The Best Award Flights With Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada’s Aeroplan is one of the most widely used award programs amongst travelers and for good reason.

The program is one of the most well partnered, with 52 partner airlines, and offers some of the most competitive award rates of any program.

While Air Canada is part of Star Alliance, they have several airline partners for award bookings outside of the alliance such as Emirates, Eithad, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Australia, and many more.

The rates Air Canada charges for award bookings range from 70,000 – 140,000 for long haul business and first class. That’s considered some of the most competitive outside of outliers like Turkish Airlines and ANA.

In addition to having several booking partners and great rates, Air Canada Aeroplan miles are some of the easier to transfer from major credit cards. There are several options of credit cards that make transfers available as well as Marriott Bonvoy.

This makes it one of the most attractive programs but also one that offers redemptions on some of the best airplane seats money can buy.

If you are sitting on a stash of Air Canada Aeroplan points or have plenty of credit card points available, we will break down some of the best seats you can get via the program.

Aeroplan Overview

Aeroplan is the loyalty program of Air Canada, Canada’s flag carrier airline. The program is extremely popular for award travelers given the vast amount of partners and rates charged for flights.

It’s not surprising that many travelers that use the program don’t actually fly with Air Canada. The program has 52 airline partners that offers a wide variety of flight redemptions all around the world.

While the base way to earn miles on Aeroplan is to fly with Air Canada, you can also earn them by flying a Star Alliance Partner or by transferring from a major credit card.

We will break down the reasons why so many travelers use this program given the amount of great redemptions they make available.

Aeroplan Transfer Partners

As mentioned about, Air Canada has several transfer partners making it one of the easiest programs to earn rewards with. These partners include:

• American Express Membership Rewards — 1:1 transfer ratio.
• Capital One Miles — 1:1 transfer ratio.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards® — 1:1 transfer ratio.
• Bilt Rewards — 1:1 transfer ratio.
• Marriott Bonvoy — 3:1 transfer ratio with a 5,000-point bonus for transferring at least 60,000 Bonvoy points in a single transaction.

Given the variety it makes it very easy for travelers to earn points that can be redeemed with Air Canada.

Looking to earn more credit card points? Read our best credit cards for every type of traveler.

Notable, Aeroplan regularly offers transfer bonuses throughout the year – making the transfer of points even more tempting. These bonuses typically provide an extra 20% of points if you transfer within the limited time window. While they are unpredictable, if you have a lot of credit card points transferring during this time will make redemptions even cheaper.

Best Aeroplan Flight Redemptions

Air Canada Aeroplan has plenty of redemption options and there are certainly very good deals for 10,000 – 30,000 points, especially for domestic US flights. However, we are going to focus on the best of the best – not necessarily the cheapest options but the best seats you can possibly book via the program.

Say you have been saving up for a big trip like a wedding or honeymoon or just want to splurge, this list is for you on what is bookable via Aeroplan.

ANA First Class to Japan

It doesn’t get much better than a first class ticket on ANA to Japan. ANA is considered one of the best ways to fly to Tokyo and is also one of the most desirable points bookings that exist. Travelers plan for months if not a year in advance to book this seat and we can see why. The ANA First Class cabin has one of the most spacious seats and largest IFEs available. Not only that but the food is considered some of the best and given Tokyo is a top travel destination in the world, this seat can be hard to come by.

You can expect to pay 110,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption. If you are searching for availability, these often become available one year out or a week of departure for last minute bookings.

Singapore Airlines Business Class to Singapore

Singapore Airlines needs no introduction as a luxury airline offering one of the best seats money can buy as well as some of the best food in the sky. Aeroplan makes available many routes on Singapore Airlines but one of the best is the A350 from New York to Singapore, the longest flight in the world. Given you will be spending 18+ hours in this cabin, you can expect a large couch like seat and hundreds of options to pre select your food. A plus if you are vegetarian, Singapore has some of the best vegetarian food of any airline.

