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Mommy Gearest

Real life. Real reviews.

Aeroplan flight-booking tips

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that we’ve been flying a few places lately — almost exclusively with Air Canada. Between Orlando, Punta Cana, Hong Kong and Turks & Caicos alone, the four of us have racked up quite a few Aeroplan rewards miles in the last couple of years.

But beyond those trips, I’ve flown Air Canada for years . So I’ve had occasion to earn enough miles along the way to buy some smaller rewards but never had the will power to hold out long enough for a flight.

Silly me.

For whatever reason, I thought the taxes on top of the rewards miles would be too much to make it worthwhile. Then I actually started checking out flights — and, boy, was I wrong. The taxes on some legs come to as little as about $30. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT 30 BUCKS?!

So when my husband’s employer announced that its 2016 convention would be in San Diego, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to tag along and take advantage of the free hotel room. My parents agreed to keep our darling children for a solid week, so I quickly checked how many Aeroplan reward miles I’d need to make it from Toronto to San Diego and back on the dates in question: just 25,000.

Fabulous. I parked that and went about my day.

When I returned the following day to book the flights, my jaw dropped to the floor. The same route, the same dates at the same time: 54,600 miles! Whaaa?

Turns out it must be a popular route, and all those Fixed Mileage routes (ahem, the “cheap” seats) were snapped up, leaving only the Market Fare Flight Rewards seats as an option. But at more than double the number of miles, I simply didn’t have enough in my Aeroplan bank.

When I asked the fine folks at Aeroplan if they had any suggestions, they told me I should keep checking because new flights can be added and seats do open up from time to time.

And that’s exactly what I did. I checked every single night; as soon as the kids were in bed, I’d log on and obsessively input the YYZ–>SAN–>YYZ route.

Day one: no change.

Day two: no change.

Day three: no change.

Day four: no change!

Day five: pardon me? What’s that? A new direct flight added to each leg of my journey! And seats were available for 25,000 reward miles for the return flight! But, oh…I was sharing rides with Big B to and from each airport. With a four-hour difference on the flight to San Diego, I figured it was doable. But with a 12-hour difference coming home, I couldn’t do it.

I hummed. I hawed. And then I remembered reading something about Aeroplan introducing one-way fare options for half of the required number of reward miles.

My fingers were nimble. The flight codes rolled off their tips.

Ah-ha! I could book a YYZ–>SAN leg for 12,500 points and suck up the four-hour delay between my and Big B’s departures, and book the same flight home as the hubs using the Market Fare option, which came to 28,050 miles. I had enough to make it work! Besides, the alternative was shopping by myself at an airport for 12 hours and taking a taxi home — so spending the extra miles probably saved my bank account from weeping.

Aeroplan booking tips

The morals of this story are:

  • Don’t wait. If you see the flight that works for you and it’s available for the Fixed Mileage rate (aka: the least number of miles) — GRAB IT and never let go
  • If you don’t listen to point No. 1 and the only option remaining when you finally make up your mind is the Market Fare rewards, consider two things — first, what isn’t there today may pop up down the road; or, second, try one-way options and see if you can at least nab a Fixed Mileage route for half of your journey
  • As far as travel rewards go, Aeroplan puts more people in more reward seats than any other loyalty program in Canada, so consider saving your miles for a longer term just in case you need some for those Market Fare routes. (This is important because Aeroplan Members have access to any available seat at a rate that reflects market fares at the time of booking — it’s basically your no-blackout alternative)

Oh, and if you manage to find your return flight at the Fixed Mileage rate, you should know that you can now use your miles for the premium economy cabin on applicable Air Canada flights. We upgraded to premium economy when we flew to Hong Kong earlier this year, so I speak from experience when I tell you that it’s worth every penny. Or mile.

Now if only July would get here so I can enjoy my nearly-free flight, that’d be just grand…

 

DISCLAIMER: Aeroplan generously provided some of the additional reward miles required to purchase the Market Fare leg, and I thought it was important to share my tips on snapping up the Fixed Mileage flights so you didn’t land in my situation!

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Comments

  1. Thanks for explaining that!
    With work I’ve been flying Air Canada and also owning Toyota (you get Aeroplan points on purchase, service and parts) I’ve been collecting alot of points but like you saw market fare and shied away from purchasing!

