Air Canada Aeroplan is offering a 75% bonus on purchasing points through July 12, 2023 – with a kicker. Buy points through this offer and get up of 15% bonus points when Aeroplan runs its next two purchase promotions later in the year. Creative!
- I’m not a buyer at a 75% bonus
- The math could make sense to buy points with this offer to earn a 15% bonus on a future buy miles transaction
- But only if the base bonus offer is higher. And they’re not telling us that.
In fact, knowing that some members will have this 15% kicker could be a discouragement from offering a 100% or greater bonus on points purchases in the next two cycles, though I’d certainly hope not.
I purchased miles in May when they were offering a 110% bonus, or the chance to buy their points at 1.24 cents apiece (given the favorable U.S. exchange rate and that there’s no tax added onto these purchases for those with U.S.-based credit cards. And I’d consider doing so again. But I wouldn’t buy points now at 75%, wouldn’t buy them on the hope of being able to add 15% onto 100%. I think I’d need good confidence that I’d be able to buy at higher than 110% in total later, to buy at just 25% now, in order for it to average in a place where I’m comfortable.
Regular buyers of miles, those who go back to the same trough over and over and who buy miles at higher prices than I’m willing to, may find this offer interesting. And I give them credit for experimenting!
You can buy up to 500,000 points in a single transaction and up to one million points per year, exclusive of bonuses. When considering what credit card to use if you take advantage of this offer, Aeroplan points purchases are processed by points.com, which means they do not code on credit cards as travel or airfare.
Update: I’ve decided to play along for fun with the minimum 2,000 points purchase for CAD$70. That’s about US$25 more than those points are worth, but on the off chance there’s a lucrative bonus in the next two rounds I could go hard on it anyway and the extra 15% kicker would be worth it. And if not, the personal engagement over it is worth that $25…
In over a decade of trying not been able to get an award ticket via Aeroplan. Emirates, Qatar, BA, AA, JL, NH etc all OK. Am baffled that mileage experts love Aeroplan so much…..
Weird and very unappealing promo, since 75+15=90, a rate at which I still wouldn’t buy when they regularly offer 100% or more bonuses. So you’re committing to a second round of buying at an unknown rate and locking in today’s buy at a bad rate, even with the future bonus. Hard pass. Obviously they are playing around with different bonuses or discounts to see what people will go for. Vote with your wallet on this one.
Also, as far as I can see whatever bonus this is supposed to be, it is not currently working on their site. I just went in and it claims a bonus but prices all the miles out at full price, 3.5 cpm CAD
From Cathay’s perspective the answer is likely: “Why not?”
Everyone else does it, seemingly without consequence.
Oops, wrong thread. 🙂
Are you sure a 2000 point purchase is going to unlock the 15% bonus on future purchases? I see you can select 2000 points (unbonused) from the drop-down menu, but see this from the terms:
(a) Buying Eligible Aeroplan points: During the Offer Period and only for the purpose of this Offer, Eligible Participants can buy a minimum of 4,000 Aeroplan points and up to 500,000 Aeroplan points per transaction; up to a maximum total of 1,000,000 Eligible Aeroplan points per calendar year:
@jsvtex – here’s what I read with respect to the 15% future offer:
“Furthermore, if an Aeroplan Member purchases Aeroplan points for their own Aeroplan account or for the Aeroplan account of another Aeroplan Member during the Offer Period, they, or the Aeroplan Member for whom Aeroplan points are being purchased, will unlock an incremental top up of 15% bonus points that will be automatically applied on eligible Aeroplan points purchases made during the next two similar offers that may occur in the same calendar year. Aeroplan Members will have to purchase a minimum amount of Aeroplan points to be eligible for the extra 15% bonus points as more fully determined by any future offer terms and conditions. ”
Buying 2,000 points now is purchasing points during the current offer.
And the only reference to a minimum number of points being purchased to generate 15% more bonus points relates to the structure of future offers, not how many points are purchased now.
The minimum 4,000 points purchase appears to be for earning a bonus on currents points you’re buying.
I’d push for my interpretation of this as being the clearest and most logical one, and that if they’re doing something else that is certainly not what the terms suggest in their most obvious reading – the fault of bad drafting on their part.
Nonetheless, a good flag that someone might want to purchase 4,000 rather than 2,000? I’m sticking with my 2,000.
@Gary Makes sense to me! Good luck; hope this proves lucrative for you. I may go in for 2k, too.
@Marcus, not sure what you have tried, but this year we flew (70k) 5 x FRA->IAH->DFW in lufthansa biz. I originally had boooked 5x FRA->JFK in Singapore airlines for 60k ea, but I wanted to fly more in biz and less on economy, as JFK to DFW would still be 4 hours long.
@Gary: I don’t share your interpretation. “Aeroplan Members will have to purchase a minimum amount of Aeroplan points to be eligible for the extra 15% bonus points as more fully determined by any future offer terms and conditions.” So I’d say that minimum is clearly 4K because that’s what triggers the current bonus, which is a precondition to future bonuses. Poorly worded and big enough loophole to drive a truck through but if I were investing a few bucks in hopes of unlocking a future offer I’d say 4K is the minimum to buy otherwise you are not getting any bonus and not participating in the promo per se. Just a guess really but this looks like a mess in the making.
Larry, I’m with Gary on this interpretation question.
The money clause is, “if an Aeroplan Member purchases Aeroplan points for their own Aeroplan account or for the Aeroplan account of another Aeroplan Member during the Offer Period, they, or the Aeroplan Member for whom Aeroplan points are being purchased, will unlock an incremental top up of 15% bonus points”.
Note there is no modifier between “purchases” and “Aeroplan points”, i.e. there is no minimum purchase needed, so long as some purchase is made during the offer period (after 9am today).
I’m guessing that Aeroplan will not dig their heels in on this one, and allow any miles purchase to trigger eligibility for the forthcoming bonuses.
After all, they have nothing to lose, and money is what ti’s all about, isn’t it?
Expect the next 2 bonus offers to be around 85% .
What they do have to lose however is a degree of goodwill from their members capable of simple maths.
Leave the ‘mean and tricky’ to the likes of Qantas.
I’m considering doing a small purchase of 2 or 4K not because I think this will be a good deal in the future but because, exactly as Glenn T says, I would expect the next two bonuses to already take into account the extra 15% and be accordingly lower– so it’s likely we’ll have to wait 3-6 months before another full 100% bonus now because of this. What a PITA
You may be right about the 2k but I bought 4k in the end because:
– This says 4K not 2K (not sure whether this was there before or now added) language in the Ts and Cs of the purchase screen: “(a) Buying Eligible Aeroplan points: During the Offer Period and only for the purpose of this Offer, Eligible Participants can buy a minimum of 4,000 Aeroplan points and up to 500,000 Aeroplan points per transaction; up to a maximum total of 1,000,000 Eligible Aeroplan points per calendar year.”
– The math on this is the same for 2K or 4K, i.e. when you buy 4K you get 2K bonus so the extra 2K you are actually buying at 100% bonus and only “overpaying” by the same amount as if you buy 2K.
Are you getting 15% on top of current 100% bonus?
I don’t see if being applied at all, this “15% in future” seems to be a scam by Aeroplan….