Aeroplan Award Sale and Transfer Partner Bonus Reminder
Yesterday I wrote about Aeroplan (Air Canada's frequent flyer program) running a pretty generous temporary sale on awards. You can get business class for the price of coach and first class for the price of business class on many of their awards - including Star Alliance partners. You can check out their award charts here. Aeroplan is an instant 1:1 transfer partner of American Express membership Rewards, so this could make a lot of sense if you have any Star Alliance awards you are looking to book in the near future.
While Aeroplan does impose some hefty fuel surcharges, they don't levy them when you book on United/Continental, US Airways, Singapore and Turkish. So instead of paying 100,000 miles for a roundtrip US to Paris roundtrip using your Continental/United miles, you could get the same trip for 60,000 Aeroplan miles!
On top of this, if you transfer partner miles (like American Express Membership Rewards, Starwood, Marriott and Hyatt) you can earn up to 25,000 bonus Aeroplan points for each partner. I wrote about this a couple weeks ago, but wasn't too excited about it because it was announced as Aeroplan was instituting lots of customer unfriendly fuel surcharges. However, you can get huge value with both promos combined - especially if you book awards with partners that don't have fuel surcharges. However, not all of them have gone into effect yet. Right now only Air Canada, Lufthansa, Asiana Airlines, THAI, ANA, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and bmi have surcharges.
On December 14th, 2011 Aegean Airlines, Adria Airways, TAM, South African Airways and TAP Portugal itineraries will also have them - so book soon!
Starwood already gives a 5,000 mile bonus for every 20,000 Starwood points transferred to Aeroplan- and now Aeroplan will throw in up to an additional 25% (up to 25,000 miles total).
Several readers have Tweeted and emailed me their successes. Here are a couple of my favorites:
@Geralddent JFK - FRA - SIN - SQ A380 Business Class SIN - IST - YYZ TK Business Class for $168. NO FUEL SURCHARGES !!!
TPG reader CK emails: On Saturday, I transferred 160k Amex points to Aeroplan. With them, I booked two business class awards to Australia. I'm flying next week direct on United from LAX. On the return, I'm taking advantage of the open jaw to get home to the east coast for Christmas.
25k aeroplan miles appeared in my account today.
So, I basically got two r/t business tickets to australia for 67,500
miles! Very low taxes/fees since it's a United flight. Actual price
= over $12,000 each. (I considered doing multiple transfer partners,
but I was afraid my starwood points wouldn't transfer in time. If
you're just doing one ticket, I suppose you could look at it as 55k
miles r/t [as long as you're okay w/ leaving extra miles in your
Aeroplan account).
AMAZING, huh? If you want to do the same thing, go to continental.com and then search for the route (since I find Continental's engine to be easier and faster). Once you find the SaverPass availability on the dates you want, put them in at Aeroplan.com. I did this and Continental.com was going to charge 135,000 miles for San Francisco to Sydney in business class (not bad for a $13,000+ ticket), yet Aeroplan only wanted 80,000 miles - which would only be 70,000 Amex points with the transfer promo. So play around with this promotion- there are amazing deals to be had!
[card card-name='Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express ' card-id='22035076' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.