Aeroplan points are Air Canada’s loyalty currency, and most Canadians who collect them earn far more from a credit card than from flying. So how much are Aeroplan points worth? As a rule of thumb, about 1.5 to 2 cents each when you spend them on flights, so 50,000 points is roughly $750 to $1,000 of travel.
That range is wide on purpose. The value of a point depends almost entirely on what you book with it, and a short domestic hop can be worth twice as much per point as an expensive business-class seat. This guide covers how to earn Aeroplan points, what a flight really costs, and how to tell a good redemption from a poor one.
Short answer: Aeroplan points are worth roughly 1.5 to 2 cents each on flights, so 50,000 points is about $750 to $1,000. Flights within North America start at 6,000 to 17,500 points one way, and taxes and fees are always extra. Compare the cash price with the points price before you book: redemptions well below 1.5 cents a point are usually worse than paying cash.Key points from this guide
What Are Aeroplan Points?
In simple terms: Aeroplan points are rewards you collect from Air Canada and its partners, then spend on flights, hotels, car rentals and merchandise. They work like a store currency for travel. You cannot cash them out, but you can use them in place of money when you book.
Aeroplan belongs to Air Canada, which also makes it the main way Canadians book seats on Star Alliance airlines such as Lufthansa, United and ANA with points. That network is the program’s biggest strength. One balance can reach most of the world, including routes Air Canada does not fly itself.
Why it matters: because points have no fixed cash value, two people with the same 60,000-point balance can get very different trips out of it. One books a pair of short flights home for the holidays. The other spends it all on a single seat to Europe. Neither is wrong, but only one is getting the most out of each point.
[IMAGE SUGGESTION: A simple diagram showing points flowing in from a credit card, Air Canada flights and a hotel program, and out to flights, hotels and merchandise.]
How Do You Earn Aeroplan Points?
There are five main ways in, and for most households the first two do nearly all the work. Flying earns surprisingly little unless you travel often or hold elite status.
- An Aeroplan credit card. TD, CIBC and American Express all issue cards that earn Aeroplan points on everyday spending, plus a welcome bonus when you open one.
- Transferring flexible points. American Express Membership Rewards points in Canada convert to Aeroplan at 1,000 to 1,000, which is why cards like the American Express Cobalt are popular with Aeroplan collectors.
- Flying Air Canada. Members without status earn 1 point per dollar on the base fare and carrier surcharges, not taxes. Elite members earn two to six times that.
- Converting hotel points. Marriott Bonvoy points convert at three to one, so 30,000 Marriott points become 10,000 Aeroplan points.
- Shopping through the Aeroplan eStore and other retail partners, which adds points on purchases you were making anyway.
Quick tip: RBC Avion points do not convert to Aeroplan. If you are choosing a card specifically to fly Air Canada, check the transfer partners before you apply.
Which Credit Cards Are Best for Earning Aeroplan?
The right card depends on where your money goes each month. Co-branded Aeroplan cards from TD, CIBC and American Express earn Aeroplan points directly, and they usually add travel perks such as a free first checked bag on Air Canada flights. Their earn rates are strongest on Air Canada purchases, and flatter on groceries and gas.
Flexible cards take a different route. The American Express Cobalt earns Membership Rewards points, with its best rates on food and groceries, and those points move to Aeroplan at one to one whenever you are ready to book. You keep the option to send them somewhere else instead.
What this means for you: if most of your spending is groceries and restaurants, a flexible card can build an Aeroplan balance faster than an Aeroplan card. If you fly Air Canada several times a year, the co-branded perks may matter more than the earn rate. We compare the two approaches head to head in Amex Cobalt vs. TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, and rank the wider field in our best travel cards of 2026.
Welcome bonuses change often, so treat any card’s offer as something to verify on the issuer’s own page on the day you apply.
How Many Aeroplan Points Does a Flight Cost?
