As of February 27, 2025, Aeroplan is reintroducing the enrollment of new Family Sharing accounts, which is great news for anyone who has been waiting to pool points and share some perks with family.
In addition, Aeroplan has also introduced an account verification step as a way to verify members who wish to take part in Family Sharing.
Aeroplan Resumes Enrollment of New Family Sharing Accounts
In August 2023, Aeroplan temporarily paused the creation of new Family Sharing accounts due to misuse. While existing Family Sharing accounts could continue as usual, it hasn’t been possible for new Family Sharing accounts to be created… until now.
This is sure to be welcome news for anyone who was waiting to pool points with family members and share some of the benefits associated with their accounts.
By and large, the steps to create a Family Sharing account and the associated benefits are the same as before:
- There can be up to eight family members who join a Family Sharing account, but they must all be verified (more on this later)
- All points earned in the accounts combine to the shared pool
- Members with redemption privileges (e.g., Priority Rewards) can use points from the shared balance to redeem
- If there’s a primary Aeroplan co-branded credit cardholder or member with Aeroplan Elite Status in the account, all members benefit from preferred pricing
The only change with the reintroduction of new Family Sharing accounts is that you must be a Verified Aeroplan member to be eligible to create, join or invite others to join, or change permissions within an Aeroplan Family Sharing pool. Aeroplan says this is required “to provide extra protection against unauthorized use under the terms of the program.”
If you had an existing Family Sharing account, you can continue to use it as you always have been able to.
Aeroplan Introduces Account Verification
As part of the relaunch of new Family Sharing accounts, Aeroplan has also created an account/identity verification step that users may be asked to complete.
On the website, it states that “verifying your Aeroplan account will permit access to certain Aeroplan Program features.” It appears that Family Sharing is the only feature that requires account verification at this point; however, it could come to include more/new features in the future.
Account verification is only required once, and it’s a two-step process:
- Verify your mobile number and enable two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Verify your identity using one of the available options
For Step 2, there are four available options for verifying your identity:
- If you’ve flown with Air Canada on two separately booked flights in the last five years, you’ll be automatically verified
- If you’re the primary cardholder of an Aeroplan co-branded credit card, and if the name on your card matches the name on your Aeroplan account, you’ll be automatically verified
- You can choose to verify your identity with an Airport Customer Experience Manager at select airports (Montreal (YUL), Chicago (ORD), Paris (CDG))
- You can choose to verify your identity online through Instant Verification
The last option – Instant Verification – uses facial biometrics to verify your identity.
You’ll be asked to provide government-issued photo identification (passport, driver’s license, NEXUS, etc), and to take a selfie. If the information on your authentic identification matches what’s on your Aeroplan account, and if your selfie matches the photo on your ID, you’ll be instantly verified.
This is a similar process that Air Canada uses for its digital identification system to access lounges and board flights using facial recognition technology.
Full details of the identity verification can be found on the dedicated page on the Air Canada website, which includes a number of frequently asked questions.
Conclusion
As of February 27, 2025, Aeroplan has resumed the enrollment of new Family Sharing accounts. This is welcome news for anyone who’s been waiting to pool points and share some perks with family members.
The only new part of Family Sharing is the requirement to have a verified account, which requires one of four options to confirm your identity.
Family Sharing is a great feature of the Aeroplan program, and many members who have been waiting since August 2023 for the ability to create a new Family Sharing account will be pleased with this announcement.
