Convert hotel reward points to Aeroplan miles - get 20% extra

Is this worth it? I have a bunch of SPG points and I think the conversion is 1:1. I wonder which program has a higher value of a single point.

This is cold deal.. !! I would rather convert my Aeroplan miles to some hotel programs i.e. SPG or other hotel and get less miles. Aeroplan miles are useless.. they bumped up the Elite mileage and now every flight is double the aeroplan miles i.e. to fly from toronto to Vancouver.. it used to take 25000 and now it takes 50,000 miles.

Not to mention, you loose the aeroplan miles in 7 years if you don't use it... even if you have accumulate miles... there is an expiry of the miles if you don't use it.

I know you can convert aeroplan miles to other hotel programs from points.com but they charge you a lot.

coolshyguy wrote: ↑

Aug 22nd, 2011 12:40 pm

This is cold deal.. !! I would rather convert my Aeroplan miles to some hotel programs i.e. SPG or other hotel and get less miles. Aeroplan miles are useless.. they bumped up the Elite mileage and now every flight is double the aeroplan miles i.e. to fly from toronto to Vancouver.. it used to take 25000 and now it takes 50,000 miles.

Not to mention, you loose the aeroplan miles in 7 years if you don't use it... even if you have accumulate miles... there is an expiry of the miles if you don't use it.

I know you can convert aeroplan miles to other hotel programs from points.com but they charge you a lot.

North American economy flights are still 25,000pts. Executive First tickets went from 40,000 - 50,000. I still find quite a value in Aeroplan, as we haven't had to "pay" for a ticket to MCO in 6 years using Aeroplan.

Like coolshyguy I agree that the deal is cold. In addition to coolshyguy's comments, I will also add that even in low season and booking months ahead, you are lucky if you can get an economy seat, let alone a business class seat. The Aeroplan program is not longer an attractive proposition to collect points.

Agreed North America flights are 25000 but talk about the taxes you pay on the flights to North America + limited seats availability.

Example: If you book a flight using Aeroplan miles.. you would have to pay taxes.. most of the flights you can find are unfortunately 1 to 2 stops flights and you would have to pay airport taxes + fees of all these stops.

international return Flights from Toronto to London 70,000 miles is 2 stops flight and you would have to pay over $200 bucks in taxes.


Only positive thing is if you get a flight originating from US you would pay less taxes around $120 bucks in taxes.

I wish I applied the SPG card when they have the 20000 SPG point welcome bonus, that means 30000 Aeroplan miles bonus if in time for this promotion!

I guess someone might find value to Aeroplan but I am not crazy about it either, I agree with the high fees and the stops you will have to accept unless you book your seat well in advance might have better luck to get a direct flight. Also, more miles is required especially for one way ticket compared to other North American frequent flyer programs. my 2 cents.

JWL wrote: ↑

Aug 22nd, 2011 1:50 pm

Aeroplan points are what they are. The point values and tax issues are pretty well known. But if you do have some miscellaneous hotel points from other programs this can be a good opportunity to consolidate in one program.

Good idea! Thanks JWL.

coolshyguy wrote: ↑

Aug 22nd, 2011 12:40 pm

This is cold deal.. !! I would rather convert my Aeroplan miles to some hotel programs i.e. SPG or other hotel and get less miles. Aeroplan miles are useless.. they bumped up the Elite mileage and now every flight is double the aeroplan miles i.e. to fly from toronto to Vancouver.. it used to take 25000 and now it takes 50,000 miles.

Not to mention, you loose the aeroplan miles in 7 years if you don't use it... even if you have accumulate miles... there is an expiry of the miles if you don't use it.

I know you can convert aeroplan miles to other hotel programs from points.com but they charge you a lot.

This is quite false. Elite mileage requirements have not changed. You're talking about REDEEMING mileage - and yeah it changed for business / first class, but economy within Canada (within North America, in fact) is unchanged. Please check your facts. We're all pissed that J/F mileage reqs went up, but let's not over-blow the situation :P

jdaking wrote: ↑

Aug 22nd, 2011 2:20 pm

I guess someone might find value to Aeroplan but I am not crazy about it either, I agree with the high fees and the stops you will have to accept unless you book your seat well in advance might have better luck to get a direct flight. Also, more miles is required especially for one way ticket compared to other North American frequent flyer programs. my 2 cents.

The Air Canada surcharges are absolutely insane. You have to be careful how you route... you must, at all costs, avoid AC metal and redeem through Aeroplan on other airlines. Consider the following shameless theft: a more-or-less direct routing, NRT-YYZ-YUL, costs $760, in business class. But routing around the world, in first class, with stopovers in Zurich, Hong Kong and Bangkok (with all the benefits of first class lounges and stuff), with the final leg flying into YUL either on Lufthansa from Munich, or through the USA, costs $260. Go figure?

It is true, though, that you have to be willing to a) stop a lot and b) take indirect flights to get to your destination, OR to be willing to pay the $90 change fee for better routings. If you're OK with that, then Aeroplan still, sadly, presents the best value out of all frequent flier rewards considering we're in Canada (if we were south of the border, it would be a totally different conversation).

Actually..... this is hot if you have AMEX Membership Rewards points, as you can convert them to SPG and then convert them to Aeroplan, instead of directly. Woot!

Repost... I posted this in the Freebie section A week ago bcoz it's technically not a deal (nothing to buy, just converting points...)

Pseudo Nim wrote: ↑

Aug 30th, 2011 12:09 pm

Actually..... this is hot if you have AMEX Membership Rewards points, as you can convert them to SPG and then convert them to Aeroplan, instead of directly. Woot!

I tried this.
Found out that 1000 AMEX points = 500 SPG