5X at eBay through the Aeroplan eStore. Doubled if you have Distinction status. pic.twitter.com/tSnoA4TeEd
— Robert Dwyer (@RobertDwyer) October 21, 2015
Unfortunately, Aeroplan recently announced a devaluation of their award chart going into effect 15 December), but the fact remains, at 5x, it might still be interesting. At 10-15x, as Robert states for those members with Distinction status, it becomes even more interesting.
Of course, it becomes even more interesting if you got a targeted “earn 5x eBay Bucks for 2 days” promotion. Alas, I digress.
But does it make sense to earn Aeroplan miles?
Now, I am not an expert on Aeroplan, but from some research this morning, I came to some observations that I think are meaningful to answer the above question. Below is a snip from a .pdf that displays Aeroplan’s changes (the devaluation, again hits 15 December), but I would highlight that there are some awards that are still reasonable values for partner carriers, when comparing Aeroplan to United, for example.
Aeroplan, before, and after 15 December 2015.
Of course, the award values are all for round trip flights, so divide that by half, and you’ll get the one way award redemption rate.
So, lets follow that thread a little further, and look at United’s MileagePlus Star Alliance/Partner Award Chart (because its always fun to fly on someone else’s plane).
As you can see, flying business class on a Star Alliance Partner (aka not United Metal), requires significantly fewer miles on Air Canada, than it does on United.
One Caveat: Aeroplan charges fuel surcharges on some carriers (I think Lufthansa), but there are some that don’t charge as much, like LOT Polish Airways, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Swiss, and Turkish.
What if you like Aeroplan but don’t resell (aka eBay 5x/10x isn’t relevant)?
Well, you are in luck, because American Express Membership Rewards is a transfer partner.
Conclusion
For me, Robert’s tweet this morning was refreshing, because it forced me to look outside of my normal go-to sources. I wanted to first re-familiarize myself with Aeroplan’s award chart to see how much I’d need to spend for the miles to really be meaningful.
Of course, knowing that Aeroplan’s eStore isn’t tracked by either of the two tools I normally use to track shopping portals, will give me pause when I don’t see a particularly engaging Shopping Portal multiplier. This is now two outliers that I’m aware of, as Ebates has done a few promotions where they offer as much as double the cashback when using the Ebates Mobile App.
Heads up – aeroplan will route you through ebay.ca which doesn’t earn ebay bucks!
@David – I haven’t jumped in myself yet – so I’ll have to take your word for it. That is most unfortunate though.
The portal is taking you to ebay.ca which will not pay back any ebay bucks.