Aeroplan vs BA Avios - Do I need both? Or focus on one?

r2edline wrote: ↑ Hey guys - so I'm semi-new to the rewards points game and RFD. I've had an RBC Avion for years now and gotten decent value out of my points by transferring with the 50% bonus to BA Avois to get my wife and I to Europe on Premium Economy once and now Japan on Business Class this coming summer!

I've been reading a lot and learning about churning cards (many thanks to jerry's great thread). I'm just getting underway, signed up and approved for the Amex Gold (25k bonus offer) as my first one, but before I get too deep I'm wanting to ask the question...

Should I focus solely on one rewards program, or to get the most value do I need both Avios and Aeroplan? I haven't used Aeroplan before, but I've poked around on their site and read a lot about how the fees work, how to avoid fees, etc. I like to think I'm a pretty smart guy, I definitely have the aptitude to figure these things out. However, Aeroplan scares me for a couple reasons, mainly the taxes/fees I've seen and read about, as well as the fact that I don't fly domestically in Canada ever.

I don't travel a lot, usually when I do I'm doing so at least partially with points. I live in Vancouver, and when I do travel, it is to Hawaii/Las Vegas/Phoenix, or intercontinental destinations (Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand come to mind). As mentioned, rarely if ever would I fly domestically within Canada. My credit card bill is about $2k-2.5k per month on average.

Should I just focus on cards/offers that will get me Avios? Or is Aeroplan worth the hassle and good to have in your points "portfolio"? Any advice/tips/recommendations you can give for someone new to the game would be much appreciated!

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ Once you start churning cards, you should diversify and collect both. Both have advantages and disadvantages. You not travelling within Canada so that should lean you towards Aeroplan. Avios is distance based so general advantage is it is better for short trips. Aeroplan allows for multi-city stopovers. 1 stop over within N.A. and I believe 2 outside of N.A. (which is good for mini RTW trips).

I have lots of pts in both programs, and so far, I have used more aeroplan (~400k) than avios (~175k) in past few yrs.

Being from the westcoast as well, I am actually thinking of starting to collect Alaskan Air pts as well.

r2edline wrote: ↑ Thanks for the reply and advice. My main issue with Aeroplan is the cost of the fees and taxes when using the points for places I'd want to go. Not sure I just want to limit myself to the Aeroplan airlines that don't charge fuel surcharges.

Alaska is an interesting thought, good for possibly Vegas and Hawaii. I'll have to look into it more.

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ Using avios, I am flying Alaska (out of BLI) next month to LAS. 15k avios + $15 (taxes/fees) per person. Only 2nd time I have ever used avios.

r2edline wrote: ↑ How did you get this flight? When I look this up through BA it I get an error saying that route is not offered by their partners.

sahiljain22 wrote: ↑ If you are limited to peak travel times, maybe a another option is a 2% cashback card?

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ She has written some excellent articles. Secret is to look for possible flights from aa.com.
The BLI to LAS is a direct flight too with good dep/arr times.
http://themilesprofessor.com/2014/06/02 ... vios-4500/

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ Being from the westcoast as well, I am actually thinking of starting to collect Alaskan Air pts as well.

neverless wrote: ↑ Any opinions on Alaska Airlines for someone on the east coast (particularly YYZ/Toronto)?

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ She has written some excellent articles. Secret is to look for possible flights from aa.com.
The BLI to LAS is a direct flight too with good dep/arr times.
http://themilesprofessor.com/2014/06/02 ... vios-4500/

r2edline wrote: ↑ So I tried this out, but can't get it to work. I searched on AA.com and found available MileSAAver flights (example one-way BLI -> LAS on April 3rd), but when I do the same on BA.com I still get the error "British Airways and its partners do not fly this route."

Any ideas? Does this not work anymore? Her article is from over 3 years ago now.

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ The ~400k aeroplan pts I have used already, I only paid AC taxes/fees once for a YVR-T.O. return trip (25k pts), so I have spend ~375k aeroplan pts without paying the high scam taxes/fees. If you don't need to fly within Canada, there are lots of ways to fly other airlines that don't charge the crazy high taxes/fees that AC charges.

Using avios, I am flying Alaska (out of BLI) next month to LAS. 15k avios + $15 (taxes/fees) per person. Only 2nd time I have ever used avios.

atomiton wrote: ↑ If you're on the West Coast (YVR), Avios is useful for direct flights as follows:

BLI - Hawaii (20k-25k) on AK (OGG,KOA only right now)
YVR-LAS on AA
YVR-LAX on AA
YVR-SFO on AA (all 15k vs. 25k on Aeroplan)

Basically for BA to be worth it, you have to fly direct. However that means that you could book YVR-LAX(AA) LAX-HNL(AA) HNL-SEA(AS) between 32,500k in economy.

Another potential good use is for short-haul on a major carrier in Asia. Within Japan, for example, you can fly short-haul one-ways for 4,500 miles still on JAL with Avios. Sure, you can take zip around using the bullet-train in Japan, but if you want to get to more remote locations like Hokkaido or Kyushu from a major airport like HND or KIX/ITM the plane is much faster and quite convenient.

For Aeroplan, flights which already require a connection are a better buy, or flying to smaller secondary airports, or flying anywhere United can take you.

Note that airlines that are NOT BA always use the PEAK prices.

lhsonic wrote: ↑ Wow, thanks for that suggestion- I never thought to do that. Were you charged a fee for booking over the phone or did you use the "not available on BA website" excuse?

Are you sure about the YVR-LAS option @ 15K. I swear I tried this earlier and it didn't work. When using AA to search for flights, to guesstimate availability, short-haul should show as 12.5K? Or is that just completely wrong?

And yes, great suggestions for intra-Japan travel.. it is simply incredible value on Avios. 4.5K + $15 will get you almost everywhere within the country. Same with Australia except the mileage required will be higher. If you find good flights that are available through Malaysia, SE Asia can also be good value.

Aeroplan in Canada is still good value (despite taxes) because of our size and pricing for intra-Canada travel. 25K + $250 will get you what may usually be a $900 flight (you can do a multi-city trip such as YVR-YYZ-LGA-YVR).

Speedy1 wrote: ↑ If it is not on BA's website and it is an available reward flight, BA won't charge you for booking thru the phone.

The pts required on AA's website is what AA will charge NOT what BA will charge.