Air Canada and Aeroplan keep knocking it out of the park during this crisis. They have been forthcoming with information and have come up with new innovative ways to engage their loyalty members.
Back in April, Air Canada/Aeroplan announced their plans on extending status for those that already have status for the 2021 status year and introduced the first phase of their Travel at Home promotion. That was quickly followed up with more details on how you could earn status with Air Canada without even flying as part of their second phase of the Travel at Home promo. They then followed up that news with the unbelievable news of bringing Etihad into the fold for redemptions of Aeroplan miles!!!
WOW – REALLY CHEAP AEROPLAN REDEMPTIONS
UPDATE
It has been confirmed by Air Canada/Aeroplan that this promotion works for multi-city redemptions as long as the itinerary is valid, the destinations are within Canada and the US, and the carrier is Air Canada. This obviously opens up a whole world of opportunities for those wanting to stretch the value of your Aeroplan Miles.
Today, Air Canada and Aeroplan have added even more to the slate of good news articles – you can now book Aeroplan award redemptions for 50% off between today (June 17) and July 1, 2020, for all routes between Canada and the US!
The only thing to keep in mind is that travel must be taken between July 1 and October 15, 2020.
The way the promotion works is that you book the standard fare and you will receive 50% of the Aeroplan Miles back within 3 weeks of travel. While it would be nice if the awards priced at 50% off, it’s understandable that they are doing it this way due to the complexity of changes to a fixed award search engine.
For full details on the terms and conditions, refer to the official promotion webpage.
Don’t Think – Just Book
I used to be one of those people that try to over-evaluate an offer before jumping on it, especially when it comes to mistake fares, but for this promotion, I am encouraging you to book as soon as possible and worry about making it work after. Why, you ask? Well, Air Canada is committed to providing flexible cancellation on award bookings until August 31, 2020.
This means that if you book something for travel towards the end of August and COVID is still a pressing concern, you can cancel your award, receive your Aeroplan miles back into your account, and be refunded the amount you paid for taxes and fees. No harm – no foul.
If You Have Status
For those of you that took advantage of Air Canada’s status promotion, you would have already received your status. This means that this promotion is especially sweet for you because you will now have a YQ waiver for all routes between Canada and the US so the only taxes and fees you will pay are the ones mandated by the government and the airport authorities of the location you are flying from/to.
My Plan
I plan on doing some route research tonight to figure out where we can take a quick vacation. I’m still torn on whether or not the US will be a safe place to visit in the summer but if we feel unsure, there’s always the Maritimes.
Some Interesting Statistics
Air Canada/Aeroplan has also provided me with some interesting statistics on their Travel at Home program that you might get a kick out of.
What I find fascinating about the infographic above is that there have been over 5.5 billion Aeroplan Miles earned or purchased, which suggests that there is pent up demand for travel and specifically award travel. It also suggests that the fear of Air Canada taking over the Aeroplan program is not something that most Canadian are worried about despite WestJet’s attempts to increase that fear.
These numbers also help to reinforce how important a loyalty program is to an airline and how much revenue it can generate even in uncertain times. I would hazard a guess that the Aeroplan program is bringing in more profits for Air Canada than their planes are.
It’s also interesting that only 5,000 people participated in the status upgrade promotion that Air Canada provided as part of their Travel from Home promotion, which helps alleviate any concerns current status members may have with program dilution.
Conclusion
I don’t have enough good things to say about how well Air Canada and the Aeroplan team have handled the COVID situation and I again applaud them for their efforts with this promotion. Take advantage of this promotion as I’m sure with 5.5 billion Aeroplan Miles itching for a new home, demand for these flights may be high.