Aug 12, 2020, 12:02 am
Last edit by: Adam Smith
You must call in for stopovers, multi-city, or complicated routings, until the new booking system launches in 2021.
I hope others will significantly improve this wiki!
There are four zones: North America (inc Central), South America, Atlantic (including India and Western Russia), Pacific (inc Eastern Russia) and the chart is based which one you start from and which one you end up in, there's ten of these.
Cost is based on distance, which zone pair your flight is in, which class you are flying in.
Partner airlines (again) are a better deal because while Air Canada will calculate cost on a wide ranges but partner airlines are fixed to the bottom of the range.
YQ is eliminated. There's a 39 CAD fee for booking a ticket which contains a flight on a partner airline. Aside from this, there's no incentive any more to book a return flight it seems and every incentive not to.
Note: The partner booking fee is refundable, so it's basically a YQ, rather than a booking fee.
Most flights are devalued. However, the elimination of YQ sweetens this significantly. Within North America, a lot of flights became cheaper, YVR-HNL very significantly. YVR-TYO is much cheaper while YVR-AKL is a little cheaper.
A vastly more powerful booking system is promised for 2021.
There are a lot of new tricks to be learned. https://princeoftravel.com/blog/new-aeroplan-flight-rewards/ is a good start.
Information that is harder to find:
I hope others will significantly improve this wiki!
There are four zones: North America (inc Central), South America, Atlantic (including India and Western Russia), Pacific (inc Eastern Russia) and the chart is based which one you start from and which one you end up in, there's ten of these.
Cost is based on distance, which zone pair your flight is in, which class you are flying in.
Partner airlines (again) are a better deal because while Air Canada will calculate cost on a wide ranges but partner airlines are fixed to the bottom of the range.
YQ is eliminated. There's a 39 CAD fee for booking a ticket which contains a flight on a partner airline. Aside from this, there's no incentive any more to book a return flight it seems and every incentive not to.
Note: The partner booking fee is refundable, so it's basically a YQ, rather than a booking fee.
Most flights are devalued. However, the elimination of YQ sweetens this significantly. Within North America, a lot of flights became cheaper, YVR-HNL very significantly. YVR-TYO is much cheaper while YVR-AKL is a little cheaper.
A vastly more powerful booking system is promised for 2021.
There are a lot of new tricks to be learned. https://princeoftravel.com/blog/new-aeroplan-flight-rewards/ is a good start.
Information that is harder to find:
- SE IKK redemption from the old program can be changed ("within reason") without repricing. Dates, routings, no problem. Origin/destination should be fine. But nothing that would have required a repricing under the old program. This is from Mark Nasr in https://www.facebook.com/pointsmiles...44878252851420
- The "Activity" page only shows you the most recent ~48 transactions. See this post for information on how to get older data.
- A partial refund may not be possible (e.g. if you book RT and outbound flight is cancelled by you or AC, to delete the first flight segment, you have to cancel the entire ticket and rebook the inbound at a potentially higher fare. It seems supervisor can grant exceptions.)
2020 Air Canada Aeroplan Program
Dec 3, 2020, 6:45 am
#1081
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC SEMM / HH Diamond
Posts: 3,168
What is the consensus about how the premium credit cards rollover SQM & eUps will work in these Covid times?
This year I have 35K SQM. I understand that in normal times, that's not enough to re-qualify for SE, and so none of the SQM would rollover, and I would also not be SE next year.
But it's not normal times, and AC has extended my SE status to next year (thanks!) ... does that Covid extension have any equivalent in the premium credit card SQM rollover world?
Very specifically: I'm trying to decide if I jump to a premium credit card now, before the end of the year. If doing so would cause my current SQM to rollover, then I will. If that's not the case, I may wait.
Do we know?
This year I have 35K SQM. I understand that in normal times, that's not enough to re-qualify for SE, and so none of the SQM would rollover, and I would also not be SE next year.
