Originally Posted by
fayew
Thank you very much. I am not afraid to spend a lot of time researching to get the most bang for my buck (or in this case, bang for my miles!) but the sheer volume of what I need to learn is a daunting. I need to start at the very basics. I will check out Jerry's thread and probably contact Jasper2009 as well.
In a nutshell, you simply need to find award space on one or more of Aeroplan's no-surcharge partners. This might -- or might not -- require you to connect in the U.S.
Google "Aeroplan no surcharge" and you will quickly find the list of the handful no surcharge partners that fly between North America and Europe.