With Air Canada’s purchase of the Aeroplan program, changes were inevitable. Unfortunately, some of those changes are already coming. One, in particular, is why I think you should book your Aeroplan travel now, especially if you want to maximize the value of your hard-earned points. Here’s why:
Goodbye Mini-RTW
Last week Aeroplan announced that flight rewards are “now with more flexibility and peace-of-mind.” This is, of course, just marketing speak to slip in some devaluation to one of the best reward programs out there. Along with new rule changes that allow you to get a full refund within 24-hours of booking and lower refund fees, Aeroplan snuck in two negatives. Gone is the outright option to book an around the world itinerary. This, although crappy, was not the best use of points anyway. The real kick to the rewards wallet is Aeroplan’s removal of a second stopover, essentially eliminating the travel hackers much loved mini-RTW itinerary.
Nuts.
What is a Mini-RTW Reward Ticket?
The best use of Aeroplan travel, up to this point at least, is the mini-RTW ticket. By leveraging Aeroplan’s flexibility of two stop-overs (or one stopover and one open jaw) plus your destination you can/could build an itinerary that takes you around the globe for the same amount of points as a return ticket. With the latest changes lowering this to one stopover or one open jaw, this is no longer possible. This means trips that I have done and helped others take like India, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, and Singapore on a single booking won’t be possible.
- READ MORE: Aeroplan Mini-RTW Examples
Changes to Aeroplan Travel – Silver Linning
I fully expected changes to come back when Air Canada announced it was leaving Aeroplan, but I wasn’t expecting a change like till this for awhile. Although short, Aeroplan did give some notice to this shift in policy. Any travel booked after September 1st, 2019 will be subject to the new changes. This means anything booked prior to that can still take advantage of the second stopover and the awesome mini-RTW itineraries.
- READ MORE: HOW TO AVOID AEROPLAN TAXES AND FEES
Conclusion
So there you have it. Aeroplan travel is set to change for the worse. On the plus, you still have time to take advantage of the current rules. If you are struggling to avoid Aeroplan’s high taxes and fees or need a hand booking a dream trip and stretching those miles as far as possible, I can help! I have added booking Aeroplan travel as a service and have saved people thousands of dollars over the last couple of years! Even if you don’t have enough points currently to book a mini-RTW trip I know how to work around this. Let’s chat before it’s too late!
What say you?
Thoughts on why you need to Book Your Aeroplan Travel Now?
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