But it's not normal times, and AC has extended my SE status to next year (thanks!) ... does that Covid extension have any equivalent in the premium credit card SQM rollover world?
Very specifically: I'm trying to decide if I jump to a premium credit card now, before the end of the year. If doing so would cause my current SQM to rollover, then I will. If that's not the case, I may wait.
Do we know?
Dec 3, 2020, 7:17 am
#1082
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 395
What is the consensus about how the premium credit cards rollover SQM & eUps will work in these Covid times?
This year I have 35K SQM. I understand that in normal times, that's not enough to re-qualify for SE, and so none of the SQM would rollover, and I would also not be SE next year.
But it's not normal times, and AC has extended my SE status to next year (thanks!) ... does that Covid extension have any equivalent in the premium credit card SQM rollover world?
Very specifically: I'm trying to decide if I jump to a premium credit card now, before the end of the year. If doing so would cause my current SQM to rollover, then I will. If that's not the case, I may wait.
Do we know?
This year I have 35K SQM. I understand that in normal times, that's not enough to re-qualify for SE, and so none of the SQM would rollover, and I would also not be SE next year.
But it's not normal times, and AC has extended my SE status to next year (thanks!) ... does that Covid extension have any equivalent in the premium credit card SQM rollover world?
Very specifically: I'm trying to decide if I jump to a premium credit card now, before the end of the year. If doing so would cause my current SQM to rollover, then I will. If that's not the case, I may wait.
Do we know?
Dec 4, 2020, 9:58 am
#1083
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,946
IBM and Air Canada Partner to Transform the Aeroplan Loyalty Program
New cloud-based web and mobile experience offers Aeroplan members more personalization, flexibility, and intuitive design
IBM Canada today announced its collaboration with Air Canada, the country's largest airline, on the recently launched Aeroplan program, which includes a new web and mobile digital experience, designed and built in partnership with IBM (NYSE: IBM). IBM iX, the business design arm of IBM Services, began this project with Air Canada in February 2020. With a combined team of IBM designers, developers and consultants, collaborating with colleagues from Air Canada's Digital team, the group completely rebuilt and transformed the web and mobile interface, fully integrating Aeroplan into Air Canada's digital properties. The result is a more personalized, flexible, and intuitive design, delivering a truly rewarding loyalty experience.
"Air Canada and IBM have a long history of collaboration on digital and advanced technologies to address pressing business challenges and increase customer satisfaction," said Claude Guay, President, IBM Canada. "As the airline continues to innovate, we were pleased to co-create this smarter digital experience for its customers."
"IBM iX is a great partner, and we're proud of their work to deliver the new Aeroplan digital experience," said Mark Nasr, Vice President, Loyalty and eCommerce, Air Canada. "After speaking with over 35,000 consumers and employees, we benchmarked against loyalty programs from around the globe. The results were clear—members expected more from Aeroplan, and this led us to completely overhaul the digital experience and its underlying infrastructure. IBM seamlessly integrated their people into our joint Tech+Business Digital team, delivering the transformation with an agile approach. This work supported our efforts to build a truly responsive and flexible program, enabling Aeroplan members to travel more and travel better."
The integration of web and mobile makes it easier than ever before for Aeroplan members to enroll, check their points transactions, view their Elite Status benefits, book flight rewards, and much more – delivering an improved loyalty experience for Air Canada travellers. The solution is integrated with Air Canada's cloud-based digital services to pull and connect historical and real-time data from key systems within the company. Air Canada's channels can now provide a personalized and contextualized experience for customers.
Air Canada and IBM iX used IBM Design Thinking and the IBM Garage Methodology, along with real customer input, to co-create the new user experience for the loyalty program. As well, user testing provided key input throughout the development cycle to make the mobile and web experience more engaging and intuitive.
