's renowned first-class service to Europe and beyond.

While LifeMiles charges 130,000 points, Aeroplan requires only 90,000 points for flights from the East Coast to Europe in Lufthansa first class, or 100,000 points from the West Coast to Europe, with minimal taxes and fees around $50.

The Aeroplan credit card is seriously underappreciated.

Air Canada's Aeroplan® Credit Card from Chase ranks among my top cobranded airline credit cards.

You might be surprised by the numerous benefits this card offers, including some that are rarely found on airline-affiliated credit cards. Here are some standout features:

• Welcome bonus of up to 100,000 points: New applicants for the Air Canada Aeroplan credit card can earn 75,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months, plus an extra 25,000 points after spending $20,000 within the first year.
• Triple points in select categories: Cardholders earn 3 Aeroplan points for every dollar spent at grocery stores, dining (including takeout and delivery), and on purchases made directly with Air Canada, and 1 point per dollar on all other expenses.
• Monthly bonus points: For every $2,000 spent, cardholders can earn up to 500 bonus points—capped at 1,500 points each month.
• Redeem points for any travel expenses: Aeroplan points can be redeemed towards any airline, hotel, or car rental at a rate of 1.25 cents each.
• Statement credits: Up to $100 in statement credits for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or Nexus applications is available every four years.
• Aeroplan elite status: Cardholders automatically receive Aeroplan 25K elite status during the calendar year they open the card and the following year, including benefits like priority check-in and boarding, discounted award redemption pricing with Air Canada, a 50% discount on Preferred Seats, two one-time guest passes to Air Canada's Maple Leaf Lounges at Canadian airports, and 20 eUpgrade credits annually.

In summary

No airline program is flawless in the ever-evolving landscape of customer loyalty. However, while 2024 has seen other major programs raise redemption rates unexpectedly, Air Canada's Aeroplan program continues to be a reliable choice for my Star Alliance loyalty.

Not only are Aeroplan points straightforward to earn, but the redemption rates with various partner airlines have enabled me to gain significant value from this loyalty program.