It is not just a question of earning Aeroplan miles in the end, but also earning status for additional benefits. If your father is going to stay at hotels an awful lot over the coming year -- and into the future -- he should also consider earning status in hotel programs and earning points in these so you can benefit from free nights. Given how cheap air fares have become, the real heavy cost of a vacation can be the hotel roons. So I would counsel earning hotel program points and status for the first year just to see what patterns emerge, and how much is earned in both points and status credits. And remember, hotel points from both HI and BW can be converted into Aeroplan miles, so earning points is really a more flexible option.

With Priority Club [Holiday Inns] he might consider paying $50 up front for Gold status. This will increase the points earned and get him the occasional upgrade and other benefit at these hotels. And remember to register him for all the bonuses in that program. Starting mid-May there are several promos he should be signed up for to build up the account. Go to that forum and check out the "sticky" dealing with bonuses. I do suggest changing his default to points from miles though. [Same with BW which often offers conversion bonuses from time to time, so if he still wants Aeroplan miles, he will get more by earning them this way.]