Via Don’t Call the Airline, Air Canada’s Aeroplan frequent flyer program — a Star Alliance program and an American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner — has a redemption pricing glitch.
If you book a roundtrip award with premium economy one way and business class the other, the award will price as premium economy.
Aeroplan’s reward chart for North America – Asia roundtrip is this:
Premium economy is 125,000 miles roundtrip. Business Class is 150,000 miles roundtrip.
Here’s an itinerary between Canada and Japan, business class one-way and premium economy the other. And it prices at 125,000 miles.
The outbound is indeed over the water in Air Canada business class.
This is how the award will price:
So if you’re ever going to find yourself booking a premium economy award through Aeroplan, consider pricing it with business class one way. You’re likely to get a free upgrade.
Looks fixed – outbound PE and inbound Business, ORD-PEK, priced at 150K
I take that back – still there, but not that straightforward to search this 125K deal.
Aeroplan has such an awful award chart to begin with! Why even bother transfering to Aeroplan??
You only need 105K miles for biz class with AA (135K for first class).
You’ll be better off transferring to AA without bonus.
@Al True, but Aeroplan also allows for stopovers, so the miles go a lot further.
@Al – “You’ll be better off transferring to AA without bonus.”
You realize that AA is not an AmEx MR transfer partner, right?