AirCanada/Aeroplan miles - anyone used them recently?

[DisneYE]

I have a boatload of points on AirCanada/Aeroplan.. I haven't used them at all in the years I've accumulated them
Thinking of using some for a trip in the summer
Are ppl able to use them in the summer? or is the summer considered 'blackout'? are there blackout dates with AC?
anyone booked recently with their points? are there risks of being 'bumped' off a flight bc you purchased with points and not a regular fare?
I've read horror stories of other airlines bumping ppl off flights bc their fares were the cheapest or some other excuse.

 

[efrant]

Aeroplan has transitioned to fully dynamic pricing for Air Canada award flights. So there are no blackout periods, and you can redeem your Aeroplan points for any seat that's not already taken. Keep in mind though that because of dynamic pricing, the cost of a ticket in points in now variable (just like the cash fare), so you will need to search for cheap award fares or you will pay a lot in terms of points.

There is no more risk in getting bumped with an award fare vs. a cash fare.

 

[DisneYE]

Aeroplan has transitioned to fully dynamic pricing for Air Canada award flights. So there are no blackout periods, and you can redeem your Aeroplan points for any seat that's not already taken. Keep in mind though that because of dynamic pricing, the cost of a ticket in points in now variable (just like the cash fare), so you will need to search for cheap award fares or you will pay a lot in terms of points.

There is no more risk in getting bumped with an award fare vs. a cash fare.

Thanks so much.
Yeah it's insane the amount of points they ask to pay for a flight but I haven't used any of them in 10+ years so I figured its time... not being bumped is a huge relief. tbh I'm shocked there aren't blackouts for flights in the summer.

 

[efrant]

Thanks so much.
Yeah it's insane the amount of points they ask to pay for a flight but I haven't used any of them in 10+ years so I figured its time... not being bumped is a huge relief. tbh I'm shocked there aren't blackouts for flights in the summer.

There's no blackouts because the pricing is variable. So when demand is high, a seat in economy to MCO will cost a fortune in points. Back in the day (prior to fall 2020), there was fixed pricing, i.e., you could get a ticket to MCO for 25k AP miles, but the problem back then was availability -- there were only a set amount of seats that were available under "classic" awards, so there were (essentially) blackout periods.

 

[mort1331]

No issues with summer flights...we did Hawaii july 2022..bith points and guest passes..no issues

 

[flav]

We priced flights to Europe a few times recently. The exchange is not good. The last time we tried it was at 0.016$ CDN per point. Usually flights to USA have a better point value.

 

[Gigi22]

Not absolutely recently, but I was able to get a Black Friday deal booking with Aeroplan points. Only half the cost in points.