Aeroplan has just announced a promo where you can really rack up the points until July 30, where you can get a bonus of up to 80% when you buy Aeroplan points. You can either buy them for yourself or also give the gift of points to another Aeroplan Member, and they will be rewarded with this exciting bonus.
There is no benefit to gifting this time around on the current promo. The bonus depends on the number of points you buy.
The more you buy, the more you get.
The minimum bonus you can get is 50% more on purchases starting at 3,000 Aeroplan Points and upto 80% bonus on 60,000+.
The maximum you can purchase is 350,000 with an 80% bonus of 280,000 points for a cost of CAD$ 10, 500 plus taxes per transaction upto a maximum total of 1,000,000 eligible Aeroplan points per Aeroplan account in a calendar year.
You can gift upto a maximum of 350,000 Aeroplan Points per transaction upto a maximum of 500,000 eligible Aeroplan Points.
This offer is valid between July 19, 2021 at 9:01:01AM to July 39, 2021 11:59:59PM EST.
So is it a good idea to purchase?
It depends.
Note that this is not the highest offer we have seen – as there have been offers of upto 115% albeit as a door crasher.
Also, the offer for purchase of points between 3,000 to 24,000 for 50% bonus is useless.
If you not in a rush to get the points and/or make a booking, you can make a booking and cancel and then opt to receive Aeroplan points with a 65% bonus.
Similarly, you can do a similar exercise if you are looking to purchase between 25,000 to 55,000 Aeroplan Points.
Its only advantageous to take benefit of this promo only if you are buying 60,000+ Aeroplan Points for the 80% bonus.
Lets look at one example if it still makes sense to purchase Aeroplan Points v/s paid cash for a commercial fare by looking at Toronto – Montreal in Business class on a random date of September 3, 2021.
The cash fare is CAD$ 436
while you need 14,100 Aeroplan Points(with no status) plus taxes of $42
Now to purchase 14.1K Aeroplan, under the current promo, you would need to purchase 10,000 with a bonus of 5,000 for CAD$ 300.00 plus taxes.
If you are in Ontario, that would be CAD$ 339.00.
So that would equate to $339 plus $42 in taxes on the Aeroplan redemption for a total of $381 which is still cheaper than the cash fare of $436 with a saving of $55.
Looking at another example for a one way Business Class on AirCanada from Toronto – New Delhi.
The cash fare is CAD$ 2871
while you need 80,200 Aeroplan Points(with no status) plus taxes of $60.
Now to purchase 80.2K Aeroplan, under the current promo, you would need to purchase 50,000 with a bonus of 32,500 for CAD$ 1500.00 plus taxes.
If you are in Ontario, that would be CAD$ 1695.00.
So that would equate to $1695 plus $60 in taxes on the Aeroplan redemption for a total of $1755 which is still cheaper than the cash fare of $2871 with a saving of $1116.
Also, note the the cash fare for a oneway is quite high as opposed to buying a return cash fare between North America and Asia in this case.
Now, there are pros and cons to this:
Pros: You can cancel and get a re-deposit of Aeroplan Points and a full refund of any associated taxes, fees and surcharges on the unused value of your travel.
Cons: You will not earn Aeroplan points on this Aeroplan redemption booking.
In conclusion, it is never a good idea to speculatively purchase points even at a promo rate and especially if you don’t have an immediate redemption in mind. It is fine to buy a few points as a top up to snag the seat(s) you are eyeing or if the math really works in your favour as in the example of Toronto – New Delhi above.
Always, earn your points by getting the welcome bonus and maximizing on the multiplier offers at select retail stores or merchant categories.
Written by Dominic Fernandes aka CanadaPointsGuy.
Image courtesy of aircanada.com.