Aeroplan users - help!

[shaynar]

It's my first time redeeming my miles.

Every time I check the amount of miles i need goes down. Is this normal? I would think that the closer I get to the date the more mile I would need.

 

[CanuckTraveller]

It depends on what you are looking at buying. I've had this happen when I go to book a hotel room, but sometimes it has also gone up. The gift cards tend to stay consistent over time.

 

[hcortesis]

What are you redeeming for? Flights have a minimum requirement (15,000 short haul, 25,000 long haul for North America) and don't go down from those minimums. Hotels and cars are different.

 

[Sunseeker2012]

I have never been able to get flights for that number of points no matter how much I've tried. I've booked Hotels and they tend to either go up or down and this time i've booked park tickets and i'm not sure if they are consistent but I would imagine if the price of tickets tend to go up, they will require more points.

 

[Disney Daniel]

I have never been able to get flights for that number of points no matter how much I've tried. I've booked Hotels and they tend to either go up or down and this time i've booked park tickets and i'm not sure if they are consistent but I would imagine if the price of tickets tend to go up, they will require more points.

It is possible to get flights at the lowest point levels but you generally have to be extremely well planned to do so. For example, I am booked from Halifax-Tampa next April using Aeroplan (25,000 points). In order to get something that worked for the days I wanted I booked within days of the seats becoming available. I recall looking in late May and I think going down was okay (although you arrived rather late) but coming back required an overnight stay and that was almost 11 months in advance.

I am heading to NYC in October and wanted to use Aeroplan (tried booking about six months in advance) but ended up booking on a seat sale with Delta because there was simply no availability on the dates I needed for 25,000 points.

Like I said, you can do it but unless you are lucky or very flexible you need to have your travel plans made well in advance.

 

[braddillman]

Booking aeroplan points is pretty frustrating, but if you know how to work the system, it's still the best plan for my credit card (YMMV).

I learned a lot here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-canada-aeroplan-375/

People in that forum have learned everything there is to know about aeroplan.

First thing: the on-line site is getting better, but it's probably worth booking over the phone.

I suspect the number of points is proportional to the cost of the flight, and that cost is probably going down due to depressed demand.

 

[BOTL76]

Hi Disney Fans,

I am a new Aeroplan user so was curious if any of you have used them to book rental cars for your trip to Disney? What would be the range of points I would need for a week at Disney for a standard car?

Thanks for any tips!

 

[hcortesis]

Hi Disney Fans,

I am a new Aeroplan user so was curious if any of you have used them to book rental cars for your trip to Disney? What would be the range of points I would need for a week at Disney for a standard car?

Thanks for any tips!

Yes, I use Aeroplan for car rentals. You typically have a choice between Hertz and Avis. I always choose Avis. The size of the car, and the time of your visit will determine the weekly cost but generally, the points cost is between 20,000 and 50,000 points. And there is no further charge(s) beyond the Aeroplan points.