Aeroplan welcomes Etihad Airways as the newest airline partner

I always said, I am not ready to write off Aeroplan and it does indeed have sweet spot redemptions on Star Alliance airlines. Well, today we are pleasantly surprised to hear that Etihad has now joined Aeroplan as the newest airline partner.

This opens up a great opportunity to book long haul on one of the ME3 airlines with very low fuel surcharges.

I did a random search in January 2021 for Abudhabi to Toronto and you can book Business class for 82, 500 Aeroplan miles and only $44.65 in taxes and fees for one way.

It actually costs you less Aeroplan miles if you add another sector from Asia i.e. Colombo to Abudhabi to Toronto and you can book Business class for 75, 500 Aeroplan miles and only $178.88 in taxes and fees for one way.

These are way cheaper than booking AirCanada direct flights in Business class for 82, 500 Aeroplan miles and a whopping $500.93 in taxes and fees for one way.

Another plus point is that you can now accumulate Aeroplan miles if you fly on an Etihad operated paid flight as per the chart below:

• You will earn Aeroplan Miles based on the booking class that you purchase. See chart for eligible booking classes.
• Booking classes not listed in the chart below are not eligible for accumulation.
• Earn 150% bonus miles for flying in The Residence class.
• Earn 50% bonus miles for flying in First Class.
• Earn 25% bonus miles for flying in Business Class (booking classes J, C, D, or W).
• Earn 15% bonus miles for flying in Business Class (booking class Z).

However, note that Aeroplan Miles earned on all eligible Etihad Airways flights do not count towards Air Canada Altitude status.

So all I can say is “Yalla Habibi , lets go to Abudhabi”

Written by Dominic Fernandes aka CanadaPointsGuy.

Image courtesy of etihad.com