AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Update: The Aeroplan award chart changes took effect on September 1, 2022. You will now see the updated pricing when booking awards.
Aeroplan has released an update to its award chart pricing on some routes. Fortunately, not all of the changes are negative — which can often be the case with most of these award chart “updates”. Aeroplan is also giving its members some advance notice, with the new pricing coming into effect for bookings starting September 1, 2022.
Fortunately, this leaves you enough time to book upcoming travel and lock in the old award pricing. Or you can hold off on booking if your award will become cheaper on September 1, 2022.
Aeroplan Award Chart Overview
Aeroplan utilizes a region- and distance-based award chart system. The world is divided up into 4 regions:
- North America
- South America
- Atlantic — which includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent
- Pacific — which includes eastern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand
Awards are priced based on the regions that you're flying between (or within) and then by the distance of the route. This is to take into account that what Aeroplan classes as the Atlantic region is enormous, stretching from the United Kingdom to India and from South Africa to Sweden.
The new award chart tweaks tend to affect only one or two distance bands, instead of the entire award pricing for travel between regions.
North America to Atlantic Aeroplan Award Chart Changes
Flights between 6,001-8,000 miles
- Business Class: One-way awards increase from 85,000 to 90,000 points — an increase of 5.9%.
- First Class: One-way awards increase from 120,000 to 130,000 points — an increase of 8.3%.
This increase directly hits flights from the US West Coast to Europe or between the US and the Middle East — which is a dampener on the recently announced strategic partnership between Aeroplan and Emirates. If you are looking to book these awards, you are best doing so ASAP.
Flights over 8,001 miles
- Business Class: One-way awards increase from 100,000 to 110,000 points — an increase of 10%.
- First Class: One-way awards increase from 130,000 to 140,000 points — an increase of 7.7%.
Again a negative increase affects the longest award routes out there. If you are looking to award from the West Coast to the Middle East or India, you will want to book before September 1 to lock in the current pricing.
North America to Pacific Aeroplan Award Chart Changes
Flights between 7,501-11,000 miles
- Business Class: One-way awards increase from 85,000 to 87,500 points — an increase of 2.9%.
This change — albeit small — affects a significant number of transpacific routes. Routes like Los Angeles to Bangkok and New York to Manila will see a modest increase come September 1, 2022.
Flights over 11,000 miles
- Business Class: One-way awards increase from 105,000 to 115,000 points — an increase of 9.5%.
- First Class: One-way awards increase from 140,000 to 150,000 points — an increase of 7.1%.
Due to the enormous distances involved, not many routes are affected by these increases. Although if you are looking for awards from New York to Perth, then you are best to book them before the price increase comes into effect.
North America to South America Aeroplan Award Chart Changes
Flights between 0 and 2,500 miles
- Economy: One-way awards decrease from 30,000 to 20,000 points — a decrease of 33.3%.
- Business Class: One-way awards decrease from 50,000 to 40,000 points — a decrease of 20%.
- First Class: One-way awards decrease from 80,000 to 60,000 points — a decrease of 25%.
The reductions are of great value and affects routes such as Houston to Bogota, Colombia. All benefit from the reduction. So unless you desperately need to book now, you are best holding off on booking until after September 1, 2022 to take advantage of the award pricing drop.
Atlantic to the Pacific Aeroplan Award Chart Changes
Flights between 0 and 2,500 miles
- Economy: One-way awards decrease from 40,000 to 25,000 points — a decrease of 37.5%.
- Business Class: One-way awards decrease from 60,000 to 40,000 points — a decrease of 33.3%.
- First Class: One-way awards decrease from 80,000 to 50,000 points — a decrease of 37.5%.
Since this is on the other side of the world from most Aeroplan members, not a lot of well-known routes are affected by this reduction. Example routes that will benefit from the vast decrease include New Delhi to Bangkok or New Delhi to Hong Kong.
Flights over 7,001 miles
- Economy: One-way awards increase from 60,000 to 65,000 points — an increase of 8.3%.
- Business Class: One-way awards increase from 100,000 to 110,000 points — an increase of 10%.
- First Class: One-way awards increase from 130,000 to 140,000 points — an increase of 7.7%.
This increase affects a significant number of routes, especially those between western Europe and Oceania. Routes from London to Sydney and Melbourne are increasing as well as New Zealand and some other southeast Asian destinations. If you want to head down under from Europe, you are best served trying to book before the price increase.
Aeroplan Award Chart Changes to Flights Within South America
Flights between 0 and 1,600 miles
- Economy: One-way awards decrease from 15,000 to 10,000 points — a decrease of 33.3%.
- Business Class: One-way awards decrease from 30,000 to 20,000 points — a decrease of 33.3%.
- First Class: One-way awards decrease from 50,000 to 30,000 points — a decrease of 25%.
The reduction affects a large number of routes within South America. Routes like Buenos Aries to Rio and Bogota to Lima will all benefit from the reduction if you are planning on booking any of these routes, you should wait to when the reduction comes into effect on September 1, 2022.
Flights over 1,600 miles
This is a totally new category, and previously Aeroplan only had one tier of award pricing for flights within South America. With the introduction of this new tier, longer flights within south America have increased in price.
- Economy: One-way awards increase from 15,000 to 20,000 points — an increase of 33.3%.
- Business Class: One-way awards increase from 30,000 to 35,000 points — an increase of 16.7%.
- First Class: One-way awards remain at 50,000 points
The changes affect most longer routes within South America — such as Buenos Aires to Caracas, or Rio to Bogota. So, if you are looking at a longer route in South America, you are better off booking before September 1.
Our Take
These changes are a mixed bag and could be negative or positive depending on your use of Aeroplan points. Overall, the changes can be considered somewhat positive — especially if you look at awards between North and South America. However, even when the changes are a large percentage, these actually tend to be only a small number of points.
How will the changes affect your travel plans? Let us know in the comments below!
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.