    Reply

  2. Thanks for explaining that!
    With work I’ve been flying Air Canada and also owning Toyota (you get Aeroplan points on purchase, service and parts) I’ve been collecting alot of points but like you saw market fare and shied away from purchasing!

    Reply

  5. Holy magic with the miles! You’re making me want a vacation…. (true story.. have not had a real vacation in my adult life)

    Reply

  6. Holy magic with the miles! You’re making me want a vacation…. (true story.. have not had a real vacation in my adult life)

    Reply

  9. My sister uses Aeropoints all the time, her & her boyfriend do a lot of traveling & the points have helped them tremendously. I don’t go on any trips currently, but in the future when the kids are older I am planning on it.

    Reply

  10. My sister uses Aeropoints all the time, her & her boyfriend do a lot of traveling & the points have helped them tremendously. I don’t go on any trips currently, but in the future when the kids are older I am planning on it.

    Reply

  11. “Don’t wait” That’s a hard one for me…I always miss out because I’m waiting for the better one to come along

    Reply

  12. “Don’t wait” That’s a hard one for me…I always miss out because I’m waiting for the better one to come along

    Reply

  15. I think you can get some good deals traveling short and med haul flights, taxes seem to be super high on longer flights.

    Reply

  16. I think you can get some good deals traveling short and med haul flights, taxes seem to be super high on longer flights.

    Reply

  21. I’ve always had the hardest time finding seats available via Aeroplan when I’ve needed to book a trip! I need to be more patient and keep on checking like you did.

    Reply

  22. I’ve always had the hardest time finding seats available via Aeroplan when I’ve needed to book a trip! I need to be more patient and keep on checking like you did.

    Reply

  25. “Don’t wait” That’s a hard one for me…I always miss out because I’m waiting for the better one to come along…

    Reply

  26. “Don’t wait” That’s a hard one for me…I always miss out because I’m waiting for the better one to come along…

    Reply

  35. My husband collects Aeroplan points and has been saving for something big! He won’t tell me what it is because he wants it to be a surprise. I can’t wait to see what it is.

    Reply

  36. My husband collects Aeroplan points and has been saving for something big! He won’t tell me what it is because he wants it to be a surprise. I can’t wait to see what it is.

    Reply

  39. I collect Aeroplan and other flight rewards points like a crazy person; that is how I travel. The tips are great, but another one… sometimes these points companies run promotions where if you book a hotel in addition to your flight you can actually get a better deal on the number of points used. On a trip to the UK this past March, I was informed that I would need to use 16,000 Airmiles (I know a different plan, but the theory is the same) for a return flight. So I asked if they had any promotions going and they told me that if I book a hotel in the UK too, I would get a better deal. I did not need a hotel, I was staying with family, but I asked them to book me the lowest class hotel near Heathrow for one night and my return trip ended up being 7,800 points!!!!

    Reply

  40. I collect Aeroplan and other flight rewards points like a crazy person; that is how I travel. The tips are great, but another one… sometimes these points companies run promotions where if you book a hotel in addition to your flight you can actually get a better deal on the number of points used. On a trip to the UK this past March, I was informed that I would need to use 16,000 Airmiles (I know a different plan, but the theory is the same) for a return flight. So I asked if they had any promotions going and they told me that if I book a hotel in the UK too, I would get a better deal. I did not need a hotel, I was staying with family, but I asked them to book me the lowest class hotel near Heathrow for one night and my return trip ended up being 7,800 points!!!!

    Reply

  41. I have never used Aeroplan miles before. hubby and I never go anywhere tho lol. maybe when our girls are older we can start taking trips. but i hear ya not to wait! jump on it

    Reply

  42. I have never used Aeroplan miles before. hubby and I never go anywhere tho lol. maybe when our girls are older we can start taking trips. but i hear ya not to wait! jump on it

    Reply

  49. I’ve used Aeroplan Miles since before I became obsessed with travel. It’s one of the better reward programs and I’m happy you realized the taxes aren’t a big deal at all! Great post!

    Reply

  50. I’ve used Aeroplan Miles since before I became obsessed with travel. It’s one of the better reward programs and I’m happy you realized the taxes aren’t a big deal at all! Great post!

    Reply

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