Value of 1 aeroplan point

Really depends on where you fly, and what class of seats you choose. I’m still sort of new to aeroplan myself. I have taken 2 flights using primarily aeroplan points, and paid the taxes and fees on my credit card. Both of my flights were to the US, and both were in economy. Both flights worked out to be around 1.7 cpp (cents per point). although on my second flight, when i first started searching for the flight, it was closer 1.5 cpp. I waited maybe 1.5 or 2 weeks to actually book my flight, and the redemption level went down (as in points needed). This can also go in the opposite direction, so its not something I’d recommend. Its just the way it worked out for me.

I have searched random flights here and there, and aeroplan always seems to have more value than 1 cpp.

Usually if I’m getting 1x points, i’ll using my aeroplan card. If its something that’s 2x or more, i use another card. My aeroplan card only gets 1x points. For example, if i shop on amazon. I use my brim card, and take my 2x points.

Value of aeroplan can vary. I’ve heard of some people getting 3 cpp or more. I’ve personally never seen a flight like that, but heard you get better redemption value for first class or business class. I stick with economy, because i’m cheap.

You can generally get more than 1% value out of aeroplan, but these cards do have annual fees. The core aeroplan cards cost about $139 (but often offer 1st year free) and earn 1.5 points per $ spent on gas and groceries and 1 point on most other things. There is a free CIBC card, but it only earns half of the points.

Another good option if you're not familiar with them are the amex membership rewards cards (such as the cobalt, gold or platinum). They earn flexible points that can be transferred to aeroplan or hotel programs, used to book travel directly, or even cashed out for a 1% statement credit (like a cash back card). The cobalt is especially appealing since it earns 5x points for dining and groceries, for a $13 monthly fee. Amex isn't universally accepted, but most places take it (except Loblaw grocery stores, Costco and some small independents). If you live near a Sobeys grocery store, the cobalt card is a great way to pile up aeroplan points.

A rule of thumb for most people is around 2 cents per mile. Here's an article on valuations: https://princeoftravel.com/points-valuations/

I personally value Aeroplan miles at 1.5 cents and won't redeem for a value lower than that. I know it's lower that what others target but it's what I tend to get on domestic or transborder redemptions which are my most frequent trips.

But also I have done much better than that - for example just redeemed one way business class to Europe in July for 56k each. Benchmarked against half of the cheapest round trip business class price I can find on a comparable legacy carrier, I still pulled off 3.4 cents a mile on this redemption (and even more if you benchmark against the exact same flight or against the one-way price, but I compare against what I would have done if I was paying cash, not against a price I would never reasonably pay).

MrBungal wrote: ↑ I noticed that most Aeroplan credit cards (amex, CIBC, etc) gives 1 aeroplan point for every $1 spent. If you would have a regular 1% return credit card (cashback such as Costco, PC, Brim no AF, etc), it would be 1c per $1 spent.

So I wanted to see if getting 1 aeroplan point has a better value than the regular 1% CB or even 2% CB.

Spending $100k, would equal 100k aeroplan pts. Generally this gets you business class one way to Europe, mostly with partners due to the fixed points, but I was lucky to find AC flights as well below 100k pts. Business tickets are about $3000 (generally, and last time I checked).

So spending $100k on a 1%, or even 2% CB card (2% generally always comes with AF, such as Brim expensive $199), nets you $1000 respectively $2000 CB.

As such, if one doesn't have signup bonuses cards to churn, did I deduce that using an aeroplan card gives better return than a regular 1% CB?

Value is a relative concept.

If you spend $100k, get 100k AP and redeem them for a $3k business class fare, it may seem like you are getting 3% for that redemption. But the question is: if you had to pay cash, would you have paid $3k for that business class fare, or would you have otherwise gone with a premium economy fare, or even an economy fare. If you didn't have points, and only would have paid $1k cash for a flight to Europe, then it's a little misleading to say you are getting 3% for that redemption, even though the cash price of that ticket was $3k. If you otherwise would have paid $3k cash for that fare, then it would be fare to say you are getting 3% return in that case.

You always need to compare it to what you otherwise would have earned/spent. Spending that $100k on the no-AF Rogers WE card will get you $1.5k in cashback. Would you rather have $1.5k in cash, or a business class fare to Europe? Because that business class ticket is effectively costing you at least $1,500 (i.e., you would have earned $1,500 if you weren't earning AP points).

All of my comments are excluding getting SUBs, of course -- just spend on credit cards.

catsoncoffee wrote: ↑ You can generally get more than 1% value out of aeroplan, but these cards do have annual fees.

Three different things here.

1. How much an Aeroplan point is worth when you redeem it, regardless of how you earned it.
2. How many points you earn based on your credit card spending.
3. How much of your earnings on spending is eroded by your card's annual fee. The less you spend, the more the fee (a fixed amount) cuts in to your earnings.

These three things are independent of each other.
The Amex Green card has no annual fee and earns 1 MR point per dollar on all spend and is convertible 1:1 to Aeroplan. So if you value an AP point at 2¢, Amex Green is effectively a no-annual-fee card that earns 2% on all spend.

