How to Get and Use the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass

The Air Canada Annual Worlwide Companion Pass allows you to travel with a guest at a reduced price anywhere in the world. Here’s how to use it to its full potential.

You must purchase an economy class ticket (one-way or round-trip) for yourself.

Then, you can bring a guest with you at a fixed base fare between $99 and $599 depending on the destination. Taxes and other surcharges (carrier surcharges) must also be paid on the second ticket.

To qualify for the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, all flight segments must be operated by Air Canada (and its Rouge and Jazz subsidiaries). In addition, it only applies to flights paid for with cash and not with Aeroplan points.

The cost of the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass depends on your destination:

• $99 for Canada or the continental United States (Hawaii excluded),
• $299 for Hawaii, Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean,
• $499 for South America, Europe, Middle East or Africa,
• $599 for Asia, Australia or New Zealand.

To better understand how the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass works, here’s an example of how it was used for a trip to Disney World during the holiday season.

Two plane tickets to Montreal-Orlando cost $2,376.

With the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass:

The Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass saves you $389 ($2,376 – $1,987).

Before we get into the analysis of where to best use it, let’s first look at how to get it.

You can receive the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass after making $25,000 in net purchases (not including annual fees) on certain “premium” credit cards. These purchases must be made before the anniversary date of your Card membership.

The terms and conditions state that this pass will be paid into the Aeroplan account between 8 and 10 weeks after the anniversary date of Card membership. Therefore, you must pay the annual fee for the second year in order to receive the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass. In fact, it is a retention offer.

The credit cards that offer the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass are:

There are no restrictions on the dates you can use it, and it is valid for 1 year after the deposit to the account. Reservations can be made beyond the expiry date of the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, so you have a 2-year window to use it after acquisition.

However, if you cancel your trip after the expiry date of the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass, the pass cannot be added back to your account and will disappear.

What’s more, the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass is linked to the credit card you used to obtain it; if you no longer hold that card, you lose your pass if you haven’t used it yet.

At American Express, the net purchase amount is displayed on each statement. With TD and CIBC, you have to do the counting yourself to determine whether or not you’ve reached the threshold.

The steps to make a booking with your Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass are as follows:

• Login to your Aeroplan account
• Search for a destination served by Air Canada with a minimum of 2 passengers
• Click on your privileges and apply the pass to your search

Then you’ll see that the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass is applied.

Proceed with payment as usual.

The basic principle of the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass is that the higher the cost of the ticket for the first passenger, the more you save on the cost of the second ticket.

First of all, we need to know which routes Air Canada operates around the world, to make our search easier. The best tool to proceed is Flight Connections where we can see their flights on a map.

It’s not uncommon to find cash deals on flights to Europe. A fare of between $800 and $1,000 (including taxes and fees) is a very realistic way to get there, especially during less busy periods.

In these cases, using an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass is not as optimal, since you will not save a significant amount after paying the base cost of $499 plus surcharges, which can be quite high.

Indeed, don’t forget that you can use Google Flights to find the best flights to the Old Continent. Also, combining with a low-cost carrier is often very advantageous for travelling at a lower cost. Here is an example where the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass is absolutely NOT a good use.

However, since everything depends on the base fare of the first ticket; obviously, you will not deliberately choose to pay more.

However, if you are limited to travelling due to school restrictions, such as only during March break, construction weeks, or the holiday season, the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass can be very useful for saving on your family vacation budget!

Similarly, if you are the type who does not book in advance, the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass can save you and help offset the exorbitant costs of last-minute travel.

In this region, base fares are around $500 to $1,500 (excluding taxes and fees of around $200 to $500); paying a base fare of $299, you’ll save between $200 and $700 with the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass.

An excellent tool to view prices quickly is Google Flights; you can apply filters so that only Air Canada flights are displayed.

You will see the total price (base rate + taxes and fees), but it can give you an idea.

