Aeroplan Points Guide (2026): What They're Really Worth
Aeroplan points have a hard floor of one cent — 1,000 buys a $10 LCBO gift card. That makes every flight redemption one question: does it beat a cent a point? Here is the test, and the arithmetic.
CreditCardGuru Editorial Team
Rewards & Cards Research · October 5, 2026 · 8 min read
An Aeroplan point has a hard floor of exactly one cent, and Air Canada publishes it without calling it that: 1,000 points buys a $10 LCBO gift card through the Aeroplan eStore. Every flight redemption you will ever consider is therefore a single question — does this booking beat one cent a point? If it does not, take the gift card.
That test is the only durable thing in this programme. Flight pricing is dynamic and moves with the cash fare, so no published "average value" survives contact with an actual booking. A floor does.
What an Aeroplan point is worth
One cent, guaranteed, through gift cards. More than that on good flight redemptions. Less on bad ones, which are common.
Air Canada's own LCBO partner page states it plainly: "Redeem 1000 points for a $10 LCBO gift cards via the Aeroplan eStore." The eStore carries more than 2,000 merchandise and gift card options starting from 3,200 points.
For comparison, TD's own card disclosure states that the majority of Aeroplan cardholders get a value of $0.02 per point or more when redeeming for a flight, measured on actual redemptions to 1 September 2025. TD attaches its own caveat — it is not responsible for Aeroplan's points pricing — so read that as an issuer's estimate rather than a rate you are owed.
Aeroplan's own terms are blunter: points "have no monetary value and cannot under any circumstances form the basis of a monetary claim". The one-cent gift card is not a promise. It is simply the best available anchor, and it is published.
The one-cent test
Divide the base fare you would otherwise pay by the points the award costs. Below one cent, you are losing money against a gift card.
Compare like with like. On an Air Canada award you still pay taxes and third-party fees, and you would pay those on a cash ticket too, so they cancel out. What you are buying with points is the base fare.
| Cash fare (all in) | Taxes & fees | Base fare | Points required | Value per point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500 | $120 | $380 | 25,000 | 1.52¢ | Redeem |
| $500 | $120 | $380 | 38,000 | 1.00¢ | Break-even |
| $500 | $120 | $380 | 50,000 | 0.76¢ | Take the gift card |
| $1,800 | $300 | $1,500 | 60,000 | 2.50¢ | Redeem |
The last row is why people chase premium cabins: an expensive base fare divided by a points price that does not rise proportionally. The third row is the one that happens quietly on a short domestic hop booked at the wrong time.
One genuine advantage worth putting in the numerator: Air Canada does not add carrier surcharges to award flights. Only taxes and third-party fees are charged in cash, and you can pay those with points too. That is not true of every airline programme, and it is worth real money on long-haul.
Two different pricing systems
Air Canada flights are dynamic. Partner flights are a fixed chart by distance.
Aeroplan's terms state that the points required for certain rewards, including Air Canada flights and hotels, "may be dynamic and subject to change depending on inventory availability, time of redemption and a series of other factors". Air Canada says the points price tracks the cash fare and can exceed the published range in high-demand periods, exactly as cash fares do.
Partner airlines work the other way: a fixed amount of points based on distance flown, plus a flat Partner Booking Fee of $39 per ticket, which can also be paid with points. A fixed chart in a dynamic world is where outsized value tends to hide, because the chart does not know the cash fare is high.
Air Canada updated the flight reward chart in 2026 and it moved in both directions — economy between North America and the Atlantic zones at 0–4,000 miles fell from 35,000 to 32,500 points, while several long-haul business and first-class awards rose by 10,000 to 40,000. Check the live price rather than any chart you have memorised.
How to pay fewer points
Two discounts, and one of them is just holding the right card.
- Preferred Pricing. Primary Aeroplan credit cardholders get Air Canada flight rewards automatically discounted. Air Canada states that for North America trips, cardholders redeem for at least 30% fewer points than someone using points from a non-Aeroplan major Canadian bank travel programme. It applies to Air Canada flights only.
- Priority Rewards. Elite status members can cut the base fare in points by 50%. Taxes and fees are excluded, and the certificate has no monetary or exchange value.
- Elite eStore discount. Elite members also get 30% off the points required in the eStore, which raises the gift-card floor above one cent for them specifically.