IBM and Air Canada Partner to Transform the Aeroplan Loyalty Program (newswire.ca)
IBM Canada today announced its collaboration with Air Canada, the country's largest airline, on the recently launched Aeroplan program, which includes a new web and mobile digital experience, designed and built in partnership with IBM (NYSE: IBM). IBM iX, the business design arm of IBM Services, began this project with Air Canada in February 2020. With a combined team of IBM designers, developers and consultants, collaborating with colleagues from Air Canada's Digital team, the group completely rebuilt and transformed the web and mobile interface, fully integrating Aeroplan into Air Canada's digital properties. The result is a more personalized, flexible, and intuitive design, delivering a truly rewarding loyalty experience.
"Air Canada and IBM have a long history of collaboration on digital and advanced technologies to address pressing business challenges and increase customer satisfaction," said Claude Guay, President, IBM Canada. "As the airline continues to innovate, we were pleased to co-create this smarter digital experience for its customers."
"IBM iX is a great partner, and we're proud of their work to deliver the new Aeroplan digital experience," said Mark Nasr, Vice President, Loyalty and eCommerce, Air Canada. "After speaking with over 35,000 consumers and employees, we benchmarked against loyalty programs from around the globe. The results were clear—members expected more from Aeroplan, and this led us to completely overhaul the digital experience and its underlying infrastructure. IBM seamlessly integrated their people into our joint Tech+Business Digital team, delivering the transformation with an agile approach. This work supported our efforts to build a truly responsive and flexible program, enabling Aeroplan members to travel more and travel better."
The integration of web and mobile makes it easier than ever before for Aeroplan members to enroll, check their points transactions, view their Elite Status benefits, book flight rewards, and much more – delivering an improved loyalty experience for Air Canada travellers. The solution is integrated with Air Canada's cloud-based digital services to pull and connect historical and real-time data from key systems within the company. Air Canada's channels can now provide a personalized and contextualized experience for customers.
Air Canada and IBM iX used IBM Design Thinking and the IBM Garage Methodology, along with real customer input, to co-create the new user experience for the loyalty program. As well, user testing provided key input throughout the development cycle to make the mobile and web experience more engaging and intuitive.
IBM and Air Canada Partner to Transform the Aeroplan Loyalty Program (newswire.ca)
Dec 4, 2020, 10:03 am
#1084
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,354
Why not try it and let us know?
Dec 4, 2020, 10:19 am
#1085
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 1,506
Will do. For what it's worth, here's the answer from Aeroplan via Facebook which came in 5 minutes ago: "Great news, there are no restrictions! You can use your Aeroplan points to purchase a reward ticket for yourself, family members, friends, or whoever else you wish to offer an Aeroplan Reward to."
The Air Canada Twitter account inevitably provided a contradictory answer but then said to verify it with Aeroplan on Facebook. So I believe the answer above is correct.
The Air Canada Twitter account inevitably provided a contradictory answer but then said to verify it with Aeroplan on Facebook. So I believe the answer above is correct.
Dec 6, 2020, 8:45 am
#1086
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 1,204
On my recent domestic economy AC Aeroplan award flight, my 26-months-old daughter's (Miss Hoipolloi junior) boarding pass was showing "Lounge access included" on the Air Canada app.
Mr. Hoipolloi: 25K status , Premium (aka. black) Aeroplan credit card;
Ms. Hoipolloi: no status Aeroplan member, authorized user of the Premium credit card;
Miss Hoipolloi junior: no status Aeroplan member.
Any explanation on why Miss Hoipolloi junior has her boarding pass showing lounge access included for an economy flight ? Is it due to her age or due to the temporary complimentary guest access benefit given to Premium Aeroplan credit card holders ?
Mr. Hoipolloi: 25K status , Premium (aka. black) Aeroplan credit card;
Ms. Hoipolloi: no status Aeroplan member, authorized user of the Premium credit card;
Miss Hoipolloi junior: no status Aeroplan member.
