On June 1, 2026, Aeroplan changed its Flight Reward Chart, and within days the headlines were counting in points: flights up 20%, up 25%, up 67%. The Aeroplan devaluation is real. It is also narrower than those numbers suggest, and for a large share of Canadians the most common trip they book actually got cheaper.
Which side you land on comes down to two things the headlines rarely mention: how far you fly, and whether you are booking Air Canada or one of its partners. Here is what changed, and who it genuinely costs.
Short answer: The June 1, 2026 changes are narrower than the headlines. Flights within North America did not change, and economy to Europe on trips up to 4,000 miles got cheaper, from 35,000 to 32,500 points. The increases hit long-haul business class hardest, especially to Asia and from Western Canada to Europe, where flights fall in the pricier distance band.Key points from this guide
What Changed in the Aeroplan Devaluation?
Air Canada announced the update itself, applying it to redemptions booked or reissued on or after June 1, 2026. The changes run in both directions. Some prices fell by as much as 40,000 points and others rose by the same amount, depending on the route, the distance and the cabin.
The pattern is fairly consistent once you look past the headline figures. Short and mid-distance economy stayed broadly flat or improved. Flights within North America did not change at all. The increases concentrated in premium cabins on longer routes, with the steepest jump reserved for business class on the longest trips between Europe and Asia, which rose from 60,000 to 100,000 points — the 67% figure behind the most alarming headlines, and a route few Canadians fly directly from home.
In simple terms: if you mostly redeem for economy seats, or for travel within North America, this change passed you by almost completely.
How Does the Award Chart Apply to Air Canada Flights?
This is the part most coverage gets wrong in one direction or the other. The chart has two columns. One prices Air Canada and a small group of select partners; the other prices every other partner airline. The June changes touched both.
The columns behave differently, though. For most partner airlines, the chart price is simply the price. For Air Canada, it is only the starting price: flights are dynamically priced above it, based on demand, and there is no published maximum. So when the chart says a trip costs 32,500 points, that is the cheapest Air Canada will ever charge for it — not necessarily what you will see on the date you want.
What this means for you: a lower chart price on an Air Canada route is a genuine improvement to the floor, but it does not guarantee a cheaper booking. The best seats at the starting price tend to appear when a flight first opens for booking, roughly a year out.
Did Anything Get Cheaper?
Yes, and on routes that matter to a lot of travellers. The table below shows the changes that affect trips from Canada most directly, with the starting price in each distance band before and after June 1.
| Route, cabin and distance | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Within North America, all cabins | — | Unchanged |
| To Europe, economy, up to 4,000 miles | 35,000 | 32,500 |
| To Europe, business, up to 4,000 miles | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| To Europe, economy, 4,001–6,000 miles | 40,000 | 42,500 |
| To Europe, business, 4,001–6,000 miles | 70,000 | 75,000 |
| To Asia, business, 5,001–7,500 miles | 75,000 | 85,000 |
These are the lowest prices in each band, which is what Air Canada charges at the bottom of its dynamic range. Partner airlines can price differently, and in business class often higher. The figures are drawn from Air Canada’s own announcement and its current reward chart.
Why Eastern and Western Canada Got Different Deals
Aeroplan prices by how far you fly, and the line between the two European bands sits at 4,000 miles. That boundary happens to split the country roughly in half.
Direct trips from Toronto to London run about 3,550 miles, Montreal to Paris about 3,430, and Toronto to Frankfurt about 3,940. All three sit inside the shorter band, where the economy starting price fell from 35,000 to 32,500 and business did not move. For travellers in Ontario and Quebec heading to Western Europe, the devaluation was, if anything, a small gift.
Fly from Vancouver or Calgary and the arithmetic flips. Vancouver to London is roughly 4,710 miles and Calgary to London about 4,360, which puts every Western Canadian trip to Europe in the longer band, where economy rose to 42,500 and business to 75,000. The same goes for a few eastern routes that clear the line: Toronto to Zurich is about 4,030 miles, only a short hop past Frankfurt, but it lands on the more expensive side.
Quick tip: the band is set by the distance you actually fly, so a connection can push a trip over the line. A direct routing is often the cheaper one.
What the Aeroplan Devaluation Means for Asia
Trans-Pacific business class is where the change bites hardest for Canadians. The most common routes — Toronto to Tokyo at about 6,400 miles, Toronto to Seoul at about 6,600, and Vancouver to Hong Kong at about 6,380 — all fall in the 5,001 to 7,500 mile band, where the starting price for business rose from 75,000 to 85,000 points.
Ten thousand points on a single one-way ticket is where the Aeroplan devaluation becomes tangible. For a couple booking return business seats, it adds 40,000 points to the trip, which is a sizable share of a typical credit card welcome bonus.
There is one exception worth knowing. Vancouver to Tokyo is only about 4,660 miles, short enough to fall below this band entirely, so West Coast travellers heading to Japan sit on a different line of the chart from the one that rose.
Is the Aeroplan Devaluation Even the Real Problem?
Probably not. The chart change is the visible part of a slower shift that matters more over time.
Because Air Canada prices its own flights dynamically above the chart, the chart increasingly describes the best case rather than the likely one. And the dynamic portion of the program has been growing. In March 2025, Aeroplan moved a group of partners — including United, Emirates and Etihad — off fixed pricing and onto the same dynamic model. Each step like that removes a little of the predictability that made Aeroplan points easy to value.
That is the real cost for most members. A fixed chart lets you plan: you know that 60,000 points buys a business seat to London and you can save towards it. A floor with no ceiling means you know the least a seat can cost, but not what it will cost on the day you need to travel.
Should You Still Collect Aeroplan Points?
For most Canadians, yes — and the Aeroplan devaluation is not a reason to abandon them. Economy redemptions and flights within North America are untouched, Eastern Canada to Western Europe got slightly cheaper, and Aeroplan remains one of the only programs where a single currency reaches Air Canada and a large partner network from Canadian airports.
The people with a genuine grievance are those who saved specifically for long-haul business class, especially to Asia or from Western Canada to Europe. If that is you, the practical response is to book early, when starting-price seats are most likely to be available, and to stay flexible on dates rather than hold points in the hope of a sale. Our comparison of Aeroplan, Scene+ and Blue Rewards looks at whether a different program suits how you travel. If you are choosing a card to earn Aeroplan points, our Amex Cobalt vs TD Aeroplan comparison weighs a direct Aeroplan card against flexible points that transfer in, and our guide to the best travel cards of 2026 covers the wider field.
Key Takeaways
- The Aeroplan devaluation took effect on June 1, 2026, and applies to both Air Canada and partner redemptions.
- For Air Canada flights, the chart sets only the starting price; actual prices are dynamic above it with no published maximum.
- Flights within North America did not change, and short-haul economy to Europe got cheaper, falling from 35,000 to 32,500 points.
- Eastern Canada to Western Europe mostly falls in the cheaper band; every Western Canadian trip to Europe falls in the pricier one, where economy rose to 42,500 and business to 75,000.
- Business class on the most common Canada–Asia routes rose from 75,000 to 85,000 points.
- The largest rise, 60,000 to 100,000 points, was for long business trips between Europe and Asia — not flights from Canada.
- The bigger long-term issue is the steady shift to dynamic pricing, which makes points harder to plan around.
This article is for general educational purposes and isn’t financial advice. Aeroplan reward prices, distance bands and pricing rules are set by Air Canada and can change — confirm current prices on Aeroplan before booking. Flight distances are approximate great-circle figures for direct routings. Figures were checked in September 2026.