Spares

Flying on redemption tickets and when I open the boarding pass in the new app it shows zone 4, however when opening in my wallet (apple wallet) it shows zone 2... I'm going to take the zone 2 call but is this an issue, and which side is the error on? I believe I am entitled to the Zone 2 based on the redemption/cc privs. BP also shows *CC which leads me to believe it is picking up my privileges.

Further to this, if Zone 2 is correct, is my travel partner in zone 2? Tickets were redeemed together and paid for on my TD card.

Clipper801

Re the above bold italics:

The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite does NOT cover your points. It's very clear in their policy. Unfortunately, not all cards are equal. If you had a CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite, you would be compensated for the 50,000 Aeroplan points lost.


TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite insurance policy.




CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite insurance policy covers the points but at a cash value determined by them. So you will get something but not the Aeroplan points spent to redeem the ticket.

yowspotter

I hadn't seen that in the policy. Bummer. I had my hopes heightened by a call center agent who told me that the points would be covered in a manner consistent with the CIBC way ... Obviously they were wrong, and I never obtained a name to pin her on it. I wonder if they handle CIBC claims also.

Still wondering if some gymnastics a la canadiancow is possible.

Clipper801

No, the CIBC one is underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.

canadiancow

1) I've actually never changed an entire round-trip, so maybe it would be $700. You can certainly call and ask.
2) That I can't help you with.

Did you try ask for any leniency from Aeroplan? I've had them waive fees for me without even asking when I explained the situation.

calpaugh

I've had problems with this recently. One is that I can rarely check-in online without being asked to pay for my first checked bag. This used to work.

Next, both my girlfriend and I have primary TD Infinite Privilege cards (two separate card accounts), but when we book tickets together, they often try to claim only 1 bag is free because both tickets were purchased on the same itinerary (and credit card).

But that is questionably not true. I don't see anything in TD's rules that says anything about the ticket being purchased on specific card; as long as we both put our aeroplan numbers on our tickets they should see that both should be eligible for a free checked bag.

The complimentary first checked bag , up to 23kg (50lb), applies whenever the Primary Cardholder travels on a flight operated by Air Canada, Air Canada rouge or under the Air Canada express banner. Flights operated by other airlines are not eligible. To access this benefit, the Primary Cardholder must include their Aeroplan Number on their reservation at time of booking, or redeem their Aeroplan flight reward (defined as Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards or Market Fare Flight Rewards) using miles from their Aeroplan account. To access this benefit, the Primary Cardholder must also ensure that the name on the Air Canada flight booking is identical to the name on the Aeroplan account profile of the traveler. The complimentary first checked bag applies solely to the Primary Cardholder, and service charges for additional/oversized/overweight baggage may apply. Applicable on flights that do not already offer a complimentary first checked bag. To access this benefit, the Primary Cardholder may be required to show their TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege * Card to the Air Canada agent.

Third is that if you have 25K status, you might find yourself in zone 3 instead of zone 2 because somehow Altitude zone status (or lack of with 25K) trumps credit card zone status, even if its lower. That is a super pain and hard to solve at either check-in or the gate. I think Infinite Privilege zone 2 boarding is a little known feature.

Clipper801

The simple work around is to make two separate bookings using each individual's Visa Infinite Privilege card. Then call AC reservation to link the two booking files.

JJonahJ

Apologies up front, if I didn't understand your situation correctly. But the way it reads to me, is that you used ONE Aeroplan account to redeem for the two tickets, is that correct? If this is the case then only the primary cardholder will get the benefits.

As we've seen anecdotally, you don't need to actually PAY the Aeroplan fees with a TD (or CIBC) Visa card to get the various benefits (priority-boarding, first bag free), you can pay with a different MC or Amex. But the Aeroplan number used for the redemption must be the same as the one attached to the credit card, and then these benefits from the Aeroplan Visa for that redemption will be enabled.

yowspotter

My plan is to call them asap to see what can be done.

