With some work (and a sprinkle of luck), you could book Business Class for almost half the normal asking price. As long as reward seats are available, buying Air Canada Aeroplan points is a clever way to book premium travel for less. This latest promotion with buying points means you could be booking a Business Class redemption sooner.
Thanks to Air Canada’s Star Alliance partnership, points earned (or bought) in its Aeroplan program can be used on flights worldwide. This includes direct services between Australia and Bangkok on Thai Airways and Japan on ANA.
Up to 125% bonus when you buy Aeroplan Points
Expiry: 11:59 pm ET on 11 July 2024 (~1:59 pm on 12 July in AEST) |
The latest offer is up to 125% bonus points (or more) when you purchase up to 500,000 Aeroplan Points. This means you could end up with 1,125,000 Aeroplan Points if you purchase the maximum amount in one go. The offer is tiered and can vary, so here’s a summary of the tier bonuses. After 11 July, the maximum drops down to 100%.
- Buy 5,000 – 25,000 points: 60% bonus
- Buy 30,000 – 70,000 points: 85% bonus
- Buy 80,000 – 500,000 points: 125% bonus
* the tier thresholds themselves can also vary – check Aeroplan to see yours.
This is the best offer for Aeroplan Points so far. With a 125% bonus, you’ll pay 1.56 cents (CAD) per point. Note that you can only buy in increments of 1,000 points up to 35,000 base points. Above that, the increments broaden to 5,000 points.
The sweet spot is probably buying 80,000 pts + bonus 100,000 pts (180,000 pts total) for CA$2,800. That’s enough for four Business Class flights between Australia and many destinations in Asia, plus fees and taxes.
Buying a full serve of 1,125,000 Aeroplan Points (500,000 base points with a 125% bonus) clocks in at CA$17,500. That’s about AU$19,050. Sales tax is levied on top when using a Canadian credit card, but not when buying from addresses in Australia or the United States.
Offer history
Below is the recent history of Aeroplan bonus promotions. We consider an 85% bonus to be an average deal. Anything above 100% is an offer worth considering.
Aeroplan offer history
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- July 2024: 100-125% bonus
- January 2024: 85-100% bonus
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- November 2023: Variable bonus up to 125%
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- May 2023: 110% bonus for a few days, then a 95% bonus
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- April 2023: 85% bonus
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- March 2023: 80% bonus
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- January 2023: 100% bonus
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- November 2022: 115% bonus
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- September 2022: 85% bonus
What can I do with Aeroplan Points?
Read our dedicated guide on how to buy and use Aeroplan Points.
You can use Aeroplan Points to book travel on Air Canada, Virgin Australia and Star Alliance partner airlines including Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and more. Aeroplan offers excellent rates at only 45,000 points one-way in Business Class from Australia to South East Asia and back (within 5,000 miles of flying).
Fly to Tokyo using Aeroplan Points | Points for Economy Class | Points for Business Class | Taxes, fees and charges |
Sydney to Tokyo (Haneda) | 25,000 Aeroplan Points | 45,000 Aeroplan Points | CA$122 (AU$135) |
Tokyo (Haneda) to Sydney | 25,000 Aeroplan Points | 45,000 Aeroplan Points | CA$69 (AU$77) |
Melbourne to Bangkok | 25,000 Aeroplan Points | 45,000 Aeroplan Points | CA$117 (AU$130) |
Bangkok to Melbourne | 25,000 Aeroplan Points | 45,000 Aeroplan Points | CA$46 (AU$51) |
All points and costs above are for direct flights — it could be more (or the same) if you transit through other cities, depending on the total distance. And remember that the amount payable in taxes, fees and charges may also vary with different flights factored in.
Summing up
Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is surprisingly useful for Australian travellers. Thanks to its Star Alliance membership and separate partnership with Etihad, Virgin Australia and Emirates, there are plenty of savvy options for buying and spending Aeroplan Points.
But again, our standard caveats apply. We don’t advise you to buy points speculatively in this climate — only if there’s an immediate booking you want to make using those points. And don’t forget to check for reward seat availability on the Air Canada website before buying points!
Is this why your article emphasises shorter flights to Asia?
I tried searching flights on a range of dates on some of the routes you have in your table and couldn’t find anything under 300k. It was harder than trying to find availability in J using velocity!
Is it notoriously difficult to find saver awards on aeroplan?
“Expiry: 2:59 am ET on 29 November 2022 (~5:59 pm on 30 November in AEDT)”
I noticed there is an option via Hilton.
Accor allows transfer to Aero too but AMEX AU and CITI doesnt allow transfers to Accor either.
I am looking for options Mel Lon and found their award search being amazing!!
Thanks
Just booked fights using Aeroplan Miles (which I bought on a previous promotion) to fly Jeddah – Abu Dhabi – Singapore, then Singapore – Sydney using Velocity Points, all in Business Class. Thanks for the tips from Point Hacks!!
Got started being a “Points Hacker” thanks to your website and blogs.
Great job people!!