Then, you can visit the Air Canada website to find out the exact amount of taxes and carrier surcharges in order to calculate the actual price for two people travelling with an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass.

If we look at the possible savings in South America, again on Google Flights, we can save around $400 to $700, depending on the price of the ticket, which varies between $900 and $2,000 (with taxes between $200 and $600 per person, depending on the destination).

For example, rates for Lima can be around $1,000, while those for Santiago are more like $1,300.

The Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass would be more advantageous for travelling to Patagonia via Santiago or Buenos Aires compared to Bogotá, where prices can be lower.

Africa is vast, but Air Canada only serves Morocco, Algeria and Egypt. Yet it’s not uncommon to find low fares to these destinations at around $900 and $1,500 (with taxes between $200 and $700 per person, depending on location).

So once again, taking into account the base fee of the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass at $499, we’re talking about savings of between $200 and $700.

Similarly, basic fares to Dubai and Tel Aviv are in the same price range, although surcharges can approach $1,000 for a place like Dubai.

All these savings of $200 to $700 are far from negligible! Then, in periods when it’s more expensive… you’ll simply save more!

For Asia, the savings with an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass are very variable, as prices also fluctuate greatly depending on the destination and dates.

Indeed, to get to Japan in the middle of the sakura season, I found base fare tickets for $1,368 on a direct flight!

While in Bangkok, the gateway to Southeast Asia, prices are significantly more expensive. Therefore, the pass becomes more advantageous.

Looking at the options above, we’d say that using a pass to get to Tokyo isn’t all that cost-effective, since it only saves us $700 compared to $2,100 if we go to Bangkok.

However, it’s important to remember that to save $2,100 with the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass, you’ll also be paying more out of pocket. Finally, you also have to ask yourself: where do I really want to go on my vacation? Going to Japan to see the sakura in bloom with a direct flight for $1,600 per person is pretty good, even if you only save $700.

Then, for Asia, there is India which is a very good choice to use an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass. In fact, Air Canada flights to India generally cost over $2,000 per person, and even more for direct flights.

Of course, there are other airlines selling tickets to India for between $1,200 and $1,500, but it’s important to remember that the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass only applies to flights operated by Air Canada. Then again, $2,000 per person for a direct flight on the 787 to this region is still pretty good.

Finally, the Oceania region is also a good destination for using an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, as the cost ends up being around $1,800 per person. Then, the taxes and fees are extremely low. Therefore, it is a sweetspot.

I’ve noticed that prices are at least around $2,000 if you’re lucky, and that’s with several connections. So, the pass allows you to get to Australia via the fastest route (1 stopover) and in a much more affordable way!

If you are planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Sydney, the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass will definitely save you a lot of money, as prices are very expensive during this period! Then, you don’t want to go solo anyway!

The Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass can be used to book tickets in Standard, Comfort, Flex, and Latitude Economy classes; it cannot be used for Premium Economy or Business Class cabins.

The advantage of doing this is when you are chasing Aeroplan Elite Status; you can earn more Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD) towards status with higher base fares.

Then, both passengers could move closer to status and earn more Aeroplan points in the process. However, the second passenger will earn fewer Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD) since their base fare paid is lower.

Then, it is possible to use the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass on the Latitude Economy fare and use eUpgrade credits to upgrade to Business Class. The benefits of an Aeroplan Elite status apply; for example, if both passengers have a 25K status, they could have immediate confirmation of the upgrade.

The companion pass cannot be used with premium cabin fares.

Privileges and upgrades linked to Aeroplan Elite status apply if the traveller holds the appropriate status and if the fare purchased allows it.

Air Canada

Since the introduction of dynamic pricing for Aeroplan points tickets, prices have skyrocketed and it can be costly when travelling as a pair. Therefore, you should always calculate the value of your points before booking.

The Annual Worldwide Companion Pass can be a great alternative for obtaining business class tickets via eUpgrades, although a latitude economy class ticket can still cost several thousand dollars.

