atwnsw2

Long story short: my Dad has Alzheimer's and his financial accounts are in the process of being closed over the next 60-90 days. I am his tudor/guardian/legal custodian and have to figure out what to do with his points before they disappear. Given that I am his only surviving family member I don't worry about legal ramifications of using them but I have no trips planned in the immediate future.

Can somebody give me suggestions on what would be the best value/use for these miles? I am unfamiliar with Aeroplan and while I have been to the website I didn't see any "no brainer" options.

Transferring the miles looked prohibitively expensive. My preference would not be to donate them but find the best financial value for them.

Thank in advance.

Doc Savage

Are you certain you have to close his account?

atwnsw2

Yes.

vernonc

Perhaps Air Canada gift cards at least you can use them later on when decided.

yyz_atc_qq

Why?

jerryhung

or maybe somehow get another 10K into his account
then redeem 150K for a Business-class trip for him (or you?)

Redeeming flights is still the best option
Book yourself or find family member for 2017 flights?

beep88

You can book something that departs almost 1 year in the future, travel the first leg (short domestic hop), then have another year to finish the trip. Effectively 2 years to use the ticket.

24left

@atwnsw2

Sorry to hear about your dad.

We recently had to deal with a family member’s account and while Aeroplan has a couple of options, some are very expensive and may not work for many people in such situations.

Absolutely agree with jerryhung and a good idea from beep88.

In terms of the account, the worst thing to do is let those 140K miles expire.

The second worst thing would be to transfer to another account as there is a cost per mile as well as a flat transfer fee and taxes. I only found out about what the family member had done after the fact and I would have never advised such.

Family member was told to set up an estate account for her late spouse. There was a fee for that. The miles were transferred into that account. Given that the amount was not enough to buy even a Y domestic ticket, and no one needed any housewares or gift cards, I suggested donating them.

However, in order to do so, the fee had to be paid to Aeroplan to access the miles in the estate account, and we determined that the value of the miles was less than the cost of the fee. So those miles are now essentially going to expire and ultimately, the only one to benefit would be Aeroplan.

I find it a bit sad, really, that Aeroplan would not waive the fee for a transfer of miles to a registered charity - including one of Air Canada’s own or those they support.


So, if you are now the registered guardian/owner of your father’s Aeroplan account, I also highly recommend that you buy a ticket, or two, for dates in 2017. You can always pay a change fee for different dates etc.

alc

Take a look at the Rewards Chart from AP web site, there are 140K Round-Trip options from Canada (i.e. single trip in F or 2 trips in J, or 3+ trips in Y)

https://www3.aeroplan.com/use-your-m...entLanguage=en

montrealer

Sorry to hear about your father and the situation. Don't know the details, so take at face value your (somewhat unusual-sounding) requirement that the account needs to be closed and the points liquidated, rather than managed for his benefit going forward.

There are a variety of merchandise and gift-card rewards available on the Aeroplan site. They offer rather poor value (say 0.8c/mile) compared to flights, but if no-one in the family is keen to take flights they might provide a way to use your dad's points, perhaps even to benefit his quality of life directly. For instance, are there changes in your father's living surroundings that could be implemented with a $1000 Home Hardware gift card, costing 124,000 Aeroplan points?

Second, you say you don't plan to take any trips, and presumably your father as well. But would a trip be a nice gift from your dad to you, or to a friend, or for someone to come visit him?

atwnsw2

Actually I live in Florida.....

Wpgjetse

Why? Aeroplan is a non financial account.

yyz_atc_qq

exactly. when my mom passed, since I had access to her AE account anyhow, I didn't tell AE anything. it's long since empty (or empty enough that I don't care anymore)