Many RFDers value business class flights and would be willing to pay the full asking price for those fares. So, for them, yes, a valuation of 3¢ or more per point would be accurate. But if you aren't willing to pay the asking price to upgrade to business class, ask yourself what you would be willing to pay. Compare how many more points you need against that difference, for an accurate valuation for you.

An easy way to get an idea is to go on the aircanada website and search a flight you might be interested in. See the cash price and then check the aeroplan box to see the points cost for the same flight. I just checked a Vegas flight that I do quite often and it worked out to 1.6 cents for economy. However, you do get better value if you are an aeroplan cardholder (they give you a discount on the number of points you need to book).

catsoncoffee wrote: ↑ An easy way to get an idea is to go on the aircanada website and search a flight you might be interested in. See the cash price and then check the aeroplan box to see the points cost for the same flight. I just checked a Vegas flight that I do quite often and it worked out to 1.6 cents for economy. However, you do get better value if you are an aeroplan cardholder (they give you a discount on the number of points you need to book).

Yes and the calculations can be complicated. To take an example, to get the true value for my way of thinking, I would have to do something like the following:

Random YOW-YVR Flex Return Feb 16-18th

*I freely admit this timing/itinerary at a super slow time will show poor value, but the calculation stands*

Revenue flex ticket $697 - value of points earned as a 75k (2200*2*1.75 elite bonus) - points earned buying with a card say 697 ==> 8397 points earned * say $0.02 = $697 paid - $168 points earned = $529 net cost
Revenue standard ticket $527 - value of points earned (2200*.25*2*1.75) - points earned buying with a card say 527 ==> 2452 * 0.02 = $527 - $49.04 = $478 net cost

Points ticket 24,400 points + $81.90 cash
= Amount saved on Flex $529 - 81.90 = $447.10 =====> 1.83 cents / mile
= Amount saved on Standard $478 - 81.90 = $396.10 =====> 1.62 cents / mile

You can get as fancy as you want to add/remove bag/seat fees, what miles/bonuses you might get, if you're meeting MSR on a card, etc.

I will give Aeroplan credit where credit is due: I think the system glitched whereby the points required for business class airfare for departure on a quote with 4 passengers was roughly half what it should have been - economy for return priced correctly. Attempted to check out but received error messages. I was able to see an itinerary number in the Aeroplan app, without tickets issued, so I phoned front line customer service and shortly thereafter spoke with a supervisor as well. To make a long story short a back office supervisor phoned back after a week to state while the initial quote no longer exists they would honour it. Paid for the booking over the phone and tickets were issued shortly thereafter. More so than points valuation customer service is there when it matters.

I had a recent redemption that yielded about 8c/Aeroplan point for a business class ticket. I'd target redemption valuations at 2c/pt.

But only the individual can calculate what the real value is based upon:
- where you want to fly and flexibility
- class of service (I won't fly longhaul in anything less than PE these days)
- how far in advance you can book (my 8c valuation above would have decreased substantially if I hadn't booked early).

In addition to the points keep in mind that with certain Aeroplan cards you get free checked bags so if you are travelling a family of 5 that is worth like $300 on a roundtrip.

If you are not a frequent flyer (lounge, priority benefits), it does not make sense to me to get Aeroplan or any other travel card unless you can squeeze out at least 1.5-2 cents per point. Otherwise you are just better off with a cashback.

I book exclusively business class trips. I have a flexible business round trip for 2 to Europe booked for 300k points when the same trip in cash is $28K (9.3 cent per point value). The same trip in lowest business class is 220k vs. $11k cash (5 cents).

The trick is you need to book far ahead (booked it the moment they became available 11+ months) and be flexible in dates and even destinations. For example the longest leg to Europe can be almost any country because everything is a cheap train or flight away.

Love2Deal wrote: ↑ I have a flexible business round trip for 2 to Europe booked for 300k points when the same trip in cash is $28K (9.3 cent per point value).

Sure, but if the cash price was $50k, would you value the 300k points at 17¢ each? Or if they asked $80k, would you value them at 27¢ each? We need to be careful about looking too hard at the cash price and valuing our points redemptions against it.
A far more accurate valuation of 300k would be to measure how many you need against what you would be willing to pay in cash, and ignore the airline's cash asking price, which is often insanely high just to trick points redeemers into thinking they are getting good value.

Kiraly wrote: ↑ A far more accurate valuation of 300k would be to measure how many you need against what you would be willing to pay in cash, and ignore the airline's cash asking price, which is often insanely high just to trick points redeemers into thinking they are getting good value.

I completely agree that we should value them against what we are willing to pay. I usually book points flights in business class, but would likely suck it up and fly economy if I had to pay cash. There is certainly added value in having a more comfortable flight, but I wouldn't pay thousands of extra dollars for a few hours of comfort.