Here is an example between Montreal and Lisbon for a trip to Portugal in latitude:

Then you’ll need to use 44 eUpgrade credits (11 credits per segment, per person) to upgrade to business class.

Applying this technique with Air Canada’s companion pass, the total cost for two people would be $5,363.62 plus 44 upgrade credits. By comparison, booking two business class tickets directly would cost $9,044.62 ($4,522.31 per person). This strategy offers substantial savings of nearly $3,700.

Using the famous technique of booking a latitude economy award ticket with points and using eUpgrade credits, we would still need 212,300 Aeroplan points per person.

And 303,800 Aeroplan points in Business Class per person! Of course, ideally, you hope to find availability directly in Business Class with a partner like TAP Air Portugal using Roame to get a fixed rate of 120,000 Aeroplan points! If a fixed partner rate is available, the Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass will not be worthwhile.

So the choices for achieving two business class tickets in this specific situation (same flights, same carrier, same dates) are:

• Use of Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass + $5,364 + 44 eUpgrade credits;
• 424,600 Aeroplan points in latitude economy + $278 + 44 credits;
• Pay 607,600 Aeroplan points in business class + $278 in taxes and fees;
• Pay $9,045 for business class in cash.

The cheapest way to get the pass is to use the same credit cards that offer the possibility of earning eUpgrade credits.

The Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass can be a very useful tool for saving money when travelling as a pair; with potential savings ranging from $200 to $2,100 according to the examples in this article, there are certain situations where its use is highly recommended.

Since you need to make $25,000 in net purchases on your card to unlock it, a savings of $2,100 corresponds to a return of 8.4% on top of the reward points on your purchases. Bear in mind that you’re already earning Aeroplan points on this amount, and that the savings generated by the Worldwide Companion Pass add up to your “investment”.

Credit cards that offer this advantage are “premium” cards. So, initially, they are aimed at people with a higher-than-average volume of purchases. For someone who has “only” $25,000 in annual purchases, I would instead suggest splitting your purchases across multiple credit cards as a strategy to give you the best return with your one $25,000.

On the other hand, if you have a lot of annual expenses, it’s definitely a good idea to put a small $25,000 (mostly in the “other” category) on a card like the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card or the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card.

This amount will also be used to achieve Aeroplan Elite status! In this situation, you have so many expenses that it will be easy to divide the remainder among other cards and maximize the various categories.

In addition to providing an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, there are a multitude of benefits for the cardholder and their group, including:

• Priority passage at security checkpoints in Canadian airports ;
• A first bag free of charge for the cardholder and each of his 8 companions on the same reservation;
• Priority baggage handling;
• Up to $100 discount on Nexus membership;
• Priority boarding in zone 2 to ensure you have room for your carry-on bag (indirectly, you also get the carry-on bag included on Air Canada if you ever book a basic fare).

And with the hustle and bustle in airports, there’s nothing better than enjoying a drink in a Maple Leaf Lounge away from the crowds! These days, these benefits are highly coveted.

Plus, to get you started, these cards have generous welcome bonuses if you’re not yet convinced of their many benefits.

In all cases, we need to look at and compare all our opportunities.

Is it better to use an Air Canada Annual Worldwide Companion Pass or Aeroplan points?

In the Orlando example earlier in this article, the total cost for two people was determined to be $1,987 using the Worldwide Companion Pass. Following a search for the same flights in Aeroplan points, we can see that the cost would be 79,200 points + $327.20 in taxes for two.

Therefore, we can calculate the valuation of the points as follows:

($1,987 – $327) ÷ 79,200 Aeroplan points x 100 = 2 cent / Aeroplan point

Knowing that an Aeroplan point is worth 2 cents in this example, this is well in line with Milesopedia’s valuation of 2 cents. In fact, the higher the value of an Aeroplan point above this 2 cents, the more worthwhile it is to use your points for a trip.

So it would be much better to pay in points and keep your companion pass for another trip.