What’s your favorite frequent flyer program? For me, it’s Air Canada Aeroplan, no contest! In June, I spilled the tea on three secrets to mastering award redemptions, and trust me, you can start using them right away. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, especially about Aeroplan’s stopover feature.
This post is your ultimate guide to discovering Air Canada Aeroplan’s sweet spots and how to DIY stopovers online with examples from our dream trips.
Intro to Air Canada Aeroplan
Aeroplan is the frequent-flyer program owned by Air Canada, Their award chart might look a bit complicated at first, with dynamic rates for Air Canada flights and fixed rates for partner flights. But don’t worry! Aeroplan uses a clever mix of region and distance-based charts for partner flights. This means the points you need depend on two things: the travel zones and the distance between your start and end points – including any stops.
Aeroplan divides the world into four travel zones:
- North America
- South America
- Atlantic (Europe, Africa, and as far east as India)
- Pacific (most of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania)
All told, Aeroplan has 11 award charts. Luckily, they’ve got a super handy tool called the Aeroplan Points Predictor. Just pop in your starting point and destination, and it’ll show you how many points you need for both Air Canada and partner flights. I use this tool all the time to plan our dream trips, from a seven-week adventure across the South Pacific and Asia to a luxurious self-care getaway.
Why Aeroplan Is My Favorite Frequent Flyer Program For Redeeming Points
Aeroplan has so many perks from earning with the points very easily with the credit cards, for example, Chase Ink Business Preferred (Limited Time Sign-up Bonus: Earn 120,000 points) and no carrier-imposed charges. But the following three features really make it shine for me:
- Tons of Airline Partners
Aeroplan boasts more airline partners than any other frequent flyer program out there. Not only is Air Canada part of the Star Alliance, but Aeroplan has also been on a spree, adding as many airline partners as possible.
Think Air Mauritius, Air Serbia, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Oman Air, Vistara, Cathay Pacific, and more. I recently used Aeroplan points for a last-minute trip to Bangkok, flying Cathay Pacific Business and Thai Airways during our epic seven-week family adventure.
And the best part? The list of partners keeps growing. You can book award flights on all 26 Star Alliance members (including Air Canada) and most of Air Canada’s 28 other non-alliance partners – no phone calls needed. Here’s 50 plus airlines you can redeem Aeroplan points with!
- Stopovers for 5,000 Points One-Way (and You Can Book Online!)
Not many frequent flyer programs let you have stopovers on one-way awards, let alone make it easy to book online. Aeroplan does, and for just 5,000 points, it’s a steal! This is amazing for so many trips, especially when you can mix and match partners.
Since Air Canada revamped Aeroplan in 2020, booking award flights with stopovers online has become a breeze.
- Traveling from the US to Turkey? Fly to Cairo on EgyptAir, have a stopover for 5,000 points, then continue to Istanbul either on EgyptAir or Turkish Airlines.
- Heading from Europe to San Francisco? Fly TAP Air Portugal from Lisbon to Zurich, have a stopover there for 5,000 points, then continue to San Francisco on Swiss International Air Lines.
- Going from the Down Under to North Asia? Fly to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, have a stopover for 5,000 points, then continue to Japan, South Korea or Taiwan.
- Family Sharing
Aeroplan is one of the few airline programs that lets you pool points with friends and family. For families like ours, this is a game-changer! With Aeroplan Family Sharing, up to eight members can link accounts. Points earned by any member are shared among all and can be used by all. The Family Lead (like me) can redeem the pooled points, and other members can be set as contributors only or as both contributors and redeemers. Points are deducted proportionally based on how many points each member brought in. If any family members have elite status or an Air Canada co-branded credit card, any associated benefits, like discounted award flights, apply to the whole pool.
🔥Update: Family Sharing account creation has been temporarily paused since August 2023, existing users aren’t affected and can still add and remove members from their family pool. For the prospective users, you can sign up for the notification when the capability resumes.
With these three awesome features, Aeroplan is my go-to for planning our family’s dream trips.
🔥Pro Tip (Act Fast!): From now through July 30, take advantage of a 20% Air Canada Aeroplan transfer bonus from Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR). With this 20% bonus,
- You can snag those $3,500 business class tickets from New York to Istanbul for as low as 79,000 points, down from 95,000 points.
- With the transfer bonus, you can also cut the points needed to just 79,000 points one way per person for a trip from Auckland to Tokyo. As the “CEO” of award travel for your family, this can significantly reduce the total number of points required, especially if you’re traveling in a group of two or more. (Yes, there are 2 ~ 4 tickets available!)
