I received an email from Annik de Brouwer yesterday, too. The letter assured me that US lounges charge between $10-30US for guests, and referred me to an attached news release announcing the revised benefits. This is same news release which repeatedly states that Aeroplan is competitive with US programs.

So I spent 15 minutes researching the US frequent flier programs and wrote back to inform them that the four largest US airlines permit two free lounge guests per member, and cited specific examples, such as upgrades and waived capacity controls for awards for all members for less points, where Aeroplan is no where near competitive with US frequent flier programs.

I can understand the need to market Aeroplan in the best light possible, but lying to us isn't going to help their case at all.