Any explanation on why Miss Hoipolloi junior has her boarding pass showing lounge access included for an economy flight ? Is it due to her age or due to the temporary complimentary guest access benefit given to Premium Aeroplan credit card holders ?
Dec 6, 2020, 9:23 am
#1087
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: YSC (and all its regularly scheduled flights)
Posts: 2,521
On my recent domestic economy AC Aeroplan award flight, my 26-months-old daughter's (Miss Hoipolloi junior) boarding pass was showing "Lounge access included" on the Air Canada app.
Mr. Hoipolloi: 25K status , Premium (aka. black) Aeroplan credit card;
Ms. Hoipolloi: no status Aeroplan member, authorized user of the Premium credit card;
Miss Hoipolloi junior: no status Aeroplan member.
Any explanation on why Miss Hoipolloi junior has her boarding pass showing lounge access included for an economy flight ? Is it due to her age or due to the temporary complimentary guest access benefit given to Premium Aeroplan credit card holders ?
Mr. Hoipolloi: 25K status , Premium (aka. black) Aeroplan credit card;
Ms. Hoipolloi: no status Aeroplan member, authorized user of the Premium credit card;
Miss Hoipolloi junior: no status Aeroplan member.
Any explanation on why Miss Hoipolloi junior has her boarding pass showing lounge access included for an economy flight ? Is it due to her age or due to the temporary complimentary guest access benefit given to Premium Aeroplan credit card holders ?
Dr. PITUK
Dec 6, 2020, 10:50 pm
#1088
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: YVR
Programs: AC*SE MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 4,604
Dec 7, 2020, 8:55 am
#1089
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 1,506
I've been looking at booking some business class points tickets from YYZ - SYD in the fall of 2021.
In almost every booking I try, I see the first two results (the ones with the shortest travel times) offering only a mixed cabin—premium economy from YYZ - YVR with business from YVR - SYD. Typically it's only the third result where I can get business class the whole way; however, it's 40,000 points more, involves a 4-hour layover, and has the first leg on a narrowbody. This is not true 100% of the time, but very close to it.
If I book the first flight with the mixed cabin, is it possible (as it was with the previous Aeroplan) to call in and have them put me in business? Or wait for P(?) space to open and ask then? Is there any other strategy that might be helpful? (I'd rather be on the most convenient flight in premium economy than on the less-convenient flight in J, but best case would be J all the way on AC 127 and AC 33.)
In almost every booking I try, I see the first two results (the ones with the shortest travel times) offering only a mixed cabin—premium economy from YYZ - YVR with business from YVR - SYD. Typically it's only the third result where I can get business class the whole way; however, it's 40,000 points more, involves a 4-hour layover, and has the first leg on a narrowbody. This is not true 100% of the time, but very close to it.
If I book the first flight with the mixed cabin, is it possible (as it was with the previous Aeroplan) to call in and have them put me in business? Or wait for P(?) space to open and ask then? Is there any other strategy that might be helpful? (I'd rather be on the most convenient flight in premium economy than on the less-convenient flight in J, but best case would be J all the way on AC 127 and AC 33.)
Dec 7, 2020, 9:07 am
#1090
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,354
You can call and see what the cost would be for J the whole way. Or you can wait and hope I-space opens on 127, which would lower the cost.
Dec 7, 2020, 9:15 am
#1091
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Toronto, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan, Bonvoy, Alaska, Avios
Posts: 1,290
I just cancelled and rebooked some flights. I now have YYZ-CUN-YYZ in J on the way down (the Jetz 319) with Y on the way back. It's showing I have bag fees coming back even though I have 25K. I would have thought the booking confirmation would have recognized this?
Dec 7, 2020, 9:23 am
#1092
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, FOTSG Platinum
Posts: 5,734
I've been looking at booking some business class points tickets from YYZ - SYD in the fall of 2021.
