Aeroplan

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uhoh
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Aeroplan

Post by uhoh »

from the dividend hikes thread, just wondering...

Bylo Selhi:
uhoh wrote:bad news (for me as aeroplan member but not unit-holder)
Actually it gets worse. Aeroplan toughens on points plan
Also beginning July 1, 2007, Aeroplan will require members to have either added or redeemed miles once in a 12-month period or all miles in the account will expire. Expired accounts can be reinstated for$30 plus one cent per restored mile.

If I understand this, it means there has to be *some* activity in my aeroplan account - I got around this by getting a "free" amex aeroplan card, and I use it once in a while to keep my account active.

Or is this something else/new?
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kcowan
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Post by kcowan »

It is becoming standard practice for most loyalty plans. I still have AA points that I accumulated in 1989. They will never expire even though I do not
a) Have enough to cash in (except thru points.com)
b) Travel AA anymore since relocating to Vancouver in 1995.

Ditto Northwest and Delta. Keeping contributions going should keep your Aeroplan points alive. Alaska Air points plan is also good for us because we fly to San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta regularly.

As an aside, we have found Aeroplan to be the best of all the air miles loyalty programs. We still collect Air Miles but they are best for short trips. We use the CIBC Aeroplan Visa. Also no fee AmEx and fee for CDW waiver MC for Air Miles.
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Re: Aeroplan

Post by brucecohen »

uhoh wrote:If I understand this, it means there has to be *some* activity in my aeroplan account - I got around this by getting a "free" amex aeroplan card, and I use it once in a while to keep my account active.
Here's an easier way. Buy gas at an Esso station and swipe or present your Aeroplan card when asked for an Esso Extra card.

Esso gives you AE points for each purchase.
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Re: Aeroplan

Post by uhoh »

BruceCohen wrote:
uhoh wrote:If I understand this, it means there has to be *some* activity in my aeroplan account - I got around this by getting a "free" amex aeroplan card, and I use it once in a while to keep my account active.
Here's an easier way. Buy gas at an Esso station and swipe or present your Aeroplan card when asked for an Esso Extra card.

Esso gives you AE points for each purchase.
that is a good idea also - currently I use CAA/CAA Mastercard at sunoco and double-dip - but once in a while, an esso visit would be easier than having to be bothered to pay another credit card bill.

I guess I'm also concerned about the miles expiring - I have 200k saved up for a trip to Australia - have been saving 20 years for this trip ... and I don't want to lose my miles with their new 7-year rule.

re kcowan airmiles:
--I use airmiles for gift cards - restaurants, popcorn, movie nights, etc - I've never actually used those points for flights.
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Post by Shakespeare »

buy gas at an Esso station and swipe or present your Aeroplan card when asked for an Esso Extra card.
Thanks, Bruce.

Don't know when I'll fly AC again, though. I'm flying Harmony to HNL later this year and Westjet to PV next year.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

kcowan wrote:I still have AA points that I accumulated in 1989. They will never expire even though I do not
a) Have enough to cash in (except thru points.com)
b) Travel AA anymore since relocating to Vancouver in 1995.
So do I. But the entire account will expire after 3 years of inactivity. You have to do something at least once every three years to keep it and the points alive. One option is to join http://www.e-rewards.com/ and do $25 worth of surveys (many in the IT field) to qualify for 500 in AAdvantage points.
Ditto Northwest and Delta. Keeping contributions going should keep your Aeroplan points alive.
I had more than enough for a free flight on Delta some years ago when they expired my account for inactivity with no notice. I've never flown on Delta (or Comair on which I'd earned most of those points) again.
Alaska Air points plan is also good for us because we fly to San Francisco and Puerto Vallarta regularly.
About 10 years ago Alaska tried to enter the Toronto market with flights from YYZ to LAX and SFO. They had a promo under which you'd get enough bonus points for a free rewards flight after your first paid flight. I took them up on the offer but before I could get my free flight they closed shop at YYZ. They offered to transfer my points to one of several other plans, none of which I belonged to. (To add insult to injury, AC later matched their "fly once then fly free" offer, so if I'd waited and booked on AC I'd have gotten the free flight.)
As an aside, we have found Aeroplan to be the best of all the air miles loyalty programs.
I used to think so too but in the past couple of years AP has been working very hard to disabuse me of that notion. And they've now succeeded.