Interestingly, in the appeal rejection letter I received from Allianz, a personalized letter and not form mail, they told me to speak to Aeroplan and mentioned that they'd cover things like mileage reinstatement fees. So it seems the door isn't closed. I will try to do something per your original recommendation.

nabeelj

I believe he's referring to the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privelege, which has a listed benefit of free first checked bag on Air Canada flights in general, not only on Aeroplan awards.

allizdog

Has anyone else had this happen? It's been several months since I received any bonus miles for AC flight bookings charged to the TD card. Most of my bookings in that time period were made through the app, so I always chalked it up to app bookings not technically being aircanada.com bookings, but a couple of weeks ago I made a booking on the web site and it still didn't result in the 50% bonus miles on my Visa statement.

Called TD and after a half hour on the phone with the agent, who went through every charge, checked the MCCs and agreed with me that it seems as though the bonus should have been applied (both according to the fine print and to how the charges appeared on my statement) there was absolutely nothing they could do, even after checking with a supervisor.

TD's answer was that it's all supposed to be automatic, so if the system didn't apply the bonus, I must not have earned it. However, they have no way of explaining why not. Helpfully, the supervisor suggested I call Aeroplan. Headdesk.

I'll be calling TD back during business hours when hopefully I can get a supervisor who actually understands how it's supposed to work, but clearly this has been an ongoing issue on their end for a number of months so I'm curious how widespread it is.

yscleo

We had booked many flight redemptions on ae, and both my wife and I have had TD and CIBC ae infinite visa cards. Some times we get the benefits and some times not. Last year an agent agreed I should get the free checked bag, but couldn't waive the fee. She had to get a supervisor and after many minutes, finally waived it.

It certainly isn't automatic.

YVRYEGYVR

Can you explain how to check if the extra miles are being correctly deposited in the account?

I have never checked for the 50% extra miles for ac.com purchases and have many.

Do you check on aeroplan.com? There I usually see the miles for the flight (AQM) with the extra AQM when applicable (cabin type), but should there be a third line if that flight was purchased from ac.com?

allizdog

On Aeroplan the bonus miles show up as "TD AIR CANADA 1.5X MILES" and are awarded by TD, not AC as with flights. You can also check your TD Visa statements: under the "Aeroplan Miles" section, there's a line that shows "Bonus/Adjustments Miles Earned". That's where the 50% bonus for grocery, gas, drugstore (and, supposedly) aircanada.com purchases is awarded.

I still get the bonus for gas/grocery/drugstore, but not aircanada.com spending.

yowspotter

I want to close the loop on this in case it helps someone else in the future. I did as you suggested and it worked like a charm. In short, I now have my miles back with no additional expense incurred since all the fees were covered by the insurance. Thanks so much; I would have never thought of this.

Here's a quick summary:

1) The problem

- we had made a flight redemption for 2 seats (25000x2 miles) and an amount of cash for the taxes etc.
- we had our infant son (lap traveler) on the reservation
- son presented with onset of illness the night before departure, and was declared unfit to fly on the morning of departure (about 6 hours before departure) by a physician
- I called and cancelled our itinerary
- I submitted a cancellation claim for the miles and cash expenditures
- I was reimbursed only the cash, not the miles [note: this is policy as I was educated after the fact]
- Aeroplan's mileage refund requirement is a cancellation >= 22 days before departure (obviously not eligible here)
- So I was out 50K miles with seemingly no recourse

2) The solution as suggested by canadiancow:

- Call Aeroplan and change the cancelled itinerary to any dates as long as the departure is >= 22 days away (but <= original booking date + 1 year per flight credit rules) in order to restore eligibility for a mileage refund- Call Aeroplan and cancel the new itinerary and pay the mileage reinstatement fee- Submit claim for all above fees (400 + 300 + add'l taxes + HST)
- Rejoice when receive cheque

Note that I verified with Allianz (who themselves verified with TD behind the scenes) that all expenses were covered prior to incurring them. I was dealing with a wonderful lady in the appeals department directly, which helped immensely since she was a single point of contact who understood my file.

Anyway, thanks again to canadiancow for the help.