Aeroplan: the best flight redemption between UK / Europe and Middle East

I’ve been in the miles and points game for like eight years now, and my international background / connections mean that I dip into loyalty programs of countries besides the UK. Yet Air Canada’s Aeroplan never entered my horizons until very recently, and it turned out to be an excellent redemption program for people living in the UK or Europe.

My friend told me about Aeroplan when he booked Bangkok – London in Oman Air’s first class for only 100k points. I will only focus on the Middle East redemption today however, as I think that’s where Aeroplan’s biggest edge lies.

[The Advantages]

Aeroplan has the the following advantages when it comes to flight redemptions:

• Extensive partner network, including many non Star Alliance carriers
• Easy to book online
• No carrier-imposed surcharges
• Adding a stopover for only 5,000 points

I don’t want to expand too much here, but not charging YQ alone can save you at least £300 for a long-haul return flight compared to British Airways and Etihad Guest etc.

[Getting Points]

I have the US Amex Platinum card through global transfer, and Aeroplan is a Membership Rewards conversion partner in the United States. I can transfer my MR points to Aeroplan at 1:1 ratio and it’s instant.

Aeroplan is not a MR conversion partner in the UK. However, it is with Marriott Bonvoy (60,000 Marriott points = 25,000 Aeroplan points) which is accessible globally.

[Pricing]

You can find Aeroplan’s redemption chart here. Europe and the Middle East both fall into the Atlantic Zone, so the following pricing applies:

Depart from UK or Europe, you are most likely looking at the 2,001 – 4,000 miles range, which means a one-way business class redemption costs only 45,000 points.

Most importantly, you can book the following carries on Aeroplan’s website, and availability is usually pretty good:

• Etihad
• Oman Air
• Gulf Air
• Egypt Air

Obviously Star Alliance carriers such as Lufthansa and Swiss are also available, but they are probably less exciting and availability is worse.

For a LHR – DXB / AUH business class return redemption, here’s roughly what each program wants:

• Aeroplan: 90k points + £313
• British Airways: 100k Avios + £717
• Etihad Guest: 125k miles + £687
• Emirates Skywards: 117.5k miles + £931

Assuming that 1 Avios / point = 1p, two people travelling together on BA’s 2-for-1 voucher is still no better deal than Aeroplan. It contrasts even more sharply if you look at the one-way UK inbound flight only.

I booked my Dubai flight on Egypt Air departing right before Christmas. There’s one Etihad flight with empty business class seats left but unfortunately the arrival time is inconvenient. I’m still quite happy though to find any available for the festive period.

You can also redeem in first class for 60,000 points per way, but availability is much harder to find.

[The Catch]

Aeroplan charges up to C$100 (£64) for changing your ticket, and C$150 (£96) for cancellation. It is much more expensive than Avios tickets with British Airways, although still manageable. Flexible Rewards are possible at the time of booking which can be changed / cancelled for free, however they are at least 20% more expensive which kind of defeats the purpose.

You can cancel your booking for free within 24 hours, which is inline with the other programs.