Review: Travel Smarter | Aeroplan Points and Status Calculator
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Travel Smarter tells you, before you book, how many Aeroplan points and status credits a flight will earn. The free plan is enough to track one program. The Premium plan, at $187 CAD a year, mostly makes sense if you track two or three programs.
Travel Smarter is a British airline loyalty management tool. It doesn't sell tickets: it calculates what you'll earn, tracks your progress toward a status tier and flags promotions from your programs. We reviewed it from a Canadian perspective, using our own account. Our readers get a discount code, and our members get a more generous one.
What Travel Smarter does, in short
Travel Smarter shows you what a flight will earn you before you pay for it. You enter the route, cabin, fare class and price, and the tool estimates points and status credits, program by program.
According to the publisher's FAQ, the calculation takes into account the operating airline, the fare class, the ticket price and your tier bonus. You stay in control of the purchase: Travel Smarter is not a booking site, and you then buy from the airline or your usual travel agency.
Good news for your security: you don't have to share your Aeroplan account password or your banking information. You enter your programs and flights yourself.
Here are the features you'll find in the tool:
- Flight calculator: the points and status credits for a trip, for the program you choose.
- Smart Search: compares the same flight from one program to another, so you know where to credit it.
- Status tracking and forecasts: your progress during the year and what you still need to fly.
- Smart Status and Smart Advisor: recommendations to reach a specific tier.
- Wallet: your points balances and their expiry dates, in one place.
- Personalised promotions: a weekly selection of offers tied to your programs.
Travel Smarter plans in Canadian dollars
The site shows its prices in Canadian dollars when you visit from Canada. There are three plans, and only one paid plan you can buy for now.
| Plan | Price | Programs tracked | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 | Unlimited flight calculator, status tracking, forecasts, 1 goal, wallet, personalised promotions |
| Premium | $187 CAD a year | Up to 3 | Everything in Free, Smart Search (10 searches a month), Smart Status, Smart Advisor, Smarter Score, unlimited goals |
| Pro | $470 CAD a year, not yet available | Unlimited | Everything in Premium, Smart Search (20 searches a month), booking assistance service, hotel program tracking, Status Match |
You can cancel a paid plan at any time. You keep access until the end of the paid period, then your account goes back to the free plan.
Your Travel Smarter promo code
Travel Smarter offers two codes to Milesopedia readers on the Premium plan:
- MILESOPEDIA10: 10% off your first payment, for all our readers, or $168.30 CAD instead of $187 CAD on the annual plan.
- 20% member code: 20% off your first payment, or $149.60 CAD instead of $187 CAD on the annual plan, for Milesopedia members only.
The Milesopedia member account is free. In your member area, you'll find the 20% code among your exclusive offers, with the link to Travel Smarter. Create your member account to get it, along with our other member-only offers.
How to use Travel Smarter, step by step
Here's how to use it, with the example of a Montreal–Frankfurt economy round trip that we simulated in our account. The same steps work from Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver. Allow about ten minutes for your first flight.
Step 1: add Aeroplan to your account
Create your free account with your email address, then open My Accounts to add Aeroplan. You enter your current tier, your points balance and the Status Qualifying Credits (SQC) you've already earned: the dashboard then shows you what you still need to reach the next tier.
Step 2: estimate a flight in the calculator
Open Flight Calculator and choose the airline, the departure and arrival airports, the dates and the cabin. For an Air Canada flight, then select the fare option for each leg (Standard, Flex, Comfort or Latitude): that's what sets the number of SQC.
Then enter the price you paid, in your account's currency. For our November 12 to 22 round trip on a Standard fare, paid €600, the tool removes €166.46 in estimated taxes, converts the rest to $691.47 CAD and shows you 1,382 SQC and 692 Aeroplan points. The "How we got here" link walks you through each step of the calculation.
Step 3: read the Smart Advisor suggestion
To the right of the result, Smart Advisor looks for a better option on the same route. In our example, it suggests a ticket issued by Lufthansa or Swiss, still credited to Aeroplan: according to the tool, you would earn 6,584 more Aeroplan points, and 72 more SQC. The gap comes from the earning method: on a Star Alliance partner flight, Aeroplan still counts the distance flown and the fare class, not the price paid.
Step 4: compare flights with Smart Search
Available on paid plans, Smart Search starts from your route, dates and cabin, then ranks the available flights by what they earn you in your program. Flights that earn you nothing are hidden, and a button lets you show them.
Our Montreal–Frankfurt search for November 12 to 23 found 100 flights. Two of them cost the same, €950, but earn you very different results:
- The non-stop flight: 4,998 SQC and 1,250 Aeroplan points.
- The flight with a stop in Halifax: 1,140 SQC and 2,785 Aeroplan points.
If you're aiming for Elite status, the non-stop flight gets you much closer to 25K. If you only care about points, the stopover earns you more than twice as many. That's the choice, invisible on a booking site, that the tool shows you at a glance.
