Aeroplan: What to Book Before Price Changes

Last month, Air Canada announced changes to its frequent flyer program concerning pricing for certain partners. These changes will take effect next week, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, so it’s a good idea to make some reservations now if you want to enjoy greater predictability.

Until now, Emirates and Flydubai were the only partners to adopt dynamic pricing, similar to that used by Air Canada for its own flights. All other partners had a fixed fare structure, allowing users to better plan their points accumulation strategy. The only challenge was seat availability, but with the right tools and advance planning, it was always possible to find interesting options.

Therefore, if you are considering booking flights with the partners concerned, I recommend that you act now if flights are available, before March 25.

Calm Air, Canadian North, Flydubai, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Pal Airlines and United Airlines will have the same dynamic pricing model as Air Canada starting March 25, 2025. This means that prices will vary according to supply and demand, and could be much higher than at present. However, this change will improve seat availability.

Canada is an impressively vast country, and every one of its magnificent regions deserves to be explored, even the most remote. Fortunately, four airlines serve the vast expanses of Canada’s Far North and its most isolated communities: Air Creebec, Calm Air, Canadian North and PAL Airlines.

These carriers fill the gaps in Air Canada’s domestic network and are partners in the Aeroplan program, great news for travellers. For example, if you live in Wabush and want to fly to Japan with points, you can use your Aeroplan points on a PAL Airlines flight to reach a major hub like Montreal, before continuing your trip with another carrier, all on the same ticket.

Here is an overview of the destinations accessible with Calm Air and Canadian North:

Before March 25, if you’re planning to visit Canada’s Far North in the coming year, I advise you to make your reservations as soon as possible, especially if you’re planning to travel with Calm Air or Canadian North.

These flights were a real “sweet spot” in the Aeroplan program, as their cash fares are particularly high compared with the partners’ fixed fares. By using your points, you can get exceptional value for money on these routes.

For example, a flight from Winnipeg to Churchill to see polar bears or the northern lights is currently available for 10,000 points Aeroplan one-way, and 20,000 points round-trip. In comparison, this same flight often costs over $2,000 in cash.

Churchill is undoubtedly one of Calm Air’s best “sweet spots” to grab before pricing changes. Prices rise quickly on these flights, as they are operated by small aircraft with a limited number of seats for sale. This means that the cheapest seats go very quickly, especially at peak times. Here’s an example of how fares have risen to almost $3,000.

Please note, however, that Calm Air flights cannot be combined with Air Canada flights on the same ticket. So if you want to fly Montreal-Winnipeg-Churchill, you’ll need to make two separate bookings.

In addition, to use your Aeroplan points on Calm Air, reservations must be made directly with the company, by calling 1-800-839-2256. Before calling, you can use ExpertFlyer to check flight availability.

Similarly, if you’re planning a getaway to Kuujjuaq to discover the magnificent Ungava Bay region, or if you live there for work and want to plan your travel to the south of Quebec, it’s best to book your flights right away. Having worked for a long time in Quebec’s Far North, I know that paid outings are limited. For workers in the region, Aeroplan points can be a great way to organize a few extra getaways “down south” without breaking the bank.

Between you and me, I’d much rather pay 20,000 Aeroplan points for a round trip than $1,400 for a flight, which represents an impressive 7 cents per point in economy class.

For PAL Airlines, the main interest lies in exploring the Maritimes and Eastern Canada at a good price. This company is particularly valuable for those wishing to reach the Côte-Nord, Gaspésie, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Newfoundland and Labrador at a fixed fare.

Here are the PAL Airlines routes:

Indeed, from Quebec, you can reach the Magdalen Islands for as little as 6,000 Aeroplan points one-way. By comparison, with Air Canada’s dynamic fare, not only will you have to detour through Montreal like a ping-pong ball before reaching the Islands, but you’ll also have to pay up to four times as many points at the time of writing, and possibly even more, since dynamic pricing has no ceiling.

In general, PAL Airlines was an excellent alternative for avoiding Air Canada’s fluctuating pricing. For a round trip, this route will cost you 12,000 Aeroplan points, against $1,187 in cash, which equates to an impressive valuation of 9 cents per point. After the coming changes, I’d be surprised if such valuations are still achievable on these routes.

The network of these three partners is particularly extensive. Thanks to their strategic location in the United Arab Emirates, you can easily reach almost any destination in the world from their hubs.

However, the move by these airlines to fully dynamic pricing will complicate planning for Aeroplan users. This trend can already be seen with Emirates and Flydubai, which apply a different fare structure to other carriers, with partially dynamic pricing.

For example, if you want to fly to Abu Dhabi from Toronto right now, you can book a flight with Etihad Airways for a flat rate of 55,000 Aeroplan points, any time, as long as you find availability, of course.

It’s possible to find Air Canada flights to the region for less than 55,000 points, as prices vary according to supply and demand. However, this is never guaranteed and difficult to predict.

For example, for the same date, we found a direct flight from Toronto to Dubai for just 46,000 points; Dubai is around 1 hr 20 min drive from Abu Dhabi.

By comparison, with Emirates, which already applies dynamic pricing, the same trip on the same date is priced at 65,000 points.