P.S. you can also get AC points from Bell and Sympatico. That's what I use to keep my wife's account alive long enough to earn enough points for a free flight.
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Post by AltaRed »

Bylo Selhi wrote: had more than enough for a free flight on Delta some years ago when they expired my account for inactivity with no notice. I've never flown on Delta (or Comair on which I'd earned most of those points) again.
I lost about 110,000 miles on Delta for the same reason. Only ever flew Delta since then...and only because I had to.
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Post by ghariton »

AltaRed wrote:I lost about 110,000 miles on Delta for the same reason. Only ever flew Delta since then...and only because I had to.
I lost 160,000 miles on AA a few years back -- the result of my travel in South America for BCI. (And, more annoying, my work permit for Brazil expired too.) Easy come, easy go.

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Shakespeare
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Post by Shakespeare »

Well, I didn't think I had many miles after using them to go to Hawaii in 2001. Turns out I have 23K. Another 2K and I can fly to Vegas for a few days.

Guess I'll have to start running the card through Esso. :wink:
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Post by kcowan »

This has been a helpful discussion. Thank you all, and Bylo I will try e-rewards. For some reason all my point are so old on those other airlines that they predated the expiry rules. Maybe I will just trade them on points.com for a CD or something...
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Post by brucecohen »

I got this e-mail from Aeroplan tonight:


October 24, 2006

Dear Bruce,

Aeroplan recently announced changes to the program's terms and conditions affecting mileage expiry. We have received calls and emails from our members asking for greater clarification of these changes. Aeroplan would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any confusion created, clarify these changes and explain what they mean to our members.

It is important to understand what these changes mean and how to ensure that you continue to make the most of your Aeroplan Miles. You'll also want to understand the terms and conditions of any program you participate in. Almost all programs have expiry policies; every one is different in how they apply the policy.

7 years to redeem

Starting January 1, 2007, miles that are unused after 7 years in an account will expire, and will be deducted from the total balance in the account. This means that Aeroplan Miles issued on January 1, 2007 or after, can be redeemed for 7 years (84-months) from the month the mile is accumulated. All Aeroplan Miles issued before January 1, 2007 will be considered as accumulated on December 31, 2006, regardless of the actual activity date. This will result in an end date of December 31, 2013 for miles earned at any time prior to January 1, 2007.

This doesn't mean that you have to redeem any Miles at all every year or empty your account every 7 years. It may be helpful for you to think of this as assigning a "shelf life" to your accumulated miles: you must redeem your miles by the end of their "shelf life" of 7 years or else they will be removed from your account. For example, a mile earned on November 30, 2008 must be redeemed by November 30, 2015.

This means that you can take up to 7 years to accumulate enough miles for that dream vacation, provided that you make at least one transaction per year to keep your account active.

Mileage expiry

Starting July 1, 2007, Aeroplan will change the terms of its mileage expiry policy. Members will have had to make at least one transaction — either by accumulating Miles or redeeming Miles — at least once in the previous 12 months. Therefore, on July 1, 2007, if a member hasn't earned or redeemed one mile in the time span of June 30, 2006 to June 30, 2007, the miles in their account will expire.

This means you must earn, redeem or donate Aeroplan Miles once a year to keep your account active.

This is as simple as filling up at Esso, once.

Or using your co-branded financial card, once.

Or donating to our Beyond Miles charitable program, once.

Redeem for one reward, once.

There are literally thousands of ways to stay active. All of them are detailed at aeroplan.com.

Mileage reinstatement

But what if your account does expire? What if your Aeroplan Miles go unredeemed for seven years?

You can still have your account and your Miles reinstated, either fully or partially. The cost is a $30 processing fee, plus 1 cent for every mile that's reinstated, plus taxes.

More information about these policies is available at aeroplan.com. If you have any questions about these policies, please call us at 800-361-5373.

It's easier than ever to earn and redeem miles. Aeroplan has added many new partners with whom you may earn miles. There are more than 400 non-flight rewards to choose from. And, when it comes to flight rewards, Aeroplan just launched ClassicPlus Flight Rewards, giving our members access to 100% of Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz's available capacity in Economy and Executive Class.

ClassicPlus Flight Rewards complement our existing Star Alliance Flight Rewards and industry-best ClassicFlight Rewards, which continue to represent 8% of Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz seat capacity on every route, every month. Together, Aeroplan's flight products provide global reward travel options to more than 842 destinations.

Best wishes,



Rupert Duchesne
President and CEO
Aeroplan
Life clearly isn't complex enough. Would somebody please remind me to send Mr. Duchesne a thank you for introducing the excitement of monthly point tracking to my otherwise squalid existence? Given that it's been years since I was last able to get an Aeroplan seat on a plane going to my desired destination at my desired date and time, I'm inclined to just give up and ignore the stupid things. Is pulling into my local Esso station as opposed to the competition worth one extra turn of the steering wheel?
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

I got the same e-mail. Do the new terms and conditions strike you as conducive to engendering customer loyalty? (AP's Media Relations web pages proclaim it, "Canada’s premier loyalty marketing company")

Yeah, I didn't think so.
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Post by la principessa »

I'm sitting on some Aeroplan points that nearly expired, so I sent my husband out to buy chips at an Esso station in Toronto. That keeps the account current, until I blow everything on a couple of nights in Montreal.

