Earlier this year, Airmiles increased the number of airmiles required for a flight reward.

"In the case of flights within Canada, to the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), to Mexico and to the Caribbean, this is a result of reducing the total taxes and fees to be paid in cash by our Collectors by including the fuel surcharges in the number of reward miles required to be redeemed for these flights… something that our Collectors have been asking us to do for years. "

Today, I looked for a oneway flight reward from YHZ to LAS. In addition to the airmiles, I'm asked to pay $108.98 for the Air Canada & AC Rouge itinerary. (Not that I would book AC Rouge. This is just a test.)

If I book the same itinerary as a Flex ticket on Aircanada.com, the taxes and charges are LESS ($6.47 less, to be exact). What exactly is the cash savings we get thanks to the increased cost in airmiles?

Also, in initial search results, they obscure the fact that some of the "Air Canada" flights are actually "Air Canada Rouge". :-(