When Air Canada took over the Aeroplan program, they improved their miles expiration policy. Instead of expiring miles after 12 months of inactivity, they extended that to 18 months. They also instituted a rule that taking an Air Canada flight or opening a co-brand credit card within 6 months of expiration would reinstate miles without charge.
During the pandemic they kept extending miles expiration, like many (but by no meals all!) other programs. Last summer they announced that miles would again expire starting May 31, 2023.
Though the pandemic is no longer a reason to keep pushing off mileage expiration, many programs believe that while it’s good for the balance sheet – taking liability off the books, recognizing revenue, while not parting with cash – it’s the number one thing that angers members. Delta, JetBlue, United, and Southwest do not expire miles.
Air Canada has pushed off expiration once again, though not permanently. They’ve just announced that Aeroplan miles will not expire until September 30, 2024. Of course activity in an account extends the validity of miles past that, so you’ll want to make sure to have some.
(HT: Christopher G.)
I believe children under the age of 18 also don’t have expiring miles… but I could be wrong.
@Greg at American AAdvantage it’s under 21!
During one period several years ago when I wasn’t flying, nor had a cobranded card, I was able to retain points eligibility by making one small purchase (about $15) at a local hardware store that was an aeroplan member – those one or two points were enough to extend my account. People can use simple one-off low cost strategies to retain points, but I do agree that a no expiration policy would be better than current system.
Where in the Aeroplan app or online can i verify the expiration date of points?