Airfair is often the biggest expense of a trip. Fortunately, there’s an effective way to significantly cut these costs: using Reward Points.
From airline loyalty programs to financial institution rewards programs, let’s look at all the options for turning your points into flights.
In the world of rewards, there are two main kinds of travel points:
With airline points, you book flights directly, paying only airport fees and taxes. For example, a flight from Montreal to Paris with Aeroplan could cost you between 60,000 and 70,000 points plus taxes.
Credit card points offer greater flexibility: they generally allow you to book any flight with any airline and then apply a statement credit using your points.
Before choosing your strategy, ask yourself these important questions:
These criteria will guide you towards the most appropriate points program for your situation. To find out more, read our guide to choosing the best loyalty program for your destination:
For each loyalty program available in Canada, you’ll discover the essential information, with links to our detailed guides if you wish to delve deeper.
Aeroplan is Air Canada’s frequent flyer program. It allows you to book flights on Air Canada and over 45 Star Alliance partner airlines, including United Airlines, Lufthansa, ANA and many others.
Points are easily accumulated on everyday purchases via co-branded Aeroplan credit cards.
To find out more about the Aeroplan program, consult our complete guide:
Avios is the common motto of the British Airways, Qatar Airways, Finnair, Vueling and Aer Lingus frequent flyer programs. With these programs, you can book flights on all member carriers of the Oneworld alliance, including American Airlines, LATAM and Japan Airlines.
Avios are particularly beneficial for short-haul flights in economy class, and are easily accumulated via RBC credit cards.
Read our complete Avios program guides to find out more:
Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM and Transavia. With Flying Blue miles, you can book flights on these airlines and all their SkyTeam partners, such as Delta and Aeroméxico.
In Canada, you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue or earn them directly with an Air France KLM co-branded credit card.
Discover all the program’s possibilities in our detailed guide:
WestJet Rewards is the loyalty program of Canadian airline WestJet. It works differently from other programs: WestJet dollars are used like cash to book WestJet and partner flights.
WestJet dollars are accumulated primarily with RBC credit cards.
Learn how to make the most of your WestJet dollars with our complete guide.
Other loyalty programs are easily accessible in Canada:
These programs allow you to travel with their respective airline partners through the transfer of American Express Membership Rewards points or RBC Avion points.
In Canada, most financial institutions offer their own travel rewards programs with their credit cards. These programs operate independently of airline loyalty programs, and often offer greater flexibility.
The main Canadian banking programs are:
There are two main ways to use your points for travel. Some programs let you book wherever you want: travel agency, airline or website of your choice.
Other programs direct you to their own booking portal, where you’ll generally find the same rates as elsewhere.
Flexible programs also give you access to their own travel portals. By using it, you’ll benefit from the accumulation of bonus points on your bookings.
Dedicated agency programs also allow you to use your points for external bookings, but at a less favourable exchange rate.
To fully understand the specifics of each program, please refer to the detailed guides in the following sections.
25,000 Membership Rewards points can be exchanged for a $250 credit on a flight or be transferred into 25,000 Aeroplan points.
The American Express Membership Rewards program is Canada’s most flexible travel program. It offers four options for booking flights with your points:
To find out all you need to know about the American Express Membership Rewards program, consult our complete guide:
50,000 TD Rewards points are redeemable for a $250 discount on a flight ticket.
The TD Rewards program offers two ways to book flights:
To find out how to save on your next vacation with TD Rewards points, consult our detailed guide:
25,000 CIBC Aventura points can be exchanged for a $250 credit on a flight.
With the CIBC Aventura program, you have three options for booking flights with points:
Learn how to make the most of your Aventura Points with our complete guide:
25,000 Scene+ points can be exchanged for a $250 credit on a flight.
Scotiabank’s Scene+ program is simple and versatile. There are two ways to book flights:
Save on your next trip by consulting our detailed Scene+ guide:
25,000 NBC Rewards points can be exchanged for a $250 discount on a flight.
Members of the NBC À la carte Rewards program can convert their points into flights in two ways:
Find out how to plan your next trip with points at NBC in our complete À la carte Rewards guide:
25,000 RBC Avion points can be redeemed for a $250 discount on a flight or be transferred into 25,000 Avios.
The RBC Avion program offers four options for booking your flights :
Maximize the value of your Avion points by consulting our detailed program guide:
25,000 MBNA Rewards points can be exchanged for a $250 discount on a flight.
The MBNA Rewards program offers two easy ways to book your flights:
37,500 BMO Rewards points are redeemable for a $250 discount on a flight.
The BMO Rewards program offers you two ways to book your flights:
Our detailed guide to BMO Rewards will help you plan your next trip for less:
2,375 AIR MILES miles can be exchanged for a $250 discount on a flight.
Unlike the other programs presented here, AIR MILES is not a traditional bank loyalty program. Although acquired by BMO in 2023, it operates as a separate and independent program from BMO Rewards.
The AIR MILES program offers two main ways to use your miles to book a flight:
In conclusion, whether it’s airline loyalty programs or bank rewards programs, each offers different ways of redeeming your points or miles for flights. The best program for you will depend on your spending habits and travel goals.
If you’re new to the world of points, concentrate on just one program at first, so that you can master its rules and benefits. Once you’re comfortable, you can gradually explore other programs and combine them strategically to maximize your savings.
To choose the travel credit card that best suits your needs, consult our comparator, discover our ranking of the best travel credit cards and join our community on our Facebook group!
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