Points when using Companion Certs
 

Here's one that was a surprise to me.

I recently used the Companion Certs issued by Amex and CIBC Aerogold. As I am sure most of you know, you have to pay full fare Y or J in order to get the "free" ticket. What I didn't know is that the full fare ticket does not get the Y or J class of service bonus as both the full fare ticket and the companion ticket are booked in B (if you paid Y fare) or C (if you paid J fare).

When I called to ask about it, the agent said that it was very clear that both tickets were to be booked in the lower class. Does anyone have a cert handy to see if this is printed on the cert?

I think this has been discussed in another forum here. I use the coupons for travel to HAV and my companion did not get any miles at all, while I did, I cannot recall if I got the COS. :cool:

YYZ-HAV = 1437 miles(deposited to my account,each way) , I believe that does not include the COS.

From the fine print of the CIBC cert:

CIC*160/121
Under "1. Reservation":
For both the revenue and companion ticket; for J fare types, book in C class, for Y fare types, book in B class.

Thanks for the wording Prestige. Looks open and shut.

So much for a "free" ticket - between paying J fare, the various taxes and charges on the companion ticket and not getting COS bonus, it's probably better just to buy 2 C tickets. :rolleyes: I think I'll cancel my Aerogold card since the companion ticket was really the only thing making me keep it.

Actually if you have ANY status book M fares and U/G instantly. Much cheaper than 2 C fares or 1 J fare. But if you have business meeting and using J then it's still ok.

Nothing surprising. The certificates clearly note that the tickets will be issued in C for business, not J, and therefore only get basic mileage on non-NAmerican routes. In fact, C is discounted business, so when you use these certificates, AC is selling Amex or CIBC [or Diners in the past] two discounted tickets for the price of the full fare one. And of course, the "free" ticket earns no mileage. As noted, this has been discussed at length on several previous threads about these sorts of tickets.

Same with AMEX
 

FYI, the AMEX fine print is very similar. Different CIC (*160/131) but same wording as it applies to booking classes in C (for J) and B (for Y) for both tickets.

Also a note that the cert cannot be used for web bookings, so be prepared to pay the $5.00 service gouge when using the cert.

CIBC certs were a one time offer last year (unless they do it again this year?). I guess they were matching the new Amex AeroplanPlus Gold card that gave out certs to first time members.

As of now, you need the Amex Platinum or the CIBC with Club Privileges (for an extra $199/year) if you want to receive a companion cert.