Air Canada Aeroplan Guide
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Before you read this guide, review "Points and Miles 101" to learn the basics of how it all works!
Want to earn more points to redeem through Aeroplan? Checkout the Best Offers!
Air Canada Aeroplan is one of our favorite airline programs to book international business class. They have a huge network of partners, a pretty good website for searching, and some excellent rates based on zones/distance. Plus, the taxes and fees are minimal! Aeroplan also has a couple of unique features that can really maximize your points.
What business class deals have we booked through Aeroplan?​
United Cape Town-Newark - 85k + $45 each
Egyptair Luxor-Cairo-JFK - 70k + $112 each
Copa Airlines IAD-Panama City - 25k + $48 each
SWISS Geneva-JFK - 60k + $77 each
Turkish/United Kuala Lumpur-IST-Zurich [4 day stopover]-IAD-Louisville - 92.5k + $160 each
United Louisville-IAH-Sydney - 87.5k + $72 each
EVA Brisbane-Taipei-SFO - 87.5k + $94 each
United Louisville-Chicago-Munich - 70k + $53 each
Singapore Airlines IAH-MAN-Singapore [4 day stopover]-Phuket - 92.5k + $181 each
Lufthansa/United Milan-Frankfurt-Washington IAD - 70k + $140 each
SWISS Boston-Zurich - 60k + $53 each
SWISS/United Zurich-Chicago-Louisville - 70k + $123 each
Note: due to recent changes to Air Canada Aeroplan's pricing structure, the rate for some of these routes might now be different. See the latest rates by region here.
Earn 75,000 bonus miles to transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan, plus 2x miles on every purchase, 10k bonus miles upon each renewal, airport lounge access, and more premium benefits!
The Basics
Book flights operated by:​
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Star Alliance member airlines
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Etihad
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Emirates
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Bamboo Airways
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Vistara
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Gulf Air
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Oman Air
Best uses:
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Star Alliance flights worldwide (including United)
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United within North America
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Multi-day Stopovers
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Singapore Airlines business class
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United/Copa/Avianca to Central/South America
Pricing structure:
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Dynamic/variable pricing for itineraries that include Air Canada, United, or Emirates flights (these itineraries generally have higher rates)
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Zone + distance pricing based on the Aeroplan award chart for itineraries operated entirely by partner airlines (these are the best itineraries to book)
Fees/surcharges:
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No fuel surcharges passed on from partner airlines
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39 CAD partner booking fee per ticket
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Up to 100 CAD for changes, up to 150 CAD for cancellations/points redeposit
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25 CAD or 2,500 point lap infant fee + taxes (guide)
This step isn't 100% necessary (the website will automatically calculate the rates for available flights in the search results), but it can be helpful to understand how the pricing works and to plan out the best-value route (especially when booking stopovers - see the end of this guide for more on that).
When using the award chart, to determine the length of the flight(s) , we recommend gcmap.com (left). Input the route with the airport codes, click "Map", and the total flight distance will be displayed. For the example above, a 4,343 mile journey from Louisville to Brussels will fall into the 42.5k economy / 75k business range of the award chart based on the "Between North America and Atlantic zones" page (below), assuming that the IAD-BRU segment is operated by Brussels Airlines and not United. If it's a flight operated by United, it goes into the "Select Partners" category with variable pricing.
Sample One Way Rates from US (for "other" partner airlines only):
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Europe: 32.5-60k economy, 60-90k business
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Asia: 32.5-65k economy, 55-115k business
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Middle East, Africa, India: 40-70k economy, 70-110k business
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Australia, New Zealand: 50-65k economy, 75-102.5k business
​​​​​​​Customer service:
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Phone support when calling from Canada, US, and Caribbean: 1-800-361-5373
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Limited support available on social media sites
How to search and book:
Step 1: Create an Aeroplan account
This isn't required to search, but it makes the process a little easier. You will also need to have an Aeroplan account setup to transfer points, and there have been reports that the transfer will be delayed or the booking will fail if the account is less than 24 hours old.
Step 2: Enter search details on Air Canada home page
The site is pretty straightforward to use! Simply check the "Book with points" option on the search form. Since partner flights will have the best rates, and they'll be set based on distance, searching one way at a time is best!
Note: the first time you search with points, you may be prompted to be taken to the "Canadian edition" of the website. Accept that prompt to continue.
Step 3: Review Results
The partner flight operated by TAP Portugal has the best rates - only 60k + 76 CAD in business class! The itinerary via Toronto (YYZ) includes Air Canada flights, so the pricing is dynamic/variable based on demand - 164k points! You almost always want to book partner flights through Aeroplan.
Note: the site now shows a 5 day calendar at the top of the results page. This can sometimes be helpful to see availability on various dates, but we've found it to be unreliable and recommend checking each date.
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The search page will initially only let you search 355 days out, but if you search at the very end of the calendar, you can actually click ahead multiple days on the results calendar for partners that release flights 360 days in advance (EVA, Asiana, Avianca, TAP Portugal, Lufthansa, SWISS). This gives you a much better chance at finding business class award availability.
Be aware of Mixed Cabin results. A red "Mixed cabin" message (below) means that more than 50% of the flight time is in a lower class of service. Hovering over the fare will show the exact percent that's in business/first class.
