683 United Award Routes That You Can Book for Just 6,000 Aeroplan Points

Air Canada Aeroplan is mainly recognized for its overwhelming number of partner airlines for which you can redeem points for free flights. But what's lost in the sea of these 47 partner airlines is that some of the best-value partner redemptions don't include lavish business-class cabins or require spending a dozen hours on an airplane.

In fact, one of the most consistent ways to redeem Aeroplan points for great value is right here in the United States: on United Airlines flights under 500 miles. For these flights, you'll pay just 6,000 Aeroplan points each way.

Let's dive deep into this sweet spot to show you 683 routes where we've found this excellent award rate. Plus, we'll review the many Air Canada transfer partners and other ways to get Aeroplan points.

Air Canada Award Chart for United Flights

Air Canada has a dizzying number of award charts, plain and simple. Thankfully, they're all distance-based, and the outlay of miles required for flights on most carriers is clear.

For United, the compelling 6,000-mile economy class rates are reserved for itineraries covering less than 500 miles within North America. While you won't be able to get very far for just a tiny sum of Aeroplan points, it's worth keeping this option in your back pocket for times when the cash rates aren't palatable.

As a refresher, here's the Aeroplan award chart for flights spanning North America:

Credit: Air Canada

List of United Routes Available for 6,000 Aeroplan Points

AwardWallet searches found that United operates at least 683 routes — and maybe even more — that you can book for just 6,000 Aeroplan points each way. Here are all of the routes where we found this award pricing:

It's worth noting that various routes in the table feature a connection at one of United's hubs such as Newark (EWR) or Houston (IAH). But as it's possible you'll run into options that have multiple connecting airports, we've simplified the table to just show the shortest option. Just keep in mind that as long as your itinerary is less than 500 miles long, it should qualify for the 6,000-point pricing.

And keep in mind that there's a possibility that this list of routes isn't exclusive. If you're wanting to fly a route served by United and under 500 miles in total distance that's not on this list, that doesn't mean you can't book it for 6,000 points. It's always worth checking to confirm.

Finding United Award Availability

The easiest way to find United award availability is by pulling up United's website, plugging in your itinerary details, and utilizing the carrier's 30-day calendar. You'll want to look for saver pricing, as saver awards are the ones that United will make available to its partners — like Air Canada.

As an example, here's the calendar for award flights bookable on United MileagePlus between Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS). For this route, saver pricing comes in at 5,500 miles, and availability is quite good.

Credit: United

After finding a date that works for you, the next step is to log into Aeroplan and look for that same itinerary.

Credit: Air Canada

It's worth noting that United won't make every saver award available for its partner airlines. Sometimes, you'll find that fewer flight options exist when booking through a partner than with the operating airline directly.

If you prefer to avoid wrestling with United's website, you can also use a third-party tool such as Seats.aero to look for saver award space. From there, follow the steps to plug those details into Aeroplan afterward, transfer points if necessary, and then book your flight.

Related: How To Find Airline Partner Award Flight Availability

How To Get Air Canada Aeroplan Points

Looking to build up an Aeroplan to make cheap short-haul redemptions at will? The easiest way is by transferring points from a handful of transferable point programs to Air Canada Aeroplan.

Additionally, a direct way to earn Aeroplan points is by banking a welcome bonus on the Aeroplan^® Credit Card and using it for everyday spending.

Aeroplan^® Credit Card

Learn More
Rates & Fees

Aeroplan^® Credit Card

Annual Fee$95

Welcome Bonus Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.

Hide

Why We Like ItHighlightsEarning Rates

The Aeroplan^® Credit Card earns 3x points on grocery, dining, and Air Canada direct purchases. Cardholders receive 500 bonus points for every $2,000 you spend in a calendar month (up to 1,500 points per month), and earn a 10% bonus on Chase Ultimate Rewards point transfers to Aeroplan, enhancing point value. The card includes a free first checked bag for up to eight people on the same reservation, no foreign transaction fees, and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck^®/NEXUS fee credit.

• Earn 75,000 bonus points
• Earn 75K bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• $95 Annual Fee
• Redeem points for both international and domestic flights with the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
• Fly to another continent and travel the world with the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
• Earn 3X points for each dollar spent at grocery stores, on dining at restaurants, and Air Canada directly. Earn 1X point for each dollar spent on all other purchases.
• 500 bonus points for every $2,000 you spend in a calendar month - up to 1,500 points per month.
• Member FDIC
• Rates & Fees

• 3x points directly with Air Canada
• 3x points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services
• 3x points at grocery stores
• 1x point on all other purchases

And as a last resort, you can buy Aeroplan points outright. The going rate for point purchases is 3.5 cents per point (CAD) — or roughly 2.6 cents per point when converted to USD. At that rate, you'll pay around $156 per 6,000-point United award flight.

On certain occasions, Aeroplan will sell points with a 100% bonus, knocking the price down to 1.3 USD cents per point. That drops the mileage cost of booking a short-haul United flight to just $78 each way.

Depending on the route, this could be a much cheaper way to buy a flight than paying cash. But as a rule of thumb, make sure there's award availability before you purchase Aeroplan points.

Related: Do Aeroplan Points Expire?

Final Thoughts

Air Canada Aeroplan offers a compelling 6,000-point price for United Airlines routes under 500 miles long. While these routes are short, there's a utility to using Aeroplan points for these redemptions — especially when the award rate is far more favorable than the cash rate.

While we limited our research to sub-500-mile routes in this post, remember that you can also book United award flights between 501-1,500 miles for just 10,000 Aeroplan points — or 1,501-2,750 mile flights for 12,500 points.

There's great value to be had by using Air Canada's partner chart for United flights, and you can go a decently long way for a reasonable amount of miles.

For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Aeroplan^® Credit Card (Rates & Fees)

AwardWallet Tip of The Day

Are you overwhelmed by too many accounts appearing on your AwardWallet dashboard? You can now declutter by moving the accounts you no longer need into the "Archived Accounts" tab. Once an account is archived, it won't appear in your main "Active Accounts" list. Please note that this feature is not yet available on our mobile interface.
Show me how

Hide image