TO Star article Validates!
 

I still believe AC/AP offer the worst FF program on the planet. I have not given AC/AP a penny in three years and laugh at this article...as it skims the surface on how bad the program is for FF's.

The only counter-argument to staying with AC/AP is your flight pattern, and even that is becoming less of a point.

Enjoy!

http://www.thestar.com/business/pers...n_rewards.html

By: Robb Engen Personal Finance, Published on Tue Mar 11 2014

Readers are upset with the way Aeroplan rewards are calculated and the amount of fees and taxes they pay for flight redemptions.
Many have done a price comparison and find the fees almost wipe out the reward. They also wonder why the fees for booking flights through Aeroplan are higher than the same flights booked directly through Air Canada.

Many FF programs charge fuel surcharges - some on every non-US partner.

SQ, LH, TK, BA, CX, QF, NH, KL, EK?

Some (mostly) US programs don't.

Aeroplan isn't the worst program in the world, by far. ANZ AirPoints is draconian in comparison. It's like market fares without the classic redemption option at all

How are you still SE if you haven't given them a penny in 3 years?

ahh yes, my profile - I must change that. thanks, bb

yes, but the story is telling and look at the comments on the star site and you can see that the "average flyer" is not happy with AC/AP...and when you add in things like upgrade% and other FF benefits, it makes no sense to stay with them...especially with other viable options.

I have heard about ANZ and Quantas having equally bad and 'monopolistic' programs.

I'm not aware of any other program that can get you 3 stops on Business flight as easily as Aeroplan. Albeit I collected a ton of bonus amex signup points.

Appreciate the frustration, but a pretty hyperbolic statement, that. There are certainly programs in Europe and in Asia that are far worse (for instance, CSA). And with recent trends in the US I suspect there will be quite some jockeying for even the title "worst in North America"...

I agree that
a) Aeroplan has limited value as a travel awards program for the infrequent traveller (if it takes you years to accumulate enough for 2 economy tickets to Europe or 4 economy tickets to Orlando, you will be very disappointed once you start looking)
b) For frequent travellers, other programs are now often better - based on flying patterns and carrier presence at home airport

However
c) Too much optimization can be hazardous, since the programs seem increasingly all in a leapfrog competition to devalue. Today's better value program may be tomorrow's devaluation leader.
d) In each program, including Aeroplan, there are still pockets of real value if you learn the ins and outs. For instance, I recently redeemed (with IKK) a last minute short-haul economy to the North East US for 15k pts+$167 (vs $1150 same ticket cash), and business class to Hong Kong for 150k+$337 (vs $5640 Z class cash).
e) For SEs where AC is the dominant carrier at their home airport, AP is usually still the most flexible option to avoid crazy routings. If you're booking far ahead, you can try to find low-surcharge carrier availability (without IKK of course) for the long flights, but being able to IKK (even on Y) the short positioning flights to connect to it can be hugely important.

It is true the devaluation is significant. As it happens, I have my email open to my 2006 archive. I see that in November that year I redeemed an IKK J class from Europe for 80k+$220 (today would be 105k+$1071) and a BATCAT J class to India for 75k+$218 (today, with BATCAT no longer available, it would be 105k+$1280). Based on this June's current Z fares, that represents a devaluation from 5-6c/mile to 2-3c/mile. Of course the comparison is not perfect, but it's an indication.

Who cares if there is no seat, no seat and no seat?

Rules are irrelevant. Ease of access to seats is most important. Even if Aeroplan is to change the rule to allow 6 stops but does not negotiate with AC to get more seats for redemption, it's moot if you cannot find the space.

From the above mentioned consumer's perspective, that's where the problem with Aeroplan begins and ends.


Which once again, diminishes the value of the program for the average consumer. The average consumer shouldn't have to learn the ins and outs.

For the infrequent traveller set who are saving up their points for years, I liken Aeroplan to Timeshare vacations - sure you have a week to trade but good luck getting a week at the resort you really want to go to.:(

I do agree there is real value in buying last minute short haul flights with points - but it still works best if you are SE.

Aeroplan is a lot better than a LOT of other programs. It's just whether you know how to use their points. If you don't - your loss.

PreferJ - I don't disagree with you, but it's also a case of reasonable expectations, and a realization that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

I just pretended I was an infrequent traveller who had painfully scrabbled together 100k miles for 4 tickets for a family vacation to Orlando, or 60k for a dream visit to Paris. I chose a random but specific Sat outbound this coming July and a Sun return one week later.

I had no trouble finding a single Classic award ticket (no IKK) to Paris for 60k points + about $600 in fees. Ouch! But versus a cash fare of $1386 that's still a value of 1.3c/mile.

I could only get 3 Classic award tickets on a single Orlando routing for 25k+$178 each, but could supplement with a (nonDistinction) Market Price ticket for 37k+$115. The cash fare is about $1000 each, for an average value of about 3c/mile.

All of this is anecdotal, and for different dates or destinations might not work. Or if paying cash the tourist might take some inconvenient connections to save a few hundred bucks. However, it does not seem that hard to get a cent or more value per mile -- very much in line with what one would expect if you compare e.g. an Aeroplan credit card (1-1.5 miles per $ spent) vs another rewards card (e.g. 1-2% cash back).

I'm not letting AP off the hook here -- they cheerfully let people believe they can dream about how after a few years of collecting points on their once yearly flights plus credit card spend they'll be able to take their whole family to Australia "for free" on points booked on a whim. It's disingenuous and unfair. But mile collectors owe it to themselves to become reasonably well informed and if they're dreaming of easily available redemptions worth 6-7c/mile whenever they feel like it, perhaps they need a bit of a credulity check -- just like those folks in the US who believed banks would of course lend them insane amounts of money and negligible interest to make a guaranteed killing on an always-rising real estate market!

Many people know how to use the points. The problem is you often cannot get seats.

Some people boast about the business class trips they were able to book, with stops. But there are also so many flights where there is 0 seats booked in business class, but there is no award seat available to be booked.

Yes it's my loss. Hey, it's your loss too when you also cannot find seats. You can laugh at yourself when that happens, and face others who tell you you just don't know how to use the points.

ok. let me clarify my statement earlier. i can use my points AND i know how to use my points. it isn't going to be the case for everyone, but i've never had trouble getting seats to anywhere i wanted. most often the "direct" flights are not available but that's not what i want either...
and i always travel during peak season late december/summer.

I've come to the realization that you can't please everybody, and I'm better off the more people that are pissed off about AP in general.

Looking back at older posts in the early 2000s, and what people booked with the then required amount of miles is just amazing. 100K for nice mini-rtws, and only a couple hundred dollars for taxes and fees? :eek:

I also echo other people's thoughts on AP: there are parts that work well, and of course, the dreaded scamcharges. I caught myself just as I was about to ask the AP booking agent for the total cost of the scamcharges - I mean, "taxes and fuel surcharges". :)