The problem has never been with collecting Aeroplan points. The problem has always been in the cost to redeem them - along with increasingly limited reward availability.

I'm trying to book a reward trip from Toronto to Vancouver eight months from now. Why, eight months out, does Aeroplan show just four return flights, all of them requiring an overnight stop in Regina?

With Aventura, Avion, Amex or other more modern cards, you can pick any flight you want and pay for the whole thing with points, taxes included. That's so much better than the old Aeroplan model where you're locked into their availability.

Points have zero value if you can't redeem them the way you want. That's why the Aventura's and Avions and Amexes of the world will bury legacy programs like Aeroplan and Air Miles. Just watch.