How To Best Redeem For The Family Trips with Aeroplan
Let’s dive into two prime redemption strategies how to plan for our family dream trips, and to help you squeeze the most value out of your Aeroplan points!
Short Hauls Create Endless Getaway and Connection Opportunities
- 6,000 Points Within United States
One of the best ways to get bang for your Aeroplan points is on short United Airlines flights under 500 miles. Many different airlines have revamped their short-haul flights in the award chart, for instance, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Alaska Mileage Plan, and Avios, especially via Qatar Airways.
Aeroplan is one of them. For just 6,000 Aeroplan points each way, you’re all set! Grab a golden circle map to spot those < 500-mile routes. I’ve got a self-care trip lined up for the fall, starting from Las Vegas. Guess what? I scored a sweet deal using 6,000 Aeroplan points for my San Francisco – Las Vegas connection.
- 7,500 Points Within Atlantic
This is perfect for a spontaneous weekend getaway or as an extension of a longer trip. I’m obsessed with Lufthansa First Class and its exclusive terminal in Frankfurt, so I’m always strategizing for those last-minute award seat releases. This will be a key part of my upcoming self-care journey through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe this winter.
- 8,000 Points Within Asia
Take Fukuoka and Taipei, for example – just 807 miles apart. When planning our seven-week family trip, I found Aeroplan’s options connecting Japan and Taiwan to be fantastic. This comes up quite consistently, and here shows one of the days in summer 2025.
Let’s talk about one of the coolest Aeroplan tricks: the Stopover
The secret of stopover of Aeroplan’s award chart isn’t just about flying one continent: it’s your ticket to hopping across three continents! For instance, thanks to the region overhaul in 2020, Europe and Africa are now bundled into the “Atlantic” region. It might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but it’s a game-changer.
Today we start with something easy. I’ve broken down the magic of stopovers in a 7-week award family adventure. This trick not only slashes the miles you need for two separate flights but also gives you and your family a fantastic chance to explore an extra destination you might never have thought of.
Imagine this:
- Ever considered spending a week in Cairo exploring the Pyramids when you’re flying from New York to Turkey?
- How about a desert 4WD adventure in Dubai on your way to Bangkok from Istanbul?
- What if you could fly from Auckland to Korea, Japan and Taiwan, with a few days to savor Laksa and Hainan Chicken Rice in Singapore?
Stick with me, and I’ll walk you through the “3-step magic” of making these stopovers happen!
Look at the same route I planned last year for our trip in 2024 – a flight from Sydney to Seoul with a 3-day stopover in Singapore! What I show you here is the latest award seat availability just scouted on July 24 for the summer of 2025.
- Step 1: Make sure the availability of the first sector – Sydney to Singapore
- Step 2: Make sure the availability of the second sector – Singapore to Seoul
- Step 3: Marry both sectors together online after you make sure both sectors are available – Singapore to Seoul
The real award tickets with stopover generated online on July 23 and 24, 2024:
How To Earn Air Canada Aeroplan Points
- Credit Card Spending
Air Canada has co-branded cards in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., Air Canada partners with Chase to issue the Aeroplan Credit Card. New cardholders can earn 70,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Flexible Points Through Transfer Partners
Air Canada Aeroplan also partners with four major U.S. transferrable point programs. Earning flexible points with their credit cards is another wise and easy way to collect Aeroplan:
- American Express Membership Rewards: 1 Membership Rewards point to 1 Aeroplan point
- Recommended: American Express Platinum
- Capital One Miles: 1 Capital One mile to 1 Aeroplan point
- Recommended: Capital One Venture (Limited Time Sign-up Bonus: 75,000 points with $250 travel credit)
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: 1 Ultimate Rewards point to 1 Aeroplan point
- Recommended: Chase Ink Business Preferred (Limited Time Sign-up Bonus:120,000 Points), Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Marriott Bonvoy: 3 Marriott Bonvoy points to 1 Aeroplan point, plus a 5,000-points bonus for transferring every 60,000 points
- Recommended: Amex Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
Final Thoughts
Aeroplan truly shines as an all-encompassing program with a treasure trove of sweet spots for award redemptions. My top three favorite features are the extensive range of over 50 diverse airline partners, the fantastic 5,000-points stopover option, and the family-sharing benefits that make it a breeze to travel together. With the two handy tactics I’ve shared today, I’m confident Aeroplan will become your ultimate go-to for planning unforgettable family adventures and maximizing the value of your points. Ready to make some dream trips a reality? Dive into Aeroplan and start your journey today!
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Maria Fung is the founder of Maria Points The Way. She is an award travel writer, miles and points strategist, coach and speaker, in specific to “self-defined “ family travel across Asia pacific. Visit mariapointstheway.com for more miles and points tips.
