Originally Posted by
Clipper801
A lot of things can happen that would prevent one from doing the $180 trick, e.g., slipping and breaking the leg at the boarding gate, serious car accident and injured on the way to the airport, other accidental personal injury or illness on departure day.
Aeroplan tickets can be cancelled until, what, 45 minutes before departure? Closing of the flight? I had a car accident on the way to the airport last December and was able to get the ticket cancelled, with the option to change it for $90 or cancel for $180.
So the list of things that could result in not using the $180 trick is actually pretty small.
As for the OP's concern that this would somehow impact the legitimacy of the cancellation, that doesn't make any sense. You're not re-booking the ticket one day later than claiming insurance for cancelling it. You're using the Aeroplan system to cancel the trip and get a refund of the points and the taxes/fees paid, less - effectively - a cancellation fee of $180.