What the tool does well for Aeroplan members
Travel Smarter comes into its own now that your Aeroplan points depend on the price paid. On an Air Canada flight, Aeroplan gives you 1 point per dollar, while United MileagePlus gives you a percentage of the distance. The best choice therefore changes from one ticket to the next.
Take our reference example, a Montreal–Frankfurt round trip on a Standard fare, with $900 CAD in base fare and carrier surcharges:
- Credited to Aeroplan, no status: 900 points, or about $18 CAD based on our valuation.
- Credited to United: 3,649 miles, or about $58 CAD.
- The deciding difference: only Aeroplan gives you Status Qualifying Credits (1,800 SQC here).
For the tool to make this comparison for you, add both programs to your account, which requires the Premium plan. We explain this calculation and its break-even points in our guide Where to credit your Air Canada flights.
Keep in mind that the tool remains an estimate. According to its own FAQ, the results don't guarantee what you'll receive. Check the rate on the program's website before an important decision.
Personalised promotions, tested on our account
The free plan sends you a weekly selection of promotions tied to your programs. We added Aeroplan to our account to see what a Canadian traveller receives.
The September 14, 2026 email contained 4 offers:
- Aeroplan points sale: up to a 100% bonus when buying points on Points.com, until September 25. A useful offer for you.
- 3 Chase Aeroplan card offers: a $100 USD credit, 15% off rewards and automatic 25K status. This card is issued in the United States only.
The promotions feed is quick, but designed first for American and British travellers. In Canada, we recommend pairing it with our Aeroplan credit card offers.
Limits for Canadian travellers
Travel Smarter covers the major international programs well. For a Canadian traveller, four limits are worth knowing before you pay:
- Program list hard to find: the tool's public directory lists 22 programs, without WestJet, Porter, Avianca LifeMiles or Atmos Rewards (Alaska). The full list only appears once you've created your free account: check your programs there before you pay.
- Display currency to adjust: your points value shows by default in the currency of the region you log in from. Switch to Canadian dollars in your profile's display settings.
- Promotions mostly American and British: in our test email, 3 offers out of 4 were for a card available in the United States only.
- Pro plan not yet available: listed at $470 CAD a year, it's marked « Coming Soon » and can't be purchased.
You can also check the tool's directory.
Free or Premium: which one should you choose?
Start with the free plan: it gives you the unlimited flight calculator, status tracking and promotions for one program. For an Aeroplan member who credits all their flights to Aeroplan, that's often enough.
The Premium plan becomes worthwhile in three cases:
- You track two or three programs: for example Aeroplan and Flying Blue, if you also fly Air France or KLM.
- You're aiming for a specific Elite tier: Smart Status and Smart Advisor tell you what to do to get there.
- You often compare where to credit a flight: Smart Search gives you 10 searches a month.
With the 20% member code, your first year of Premium costs $149.60 CAD, or about $12.47 CAD a month.
Our verdict on Travel Smarter
We recommend Travel Smarter to travellers who take several paid flights a year and want to decide where to credit them before booking. The free plan lets you judge the tool without spending anything.
If you mostly earn your Aeroplan points with a credit card, that's what will make the biggest difference. The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card lets you earn points on your everyday purchases, between flights.
Featured
- Annual feeNo annual fee the first year
- $0 $139
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,000Annual fee rebated$139Total$1,139Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $1,139
- Welcome offerAfter $12,000 in 12 months
- Up to 50,000 points
Apply Now
on TD's website
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Travel Smarter free?
Yes. The free plan has no time limit and covers one loyalty program, with the flight calculator, status tracking and personalised promotions. Paid plans add programs and decision-making features.
Does Travel Smarter support Aeroplan?
Yes. Once Aeroplan is added to your account, the tool tracks your points balance and your Status Qualifying Credits (SQC), with what you still need to earn for the next tier. Its calculator also offers Air Canada's fare options.
Does Travel Smarter help with hotels too?
Partly. The free plan gives you access to hotel rates with part of the commission returned to you, and Premium adds hotel discounts. Full hotel program tracking is reserved for the Pro plan, which isn't available yet.
Can you pay for the Premium plan quarterly?
Yes, the site offers quarterly or annual billing. According to Travel Smarter, annual billing saves you 30% compared with quarterly.
Do you need to travel often to use Travel Smarter?
No. The publisher says the tool is also meant for occasional travellers. It does become more useful as you take paid flights and aim for a status tier.
Are Travel Smarter's calculations reliable?
They're based on the rules published by each program, which the publisher updates when they change. Travel Smarter still presents them as estimates: check the rate on the program's website before an important decision.
Is Travel Smarter affiliated with an airline?
No. Travel Smarter describes itself as an independent platform, with no ties to any airline, alliance or loyalty program. You don't need to give it your account login details.