Can you keep up? After Travel at Home and the 115% Buy Miles sale, Aeroplan’s next major promotion is here – and it’s a stunner.

On all new bookings made between June 17 and July 1, 2020, for travel from July 1 to October 15, 2020, when you make a new Aeroplan booking on Air Canada flights for travel within Canada or to the US, you’ll receive 50% Miles Back after travel is complete.

Get 50% Miles Back on Canada & US Flights

For new bookings made prior to July 1 for travel on Air Canada flights within Canada and the US between July 1 and October 15, 2020, you’ll receive 50% of the miles credited back in your account after you’ve completed your journey.

Effectively, it’s a 50% discount on Aeroplan bookings within North America, bringing the reward prices back to a level not seen since 1984.

The Aeroplan Reward Chart currently levies the following round-trip pricing for flights within Canada and the US:

We’re accustomed to redeeming 15,000 or 30,000 Aeroplan miles for a round-trip short-haul North America award in economy class and business class, respectively. Similarly, the pricing for a long-haul North America award has long been 25,000 or 50,000 Aeroplan miles round-trip. 

With the 50% mileage rebate offer, these prices are now slashed to some staggeringly low levels:

• 3,750 miles for a one-way short-haul North America award in economy class

• 7,500 miles for a one-way short-haul North America award in business class

• 7,500 miles for a round-trip short-haul North America award (with a stopover) in economy class

• 15,000 miles for a round-trip short-haul North America award (with a stopover) in business class

• 6,250 miles for a one-way long-haul North America award in economy class

• 12,500 miles for a one-way long-haul North America award in business class

• 12,500 miles for a round-trip long-haul North America award in (with a stopover) economy class

• 25,000 miles for a round-trip long-haul North America award in (with a stopover) business class

Needless to say, this is a fantastic opportunity to redeem Aeroplan miles at a time when domestic travel is a greater priority than international travel for most Canadians.

3,750 miles for a one-way flight from, say, Toronto to New York or Montreal to St. John’s, is a simply jaw-dropping price point. Similarly, 6,250 miles for a one-way flight between two ends of the continent – say, from St. John’s to Los Angeles, or from Vancouver to Miami – is a beautiful sight to behold.

Don’t forget that there are a handful of premium experiences within North America that you can unlock with Aeroplan miles as well. If the Air Canada Jetz planes remain in service on the Rapidair triangle, for example, you could try it for only 5,000 miles one-way at the short-haul premium economy rate. 

Meanwhile, you could experience the Air Canada Boeing 787 business class product for yourself for only 12,500 Aeroplan miles on a one-way between Toronto and Vancouver. The premium cabin experience is severely curtailed at the moment, but it could certainly be on its way back by mid-October.

The promotion covers all Air Canada flights across Canada and the US, so it extends to Hawaii as well. Therefore, a round-trip flight to Hawaii in economy class is reduced from 45,000 miles to 22,500 miles, while a round-trip flight in business class (perhaps on the direct Dreamliner service between Toronto and Honolulu) is reduced from 80,000 miles to 40,000 miles. 

And not only does the promotion apply to Fixed Mileage Rewards, it also applies to Aeroplan Market Fares as well – so when the latter is more favourably priced, there’s room for even more significant savings.

Moreover, if you recently qualified for Air Canada Prestige 25K status via the Travel at Home promotion, then you wouldn’t pay any fuel surcharges on these Air Canada-operated flights within North America either, only the government-imposed taxes and airport improvement fees. 

While there’s lots to be excited about, there are a few caveats worth noting about this promotion:

• It’s valid on Air Canada flights only, so you wouldn’t receive any miles back if your itinerary includes flights on United or any of the domestic Canadian partner airlines (Calm Air, Canadian North, Air Creebec, etc.)

• You’ll still need to have the full number of miles in your account at the time of booking, and you’ll only receive the 50% rebate within three weeks after travel has been completed. This means that you wouldn’t be able to use your full Aeroplan balance to load up on simultaneous bookings at the 50% discounted rate. 

• While Canadians can indeed cross the US border by air, there remains a government-imposed travel advisory against non-essential travel for the time being; similarly, anyone intending to use this promotion to visit Hawaii should take note of any quarantine measures that the islands have in place.

Flexible Cancellation Policy Extended to August 31

Concurrently, Aeroplan’s flexible cancellation policy has now been extended for a further two months from June 30 to August 31, 2020.

Until that date, any itineraries booked with Aeroplan miles may be cancelled free of charge, with the miles instantly redeposited in your account and the taxes and fees refunded to the original method of payment.

This means that you’re free to make as many speculative bookings using your Aeroplan miles as you’d like, especially when taking advantage of the 50% Miles Back promotion. If you change your mind or would like to make alternative plans, you have the peace of mind of cancelling and rebooking without paying any penalties.

Also: Travel at Home Infographic

With today’s news, Aeroplan has also shared an infographic relating to the recent Travel at Home promotion of April and May 2020, and I thought I’d pass it along.

The most interesting part to me? 5.5 billion miles earned, bought, or converted during this time. That’s a lot of Mini-RTWs, escapades in the Etihad Apartments, or half-priced North American trips for Aeroplan members to enjoy!

Meanwhile, some members might have a healthy skepticism about the sheer number of miles distributed, and may take it as an indicator of a harsh upcoming devaluation. If you’re in this camp, now’s the time to burn your miles for maximal value – and the 50% Miles Back promotion should make that easier for you.

Conclusion

Air Canada and Aeroplan are hitting us with promotions and special offers faster than we can say “golden age”, as our national airline looks to drum up the fanfare and incentivize Canadians to travel again in advance of the new loyalty program’s launch in Quarter 4 of 2020. 

The 50% Miles Back promotion on North America flights is Aeroplan’s best-ever mileage redemption offer, allowing members to book flights for a little as 3,750 Aeroplan miles one-way.

In fact, this might indeed be a last hurrah for Aeroplan members in terms of booking domestic and transborder travel at a compelling rate, since the new Air Canada loyalty program is all-but confirmed to move towards a dynamic pricing method for flights within North America. 

If you’ve been harbouring hopes of travelling domestically this summer or fall, now’s the time to take action and lock down your flight itineraries at a never-before-seen 50% discount.