Preferred Pricing is the one that changes the arithmetic for ordinary people. A 30% reduction in points required is a 43% increase in cents per point on the same fare, which can move a mediocre redemption above the one-cent line on its own.
Where Aeroplan points are easy to earn and hard to justify
The retail partners earn slowly enough that they are not really the point.
LCBO is the clearest example: you earn 1 point for every $4 spent, excluding delivery, taxes, container deposits, gift cards and charity donations. At a cent a point that is a 0.25% return. You redeem at that same shop for a full cent.
The asymmetry is the shape of the whole programme. Earning is slow everywhere except a credit card and actual flying; redeeming is where the value is decided. Anyone planning to collect Aeroplan through grocery-style partner spending should compare it honestly against a cash back card and the rewards calculator first.
Is Aeroplan worth collecting?
Yes if you fly Air Canada and hold a co-branded card. Otherwise it is a one-cent currency with extra steps.
The case rests on three things stacking: Preferred Pricing from the card, no carrier surcharges on awards, and the occasional partner-chart redemption that prices well above a cent. Strip those out and you have a loyalty currency with a published floor equal to a 1% cash back card, redeemed through a travel booking engine.
Every figure above comes from Air Canada's own Aeroplan pages and programme terms, and from TD's own cardholder disclosure where stated, read on 9 October 2026. The one-cent test is our arithmetic on Air Canada's published gift-card rate. We have not printed an average cents-per-point for flights, because Aeroplan prices them dynamically and any single figure would be wrong by the time you read it.
Frequently asked questions
How much is an Aeroplan point worth?
At least one cent, which is the published gift-card rate — Air Canada states 1,000 points for a $10 LCBO gift card through the Aeroplan eStore. Flight redemptions vary because Air Canada prices them dynamically. TD's own disclosure puts most cardholders at two cents or more on flights.
How do I know if an Aeroplan redemption is good?
Divide the base fare — the cash price minus taxes and fees — by the points required. Above one cent per point, redeem. Below it, you would do better converting the same points into a gift card at the eStore. That single calculation replaces every rule of thumb.
Are Aeroplan points dynamically priced?
For Air Canada flights, yes. Aeroplan's terms say the points required for flights and hotels may be dynamic, depending on inventory, timing and other factors. Partner airline awards work differently — a fixed number of points based on the distance flown, plus a $39 partner booking fee.
Do Aeroplan flights have carrier surcharges?
Not on Air Canada. Air Canada eliminates additional airline surcharges when you pay with points, leaving only taxes and third-party fees such as airport charges, which you can also cover with points. That absence is worth real money on long-haul and is not standard across airline programmes.
What is Aeroplan Preferred Pricing?
An automatic discount for primary Aeroplan credit cardholders on Air Canada flight rewards. Air Canada states that on North America trips, cardholders redeem for at least 30% fewer points than someone using a non-Aeroplan major Canadian bank travel programme. It does not apply to partner airline flights.
Is it worth redeeming Aeroplan points for gift cards?
Only when the flight alternative prices below one cent a point. The eStore rate is the floor, not the goal — but a floor that is always available is exactly what makes it useful as a benchmark. Elite members get 30% off eStore points, which raises their floor.
Do Aeroplan points expire?
Aeroplan's programme terms govern expiry and account inactivity, and those rules are the ones to read rather than any summary of them. The terms also state that points have no monetary value and cannot form the basis of a monetary claim against Aeroplan or its partners.
Did Aeroplan change its reward chart in 2026?
Yes, in both directions. Economy between North America and the Atlantic zones at 0–4,000 miles fell from 35,000 to 32,500 points, while several long-haul business and first-class awards rose by between 10,000 and 40,000 points. Price the specific route rather than relying on a remembered figure.
Which credit cards earn Aeroplan points?
Co-branded cards from TD, CIBC and American Express, ranging from no annual fee to $599. The fee tier matters less than the fact of holding one: Preferred Pricing on Air Canada awards applies to primary cardholders, and a 30% reduction in points required is a large shift in value per point.
Is Aeroplan better than cash back?
Only if you fly Air Canada. The programme's guaranteed floor is one cent a point, which is what a 1% cash back card returns, with none of the booking complexity. The case for Aeroplan is Preferred Pricing, no carrier surcharges, and partner awards that occasionally price far above a cent.