Aeroplan prices flights by zone and distance, using a published reward chart that changed on June 1, 2026. For Air Canada flights, the chart shows a starting price, and busy dates can cost more. Here is what common one-way trips start at, based on nonstop distances.
| One-way trip (nonstop) | Distance | Economy from | Business from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto – Montreal | 315 mi | 6,000 | 15,000 |
| Toronto – Orlando | 1,058 mi | 10,000 | 20,000 |
| Toronto – Cancún | 1,619 mi | 12,500 | 25,000 |
| Toronto – Vancouver | 2,079 mi | 12,500 | 25,000 |
| Toronto – London | 3,546 mi | 32,500 | 60,000 |
| Toronto – Tokyo | 6,399 mi | 45,000 | 85,000 |
Notice how flat the chart is inside North America. Toronto to Vancouver crosses the country for the same 12,500 points as a flight to Cancún, and that is where many of the best-value redemptions sit. For the full story on the June 2026 changes, see our breakdown of the Aeroplan devaluation.
[CHART SUGGESTION: A horizontal bar chart of the six routes above, showing economy and business points side by side.]
How Much Are Aeroplan Points Worth in Dollars?
There is no official Aeroplan points value, so estimates vary. MoneyMint values Aeroplan points at about 2 cents each in our points value calculator, a figure Milesopedia also uses. After the June 2026 chart change, creditcardGenius cut its own estimate to 1.6 cents. The honest range for flights is about 1.5 to 2 cents.
What your balance is worth at 1.5 to 2 cents a point:
- 10,000 Aeroplan points is worth about $150 to $200.
- 25,000 Aeroplan points is worth about $375 to $500.
- 50,000 Aeroplan points is worth about $750 to $1,000.
- 100,000 Aeroplan points is worth about $1,500 to $2,000.
You can work out your own number in three steps. Take the cash price of the flight. Subtract the taxes and fees you still pay on the points booking. Divide what is left by the points required.
Simple example (illustrative prices): a one-way Toronto to Vancouver flight costs $350 in cash. The same seat costs 12,500 points plus $75 in taxes and fees. That is $275 of value from 12,500 points, or 2.2 cents per point, a good result.
What this means for you: if a redemption works out well below 1.5 cents, you are usually better off paying cash and saving the points. Merchandise and gift cards through the program generally return much less than flights.
What Fees Do You Pay on an Aeroplan Reward Flight?
Points rarely cover the whole bill. Air Canada’s flight reward policy says taxes, fees and charges must be paid when you book, and those can range from modest on a domestic flight to several hundred dollars on some international routes.
Two costs catch people off guard. The first is the $39 partner booking fee, charged per ticket whenever your trip includes a flight operated by a partner airline rather than Air Canada itself. The second is change and cancellation fees, which depend on the fare type you book. The same policy lists, for example, a $150 fee to cancel a Standard economy reward booked on aircanada.com.
Try this: before you confirm any reward booking, look at the cash total on the final screen. That number, not the points figure, is what tells you whether the redemption beats simply buying the ticket.
Points can also cover part of a fare through Points + Cash, which lets you book even when your balance falls short. It is convenient, but check the value per point before you use it.
Do Aeroplan Points Expire?
Normally, yes. Under Air Canada’s inactivity policy, points expire after 18 months with no activity. Earning or redeeming even a single point resets the clock, and so does shopping through the eStore or transferring points.
Several groups are exempt altogether. Primary cardholders of TD, CIBC and American Express Aeroplan credit cards never lose points to inactivity, and neither do members with Aeroplan Elite Status. If you hold one of those cards, expiry is not something you need to track.
Air Canada also says points expiry is temporarily paused, but it has not published an end date. Do not rely on the pause lasting. If your points sit untouched for long stretches, the simplest protection is a small purchase through a partner once a year.
Points that do expire are not always gone. Air Canada gives members six months to recover them, for example by flying Air Canada, getting an Aeroplan credit card, or buying points back.
Key Takeaways
- Aeroplan points are worth roughly 1.5 to 2 cents each on flights, so 50,000 points is about $750 to $1,000 of travel.
- Most Aeroplan points come from credit cards, either co-branded cards from TD, CIBC and American Express or Amex Membership Rewards transferred at one to one.
- Flights inside North America are the easiest value, starting at 6,000 to 17,500 points one way depending on distance.
- Air Canada reward prices are a starting point, and popular dates can cost more.
- Taxes and fees are always extra, plus a $39 fee per ticket when a partner airline operates a flight.
- Aeroplan points expire after 18 months of inactivity, unless you hold an Aeroplan credit card or elite status.
Comparing programs before you commit? Our guide to Aeroplan vs. Scene+ vs. Blue Rewards shows how Aeroplan stacks up against the other big Canadian points programs.