Clicking on the fare will expand to show the specific flight(s) that are in lower class of service (below). In this case, the long Chicago-Paris flight is in economy and only the short Paris-Vienna flight is in business class - you definitely don't want to use 70,000 points for that!
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IMPORTANT: As of December 2025, the desktop site does not automatically indicate if a flight option is Mixed Cabin. Instead, you must hover over the fare to see a mixed cabin notice. Always double-check that the long haul flight is in business/first class before transferring points to book. The Air Canada app still prominently shows a Mixed Cabin notice in the search results.
Note: the Air Canada app will not show a red "mixed cabin" message for greater than 50% in economy. It will show the same black "mixed cabin" whether it's 5% in business class or 95% in business class. This makes it difficult to differentiate between ideal options without having to click on every single flight. For this reason, we recommend using the desktop or mobile website if you're searching for business class redemptions.
Step 4: Select flight
After clicking inside the box that shows 60K for the TAP flight on the previous step, you'll see options like this. Generally, the "Lowest Reward" is the best option. An extra 14k points to save the 150 CAD / 111 USD cancellation fee probably isn't worth it!
Step 5: Select pricing option
This page sometimes trips people up! The "popular" option definitely isn't the best option! Select the rate that matches the results on the previous page. The 48K + $310 CAD option is essentially buying 12K points, and the 67,530 points option is using points to pay for the taxes at a very poor rate!
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If you are on the mobile app or website and reach this page before transferring points into your account, it will automatically show the lowest points option and highest "cash" option. The pricing breakdown will show very high "Air Transportation Charges" as a result. These are not required taxes and fees. These are charges to essentially "buy" the difference in points, since not enough are in your account. Ignore this. The rate you see on the search results page (60k + CA $75 in this example) IS the final rate. Once you transfer in the points to book, you will be given the standard option.
Step 6: Transfer Points and Finalize Booking
At this point, you have confirmed the flight availability and are ready to transfer your points to book. Transfers to Aeroplan are instant in most cases, but you usually have to sign out and back in to see the updated points balance in your account. Once the points post, search for the flight again and go through the booking process - it's pretty straightforward!
Caution: there may be a delay in the points posting after the transfer if you setup the account within the past 48 hours. Create an Aeroplan account as soon as possible to avoid this delay when you're ready to book!
Selecting seats:
For several partner airlines, you'll be able to select seats through the Air Canada website during the booking process. For other partners, you will need to select seats through the site of the airline operating the flight. To do this, a record locator for the partner airline will be provided on the "Manage Booking" page (below). If it doesn't appear there, contact Air Canada Aeroplan (1-800-361-5373) to request the partner record locator.
Copy that booking reference and go to the partner airline site (Turkish Airlines in the example above) and use it to retrieve the booking (usually on a "Manage Booking" page). From there, you will be able to select seats. This is also helpful for the day of travel - you'll be checking-in and getting notifications from the operating airline, so you'll want to have the reservation added to their app!
Tip: Aerolopa.com has the most detailed seat maps for all major airlines around the world. It's a great reference to use when selecting seats!
Family sharing
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Air Canada Aeroplan recently revamped their Family Sharing program, and it is a huge benefit if you're traveling as a family or group. How it works is simple - you can combine points across accounts to book all on one reservation. This is especially helpful when traveling with extended family that may have their own transferrable points. For example, on our Switzerland 2026 trip, each of our moms had Capital One Miles to use. Instead of having three different reservations between the five of us, we were able to combine all the points into one Family Sharing account to book one reservation.
However, there are a few restrictions to be aware of first.
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You must wait 6 months after creating an Aeroplan account before joining or starting a new family sharing pool
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Family Members must stay in the pool for a minimum of 3 months before they can leave
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You must go through an identity verification process (requires scanning a government ID and taking a selfie)
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Up to 8 Verified Family Members can join a group
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The first point is critical. You cannot create an Aeroplan account then immediately create or join a family pool, so make sure everyone in your family creates an Aeroplan account as soon as possible to ensure the 6 month waiting period has passed when you're ready to book.
BONUS: Adding a stopover
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Aeroplan allows you to add a stopover for up to 45 days along your route for just 5k extra points per passenger. This is a huge savings vs booking two separate flights, and you can come up with a lot of creative itineraries!
We recently used this feature to book Kuala Lumpur-Istanbul-Zurich [3 day stopover]-DC-Louisville and will soon be flying Houston-Manchester-Singapore [4 day stopover]-Phuket. Both of these itineraries are only 92.5k per person in business class!
On the search form, select the "Multi-city/Stopover" option, and then choose your final destination, stopover city, and length of stopover.
TIP: it's usually easiest to search separately for one way flights on either side of the stopover to find the availability first, and then search with the stopover option. The website sometimes doesn't show all of the results that it should when searching with stopovers, so you will need to call Aeroplan (1-800-361-5373) to book in a situation like that.
With this feature, you can fly Boston-Lisbon, stop for 3 days, and then continue on to Madrid - all for only 65K points in business class! Booked separately, these flights would be 80k points!
Earn 75,000 bonus miles to transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan, plus 2x miles on every purchase, 10k bonus miles upon each renewal, airport lounge access, and more premium benefits!