However, I doubt that the airline's cash asking price is insanely high "just to trick points redeemers into thinking they are getting good value." More likely, it is insanely high because they feel that some business person will need to book that ticket at the last minute regardless of the cost.

catsoncoffee wrote: ↑ I completely agree that we should value them against what we are willing to pay. I usually book points flights in business class, but would likely suck it up and fly economy if I had to pay cash. There is certainly added value in having a more comfortable flight, but I wouldn't pay thousands of extra dollars for a few hours of comfort.

However, I doubt that the airline's cash asking price is insanely high "just to trick points redeemers into thinking they are getting good value." More likely, it is insanely high because they feel that some business person will need to book that ticket at the last minute regardless of the cost.

This sort of points valuation argument is philosophical not economic - in many ways it is the difference between "value" and "worth". Would you value a car you won on a game show at what you'd be willing to pay or at the retail selling price? Similarly, why use way more points to fly business class when you could get 3+ tickets in economy class for the same points - what are the points redemption economics for that choice?

Given the dynamic pricing for Aeroplan redemptions on AC-metal, the valuation varies dramatically based on supply and demand (and current cash ticket pricing), so it is hard to argue that valuations are artificially inflated.

The only mathematically valid way to value points comparatively is on points for cash-price equivalent. This is most apparent by simply looking at what an airline-points earning card vs a cash-back card (or a generic travel points earning card) would get you in terms of a ticket that you would intend to acquire and also factoring what the spend to earn those points to adjust for the vagaries of points earning schemes.

Value it at 1.5-2c/aeroplan point typically for economy class as a baseline valuation or higher for PE or Business Class.

robsaw wrote: ↑ This sort of points valuation argument is philosophical not economic.

Would you value a car you won on a game show at what you'd be willing to pay or at the retail selling price? Similarly, why use way more points to fly business class when you could get 3+ tickets in economy class for the same points - what are the points redemption economics for that choice?

It actually is economic.

I would value a car won on a game show at the retail selling price if I were able to resell that car for cash at that selling price. If I was in need of a car and I was going to buy one at that same selling price, then I would also value it at the selling price. If I would have bought a car at half the price (with the same feature set), then I would value it at half the selling price. If I weren't able to resell it or give it away (so had to retain it) and I had just bought a new car and now have absolutely no use for a the car that I won, then I would value the car I won at zero. "Value" depends on the individual receiving the benefits, and is separate from price. When value (for a specific individual) matches or exceeds the selling price, then it's a logical purchase decision. That's why, if we look at acquisitions for example, company A is willing to offer a higher price for company C than company B is willing to offer, because the value of company C is greater to company A than to company B.

robsaw wrote: ↑The only mathematically valid way to value points comparatively is on points for cash-price equivalent.

I would argue that isn't the only mathematically valid way to value points. That's one way to look at what the cash price of a ticket is on a per point basis. And if you could resell that ticket at that price, then I 100% agree -- that would be the way to determine value. But since you cannot resell that ticket (or at least it goes against AP's T&Cs to resell it), it's only a way to determine price, not necessarily value. In finance terms, "value" needs to reflect the benefit to the individual receiving the benefits. When talking about cash, the benefits are easily determined; when talking about luxury hotels or first class airfare, the benefits are not as easily determined.

robsaw wrote: ↑ Similarly, why use way more points to fly business class when you could get 3+ tickets in economy class for the same points - what are the points redemption economics for that choice?

Actually, business class tickets on AC often don't require many more points than economy class, even though there may be a big difference in the cash price. I'd never pay 3x points for business class, but I would pay 25% more points for the extra comfort. I have actually seen business class tickets for less points than economy (I don't understand why, but I have seen it a few times lately on AC). Maybe it's because I was looking at last minute tickets where economy was almost sold out. Here's a screenshot for those who don't believe me:

robsaw wrote: ↑ I had a recent redemption that yielded about 8c/Aeroplan point for a business class ticket. I'd target redemption valuations at 2c/pt.

But only the individual can calculate what the real value is based upon:
- where you want to fly and flexibility
- class of service (I won't fly longhaul in anything less than PE these days)
- how far in advance you can book (my 8c valuation above would have decreased substantially if I hadn't booked early).

Good points.

Also have to compare it to alternatives.

I was looking at 3 hour flight to US and their business class was $2000 and would result in about 8 cents/AP.

However, WestJet economy class was $350 for that same flight. There is no way in hell I'd pay $2000 in cash for 3 hour business flight.

EDL67134234 wrote: ↑ Good points.

Also have to compare it to alternatives.

I was looking at 3 hour flight to US and their business class was $2000 and would result in about 8 cents/AP.

However, WestJet economy class was $350 for that same flight. There is no way in hell I'd pay $2000 in cash for 3 hour business flight.

Exactly. Same thing with the valuations of the programs. Prince of Travel values Elite 50k at $5,843, but there's no way I'd pay anywhere close to that for it. Even those talking about illegally (well against Aeroplan T&C) selling the 50k benefit are probably not getting more than $500. Things have great value until you ask someone to pay for them and all of a sudden the valuation falls. Airlines can price full fare and business the way they do because most people are spending someone else's money.