If you don't think you'll ever fly with AC, then use the points for a surprise-romantic-week-end-in-a-hotel-with-white-linen-room-service, or a car rental or some stupid, overpriced MP3 player or blender.
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Post by Shakespeare »

I can't even use the Esso option; I still have an ancient white card with no magnetic stripe.

Tried calling about a new card a couple of days back. Got a busy signal; after several redials got "we are experiencing higher than normal call volume blah blah" so gave up.
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Post by steves »

How on earth do you find out about about aeroplan points? I have had a CIBC Aeroplan Visa card for 10 years at least, and never once recvd any notice to the effect... "You have built up xxxx aeroplan miles... do you want to cash them in?"

I don't know where to begin. I certainly don't see a reference to them on my Visa stmt, and I get nothing else in the mail.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

steves wrote:How on earth do you find out about about aeroplan points? I don't know where to begin.
One word: Google
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Post by la principessa »

Three words: aeroplan dot com
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

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Post by uhoh »

Shakespeare wrote:I can't even use the Esso option; I still have an ancient white card with no magnetic stripe.
me too - white card (don't even know where it is, but thankfully I know my number).

was just on bellmobility.ca site looking something up and see that aeroplan points are an option with Bell.
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Post by kcowan »

uhoh wrote:
Shakespeare wrote:I can't even use the Esso option; I still have an ancient white card with no magnetic stripe.
me too - white card (don't even know where it is, but thankfully I know my number)...
It will be worth it to get the stripped orange card so you can use it for express checkin when flying on points. You can use your credit card if you are paying for the flight that way.
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Post by kcowan »

steves wrote:How on earth do you find out about about aeroplan points? I have had a CIBC Aeroplan Visa card for 10 years at least, and never once recvd any notice to the effect... "You have built up xxxx aeroplan miles... do you want to cash them in?"

I don't know where to begin. I certainly don't see a reference to them on my Visa stmt, and I get nothing else in the mail.
Go to aeroplan dot com and set up your account for online access. You will then get a monthly email saying that your statement is available.

You can also book free flights there but I still use my travel agent who gets me flights when I want for $50. AP claim that this is going to be better now but I am a non-believer. You can pay a 50% premium to get improved access to flights but I choose to pay $50 and have someone else do the work rather than 12500 points (minimum) so I can do the work myself.

This online access will become more important now that there are different classes of points.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

kcowan wrote:You can also book free flights there but I still use my travel agent who gets me flights when I want for $50. AP claim that this is going to be better now but I am a non-believer.
For flying on partner airlines and/or complex itineraries (e.g. open jaws) you can call AP's 1-800 and book over the phone. That service used to be free, especially if you couldn't have made the booking online, however, as I understand it, these days they charge a fee. If that's the case then $50 to a travel agent may be a better deal.
You can pay a 50% premium to get improved access to flights but I choose to pay $50 and have someone else do the work rather than 12500 points (minimum) so I can do the work myself.
Do you have evidence that travel agents have access to a larger inventory of reward seats than is available online or that they can get a seat for standard points that's available online only at a premium? Note that the number of available reward seats gets adjusted dynamically as AC's estimates of paid-seats for a given flight varies. Seats get added overnight. Some people claim that they've scooped newly-released seats by checking just after midnight, etc.

BTW, a NA-wide Y seat normally costs 25,000 points. Paying a 50% premium raises that to 37,500 points. A J seat (if available) is only another 2,500 points. Moral: if you can't get a Y seat for 25k, first check for J availability.
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Post by Taggart »

ING bonus breaks rules, advisory warns

Aeroplan marketing


Chris Sorensen, Financial Post
Published: Thursday, November 09, 2006

ING Canada Inc. is being forced to reel in a national Aeroplan marketing campaign after a regulatory group governing Ontario's insurance brokers took issue with ING's promise of a "500 point thank-you" for signing a new auto or home insurance policy.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

That also explains why President's Choice Insurance stopped paying PC Points bonuses on premium payments using PC MasterCard.
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Post by steves »

I finally found out I have 122,000 miles. This seems as though it will take me somewhere farther than Abbotsford.

Do airmiles only count for the air portion of a vacation? Could you book a complete vacation for example?
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