Therefore, if you want more predictability in your accumulation planning for flights via Abu Dhabi, I recommend that you book your tickets on Etihad Airways before March 25, 2025. After this date, prices will be entirely subject to supply and demand, which means you can either get a good deal or pay a lot more.

The good news is that these changes should lead to greater availability of flights, particularly in premium class on Etihad. With the announcement of the new Toronto-Abu Dhabi route operated on the legendary A380, it’s great news to see these seats becoming more readily available… even if point fares are likely to rise considerably.

To inspire you, here are a few flights we took on Etihad Airways thanks to Aeroplan points:

As a major player in the North American market, the fact that United Airlines is also adopting dynamic pricing is a particularly hard blow to take. Indeed, it was almost always possible to find fixed-cost flights with United to anywhere via a stopover in the United States. This approach was a simple and effective way of countering Air Canada’s dynamic pricing.

United Airlines also had a reputation for releasing tickets at the last minute. I remember frequently finding magnificent premium flights between Montreal and Japan, at the fixed fare of 75,000 Aeroplan points, whereas these same flights exceeded 200,000 points with Air Canada. Admittedly, these flights involved a stopover in New York or Chicago, but for such a price difference, I can say that this was not a major problem for anyone looking to reach their destination at a reasonable (or low) price.

So, what to book with United before the fare changes? Their network is extremely vast, so book any flight that interests you for the next year and that you can find at a fixed price according to the following chart:

However, I would pay particular attention to flights to Tahiti in French Polynesia and to major Australian cities. These destinations are not really served by other Aeroplan partners (unless you do something like travel to Southeast Asia to take Singapore Airlines to Australia, for example), so you may encounter dynamic pricing from Air Canada and United Airlines after the changes, especially if you want to travel in business class. Indeed, it’s not difficult to find fares around the floor price with Air Canada in economy class, but the situation is quite different in business class.

Let’s take the example of the flight between Vancouver and Brisbane: I think you’ll agree that it’s worth adding a short stopover in San Francisco to pay only 87,500 points, instead of 392,000 points for the direct flight.

Then there’s Auckland in New Zealand. Although this destination is served by Air New Zealand, an Air Canada partner that remains under fixed fares for the time being, premium cabin availability is less easy to find there than with United.

Indeed, as seen in the previous screenshot, there are advantages to dynamic pricing. The direct Air Canada flight between Vancouver and Auckland in economy class is significantly cheaper than the fixed rate offered by Air New Zealand and United Airlines.

However, this is by no means a guarantee, but rather a matter of luck depending on supply and demand (for example, if you’re aiming for the holiday season, forget the lower dynamic prices). And, as mentioned above regarding business class, if I want to fly to New Zealand in business class, I’d rather make a stopover in San Francisco and save 225,000 points.

It is worth noting that if you are based in Quebec City and want to travel to major cities like New York or Chicago, you might have the opportunity to book a direct flight at a fixed rate with United. This can be particularly advantageous if you want to avoid stopovers via Montreal or Toronto with Air Canada.

If these direct destinations from Quebec City interest you, it is recommended to book quickly to secure a fixed rate before the price increase associated with dynamic pricing, which will bring uncertainty regarding price volatility.

As far as Tahiti is concerned, Roame enabled me to quickly find good prices for both economy and business class.

Finally, another extraordinary trip that I’ll be rushing to book before the March 25, 2025 changes is the famous United Airlines Island Hopper, if you’ve always wanted to discover the Pacific islands. United Airlines offers a particularly interesting route:

Finding availability on this line with Aeroplan can be very difficult, but with tools like Roame, it can become simpler. After the changes, on the other hand, I expect it to be much easier to find. Similarly, United is the only Star Alliance partner to fly to Koror in Palau from Manila or Tokyo, but availability is pretty scarce. So if you find any and are thinking of going, book now.

What about those who wish to explore the corners of the Pacific after the changes? The prices for boarding the United Island Hopper are likely to resemble what we currently see with United MileagePlus, meaning there are days when the flight costs as little as 15,000 United MileagePlus miles, while on other days, the price rises to 50,000 miles, which is more than three times the “saver” rate.

In short, any flights you need to book with Calm Air, Canadian North, Flydubai, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Pal Airlines and United Airlines should be booked before March 25, 2025. After that, you can always check whether prices have dropped or not, because, as shown in this article, dynamic pricing isn’t always bad, it’s just less predictable.

What I recommend you do is make the bookings you want, particularly for destinations that are less easily accessible with other Aeroplan partners. At worst, you can pay change fees if the price of the booked flight drops significantly, justifying the payment of the fees to recover points.

In fact, if your goal is to travel to Europe with your Aeroplan points, there is no real urgency to book, because even though you can do Montreal-New York-Nice at a fixed rate with United Airlines, several other partners can also get you there at a fixed rate, including TAP Portugal, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, etc.

The best tool for finding out which airline flies which route is Flight Connections. Simply enter your city of origin and destination to see if there are many options other than those of partners adopting dynamic pricing from next Tuesday. Then use a tool like Roame to find availability more easily and quickly.

Finally, remember that the secret to maximizing your Aeroplan points is to be flexible and responsive. As the saying goes, “earn and burn”: accumulate your points, but above all, use them intelligently before they lose their value.