I have come up with an interesting side bar to this Elite and SuperElite offer which may be worth considering if:

• The E and SE bonuses are offered in the new benefits year
• You also collect Air Miles, but don't really know how to use them
• You travel to smaller communities where the major hotel chains don't have properties

Between March 1st and May 31st, and October 31st and December 31st, if you are a SE member of Aeroplan [and I also believe Elites qualify at least for the double miles] and a member of the Gold Crown Club who has airline miles credited rather than GCC points, you get the aforementioned double Aeroplan miles per BW stay [250+250] plus another 1,000 bonus miles after every second stay.

You also, as a SE, get a voucher for 1,200 GCC points which generally gets you a room at most BWs in smaller communities [value C$75 to C$100 rack rates].

Now, AirMiles offers a C$50 BW prepaid card for 355 AMs. So to cover the cost of two stays at a BW would require three such cards for a total of 1065 AMs. [You can draw down the cost of your hotel room and use the balance remaining for another stay.] All stays paid for with these cards do garner GCC credit, and thus you will get your Aeroplan miles too.

This means you are converting 1065 AMs into 2,000 Aeroplan miles with the double miles per stay and 2nd stay bonus.

While you could purchase a short haul AC ticket [or WestJet] for about the same 1065 AMs, you would also be paying between C$60 to C$100 in fees and taxes depending upon where you were going [US being at the higher end]. You would get a Z-class ticket, and thus earn no Aeroplan miles. So the value of using AMs for AC travel is questionable, since the actual flight in TANGO or FUN classes would likely run you no more than C$200 plus those same taxes and fees.

Converting to BW "currency" gives you C$150 worth of hotel stays [at least two nights] plus all the Aeroplan miles [2,000] and another BW hotel night free of charge.

We have just been informed that BW will be having an accelerated mileage/points bonus in the first quarter of the year, so even if Aeroplan elites don't get their own bonuses, Aeroplan mileage accrual will be accelerated for all members. I believe the promo is double miles for the first stay, triple for the second, quadruple for the third... So the only thing missing will be the 1,200-point BW certificate for the free night. This still makes it an attractive consideration should your travels take you to BW-only territory and you have lots of orphan AMs to which you can figure no other use to put them.