Around the World with Aeroplan Points (Layovers & Stopovers)
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When you are traveling to a far flung destination, like Asia or Australia from North America, layovers are unavoidable. So why not make them long enough to enjoy? Air Canada Aeroplan lets you string together your itinerary of available flights, effectively letting you choose the destination and length of your layover. I'll be sharing a few examples of trips I've booked that went around the world with Aeroplan points for the price of a single award. Included are tips on how to build and book your own itinerary with Aeroplan to take you on the trip of a lifetime.
Booking Rules for One Way Awards on Aeroplan
There are a few key rules to booking an award with Aeroplan:
You must travel in one direction.Â
You may book up to six different segments on a single award, with up to six different carriers.Â
The layover between each of these segments can be up to 24 hours.Â
You can add a stopover, which can be up to 45 days long, for an additional 5,000 points.Â
The total number of miles flown on the different segments cannot be more than double the direct distance from your starting and ending city. You can check this on GCmap.comÂ
Please see this Frequent Miler article for more details on how the pricing works as it is mixed between zone and distance based pricing.Â
Earning Aeroplan Points
There are several credit card issuers that transfer points to Air Canada Aeroplan. Learn more about the value of transferring points to partners here.
American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Bilt Points all transfer at a 1 to 1 ration to Aeroplan. This makes it easy to rack up points through regular spending and welcome bonuses.
These credit cards regularly run transfer bonus promotions that incentivize transferring to Aeroplan. Take advantage of a transfer bonuses to end up with sometimes as much as 30% more Aeroplan points.
Build your Award Itinerary
To build out your itinerary, start by thinking about where you’d like to go and what airline carriers serve those destinations. Air Canada has a wide range of Star Alliance partners and others.
Search on Aeroplan to determine possible routing and then hone down on which dates have availability. The earlier you can search, the better.
Most award availability opens up nearly 11 to 12 months in the future and can go fast. Remember there can only be up to 24 hours between flights.
Otherwise, it will count as stopover for an extra 5,000 miles. Adding a stopover can make sense when flight availability is limited or you would like to explore that city for a longer period of time.Â
Redeeming an Aeroplan Award
Some itineraries are bookable online using the multi-city option. These itineraries tend to include only one layover on either end of your stopover.
For more complex routing you will need to call Aeroplan to make the booking. Before calling make sure you have checked availability and written down the flight numbers and dates.
When customer service finally answers (a 2 hour hold is not unusual), then explain that you would like to book a one way award with a stopover and provide the necessary details.
If it doesn’t price out as you expect then make sure they are not trying to book it as several segments. Otherwise, hang up and try again for an agent that knows what to do.
Mixed awards do not price lower than an all business class one so try to find all your segments available in one class.Â
Example Aeroplan Award Bookings
I’ll be sharing the various itineraries I booked for myself and family last year as an example of how far you can take a single trip.Â
My itinerary:Â
Washington D.C. (IAD) to Cairo (CAI) on Egyptair, Business Class
14 hour layover in CairoÂ
Cairo (CAI) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) on Etihad, Business Class
23 hour layover in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Singapore (SIN) on Etihad, Business Class
23 hour layover in Singapore
Singapore (SIN) to Denpasar Bali (DPS)on Singapore Airlines, Economy Class
10 Day Stopover in Bali
Denpasar Bali (DPS) to Sydney (SYD), Virgin Australia, Business Class
Cost Total: 120,000 Aeroplan points and 176.70 CAD in taxes and fees
The cash price of this exact itinerary would have been $7041. It is typically over $1000 with a cash fare to get to Australia directly in economy, so I thought this was a great deal.
Experience
It took me five days to get to Bali, but I definitely enjoyed the journey. Along the way I visited museums in D.C., saw the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, went on a desert adventure in Abu Dhabi, and swam in the famous Marina Bay Sands infinity rooftop pool in Singapore. Bali was an incredible destination on its own, but going to Australia was the original purpose of this whole trip. I spent the next several weeks traveling in Australia and New Zealand, which is a time I’ll always treasure being able to spend in such a far flung area. All of my flights went perfectly, and I booked my return with United on points in economy class.
Melbourne (MEL) - San Francisco (SFO) - Houston (IAH)- Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
This was 40,000 United points and $79.75 in fees.
The cash price of this flight itinerary would have been $1,310.
I booked my friend with me on the same flights for a similar rate via Aeroplan but took advantage of a transfer bonus at the time of her booking. Â
Family itinerary:
New York(EWR) to London (LHR) on United, Polaris Business Class
3 day stopover in London
London (LHR)Â to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines Business Class
They spent 2 days in Singapore to meet up with me and then bought a cash fare on Singapore Air to Denpasar (DPS) to continue with me in Bali.Â
92,500 aeroplan points, 500.60 CAD in taxes and fees.
The cash price of these flights would have been $7,121.
I booked my family’s tickets months after my plans were already made so it was a scramble to look for availability but I managed to share two locations with them and get them around the world in a fairly direct way
Experience
The major problem ended up being the United flight from New York to London being canceled after they had spent some time sitting on the plane due to mechanical issues. With only limited time in London, a destination they were looking forward to, they scrambled to find an alternative. A very helpful desk agent was able to get them on a British Airways flight from a different airport in New York that was departing soon, so they grabbed a cab and were able to make the flight. While it was a very stressful situation, British Airways ended up being their favorite experience out of the various business class products they tried on this trip.Â
Return Flights
For their return I booked another Aeroplan itinerary.
Denpasar (DPS) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Air, Economy Class
Short layover
Singapore (SIN) to Dubai (DXB) on Singapore Air, Business Class
7 Day Stopover in Dubai
Dubai (DXB) to Frankfort (FRA) on Lufthansa, Business Class
Short Layover
Frankfort (FRA) to New York (JFK), Singapore Airlines, Business Class
120,000 aeroplan points, 216.80 CAD
The cash price of these flights would have been $8,159.
Experience
They loved Dubai and had plenty to do all week, despite it being summer. Leaving Dubai ended up being tricky because Lufthansa canceled their flight and left them without any flight alternatives. It took two calls before we were able to convince Lufthansa of their carrier duties and get them rebooked on an another flight, especially since they would be missing their connection. Worry turned into relief when they were finally notified or their flight replacement. They ended up getting to experience the Emirates A380 Business class from Dubai to New York. Let’s just say you could find them at the onboard bar.
Friend’s Itinerary:
Yes one more person was able to join the fun of this trip and add in visiting Japan, a dream of hers, as her stopover. Her outbound flight went via Canada, then Tokyo, then ended in Cairns, Australia where she met up with me. This whole award and the return on United airlines was booked via Aeroplan (all online) with the points of just one credit card bonus. The card was the Chase Sapphire Preferred which is the perfect starter card for anyone getting into points and miles.Â
As shown, it’s possible to get incredible value out of your points through Aeroplan and extend your vacation to include more destinations than what you originally sought out to explore. I share more about my experiences on these business class flights and layovers in other articles, so check them out before booking your own trip around the world.Â