You can expect to pay 80,000 – 100,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption, depending on departure city.

Emirates First Class to Dubai

Emirates First Class cabin is a game changer of a seat, offering some of the most spacious and private in the industry. When the airline released it, travelers were wow’d with the sheet opulence offered with one of the only seats offering full floor to ceiling privacy. You can expect the highest end service from caviar to champagne but above all the unmatched privacy that is akin to flying in a private cabin. Availability on these are not always plentiful but bookable. It is also one of the more expensive Aeroplan redemptions you can book but will be absolutely worth it.

Prices are dynamic by route so you can expect to pay between 130,000 – 300,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption, depending on departure city and price.

Lufthansa First Class to Frankfurt or Munich

Lufthansa First Class is a relatively older product but is still lightyears ahead of Lufthansa Business Class. The first class cabin is limited to 8-10 seats that offered a huge amount of legroom with a large bed. The main drawback of the cabin is the lack of privacy with it being very open and no doors or even large barriers. If you don’t mind the lack of privacy it will provide you incredible food, champagne, and service. Another huge benefit is the amount of availability on last minute flights is plentiful so if you are thinking about a trip on short notice it shouldn’t be too hard to find.

Prices are dynamic by route so you can expect to pay 90,000 – 110,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption, depending on departure city.

ANA Business Class to Japan

Even though ANA declares this seat as business class it is better than many other airlines first class products. ANA is the most desirable airline to book to Tokyo and one of the hardest redemptions in award travel. Known as “The Room” this seat offers one of the widest business class seats in the sky and offers a great deal of privacy. You will very much think you are in a first class cabin, that’s how good ANA “The Room” offer is. The availability on this product is tight, with only year out availability or last minute. However, it is bookable and will just require some planning.

You can expect to pay 75,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption, depending on departure city.

Air India First Class to Mumbai or Delhi

Typically, Air India wouldn’t be seen as a premier flight but given their overhaul they are now joining the big leagues. Air India has been going through a complete overhaul by redesigning all their cabin interiors, introducing all new cabins, and even benefiting from retrofitting plans from Delta and Etihad. You can expect a completely elevated experience from private cabins with doors and a soon to be released new food offering. This is a huge upgrade and even better there is usually plenty of availability via Air Canada from the US to Delhi or Mumbai.

You can expect to pay 110,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption, depending on departure city.

Etihad Business Class to Abu Dhabi

While it is no first class, Etihad Business Class is still one of the best seats on a premier airline. We flew this flight from New York to Abu Dhabi and it certainly is an upgrade over Etihad 787 business class. Etihad A350 is split in a 1-2-1 configuration with every seat having aisle access and a suite door that you can unlock for privacy.Etihad is a relatively new partner to Aeroplan and doesn’t always open the most availability. However, given the amount of points they charge via Aeroplan it certainly is way less than Etihad miles directly or a cash ticket. Often Etihad flights will be released in batches so if you don’t find availability then keep checking since openings will be unpredictable.

You can expect to pay 88,000 Aeroplan points for this redemption, depending on departure city.

Finding Aeroplan Flight Availability

While earning enough points to redeem for a flight is already a challenge, finding flight availability is arguably a bit harder. Even if you have the points it doesn’t mean your flight will be available to book.

Air Canada’s website is actually pretty easy to use but there are also better options.

We like Seats.Aero as the best points and miles tool to find award availability. You can search specific routes or even just open ended availability to certain regions. We use it every time we need to book a flight and its easily the best way for you to find availability once you have the points.

Summary & Takeaways

Air Canada Aeroplan is one of the most robust points programs on the market and its no wonder why so many travelers use them. I’ve personally used Aeroplan for years and actually have never flown on an Air Canada branded flight, only partner airlines.

If you have a stash of Aeroplan points or credit card points that transfer, the above routes are certainly some of the most luxury seats made available for booking.