In almost every booking I try, I see the first two results (the ones with the shortest travel times) offering only a mixed cabin—premium economy from YYZ - YVR with business from YVR - SYD. Typically it's only the third result where I can get business class the whole way; however, it's 40,000 points more, involves a 4-hour layover, and has the first leg on a narrowbody. This is not true 100% of the time, but very close to it.
If I book the first flight with the mixed cabin, is it possible (as it was with the previous Aeroplan) to call in and have them put me in business? Or wait for P(?) space to open and ask then? Is there any other strategy that might be helpful? (I'd rather be on the most convenient flight in premium economy than on the less-convenient flight in J, but best case would be J all the way on AC 127 and AC 33.)
In almost every booking I try, I see the first two results (the ones with the shortest travel times) offering only a mixed cabin—premium economy from YYZ - YVR with business from YVR - SYD. Typically it's only the third result where I can get business class the whole way; however, it's 40,000 points more, involves a 4-hour layover, and has the first leg on a narrowbody. This is not true 100% of the time, but very close to it.
If I book the first flight with the mixed cabin, is it possible (as it was with the previous Aeroplan) to call in and have them put me in business? Or wait for P(?) space to open and ask then? Is there any other strategy that might be helpful? (I'd rather be on the most convenient flight in premium economy than on the less-convenient flight in J, but best case would be J all the way on AC 127 and AC 33.)
The "every seat, every flight" mantra is supposed to mean that you can technically *always* book an all-J itinerary with points, but as we've seen, that might mean that your desired YYZ-YVR-SYD flights cost more for the domestic segment than for the international.
What I haven't had time to dig into yet, is how and why the search engine chooses to show some options but not others - that is, why it'll show you options for every YYZ-YVR all day, but limit the search results for YYZ-YVR when searching YYZ-YVR-SYD.
Anecdotally, this currently seems to be forcing <4h connections at YVR on that routing, but I haven't got nearly enough data points yet to talk about that with confidence.
Dec 7, 2020, 10:02 am
#1093
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AC SE
Posts: 1,506
You've got to remember that this isn't like the old system, where there's either "award space in business" or there's not, and if you see it open up, you can just call and get a mixed-class award upgraded to whatever class you booked.
The "every seat, every flight" mantra is supposed to mean that you can technically *always* book an all-J itinerary with points, but as we've seen, that might mean that your desired YYZ-YVR-SYD flights cost more for the domestic segment than for the international.
What I haven't had time to dig into yet, is how and why the search engine chooses to show some options but not others - that is, why it'll show you options for every YYZ-YVR all day, but limit the search results for YYZ-YVR when searching YYZ-YVR-SYD.
Anecdotally, this currently seems to be forcing <4h connections at YVR on that routing, but I haven't got nearly enough data points yet to talk about that with confidence.
The "every seat, every flight" mantra is supposed to mean that you can technically *always* book an all-J itinerary with points, but as we've seen, that might mean that your desired YYZ-YVR-SYD flights cost more for the domestic segment than for the international.
What I haven't had time to dig into yet, is how and why the search engine chooses to show some options but not others - that is, why it'll show you options for every YYZ-YVR all day, but limit the search results for YYZ-YVR when searching YYZ-YVR-SYD.
Anecdotally, this currently seems to be forcing <4h connections at YVR on that routing, but I haven't got nearly enough data points yet to talk about that with confidence.
Dec 7, 2020, 10:44 am
#1094
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: YVR
Programs: AC*SE MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 4,604
Has anyone had any estore points post since the switch over to aeroplan.rewardops.com? I was hoping it would be faster, not slower. I've purchased several things over the past 3 weeks and nothing has posted yet.
Dec 7, 2020, 1:39 pm
#1095
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: YOW
Programs: AC SE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 395
I've had 2 post very quickly (within 72 hours) and at least 5 more purchases that haven't posted. The Order History on the eStore isn't very helpful as I have one that's posted that still shows up as pending. 1 of my missing orders is listed but none of my other orders are.