| Why I think an Aeroplan mile/point is worth 1.6 | | | | keep it on you. If you shop at stores that are |
| cents and if you should collect them with a credit | | | | affiliated with them (Future Shop, Esso, etc) then |
| card. | | | | you just hand them your card and you collect |
| Aeroplan points, Air miles, HBC points, PetroPoints, | | | | some points whenever you purchase something. |
| etc, etc, all the way back to Club Z Points at | | | | - You use it whenever you fly with Air Canada or |
| Zellers. They seem like such a gimmick and just a | | | | some other Star Alliance member airline. You will |
| way to influence your spending. The thing is, they | | | | receive a certain number of Aeroplan points |
| are everywhere now and you can't really avoid it, | | | | whenever you fly somewhere. This is free as |
| so you might as well take advantage of it. I have | | | | well. You apply for a CIBC Aeroplan VISA card. |
| calculated how much I think they are worth so | | | | There is a fee for these cards. $29/year will give |
| read on. | | | | you the CIBC AeroClassic VISA card that will give |
| Note: I interchange the word points and miles | | | | you 1 point for every $2 you put on the card. |
| throughout this article. They mean the same thing. | | | | $120/year will give you a CIBC AeroGold VISA |
| An Aeroplan Point and an Aeroplan Mile are the | | | | card that will give you 1.5 points for every $1 you |
| same. | | | | spend on it. So you may get aeroplan miles on |
| To calculate the value of an Aeroplan point I | | | | any purchase if you use your Visa and at |
| priced out a flight on their website using points | | | | Aeroplan affiliates you can "double dip" by |
| and then priced out a similar flight the same day | | | | collecting Aeroplan miles using your Aeropan card |
| using Air Canada's website. From that, I | | | | that they give you and paying for your actual |
| determined an Aeroplan point is worth 1.6 cents | | | | purchase with your credit card and getting |
| point. I will explain later how I came to this. | | | | aeroplan miles from CIBC. |
| I personally collect Air Miles and Aeroplan Points so | | | | These points can later be used to buy flights, car |
| I just talk about those. This posting is about | | | | rentals, hotels rooms, and a few other products. |
| Aeroplan Points specifically, but the same | | | | With flights and car rentals you will still have to |
| techniques can be used to figure out Air Miles. | | | | pay the taxes, but the base fees are covered by |
| You can read these related articles by using the | | | | the Aeroplan points. |
| links at the bottom of this post.How to Collect | | | | So this is the basics of the system. Now I will |
| Aeroplan Points | | | | discuss what they are actually worth. You can |
| Aeroplan, first of all, is free and there are three | | | | read about how I calculated the value and |
| different ways to collect. | | | | whether to upgrade your card in the main article. |
| - You can apply for an Aeroplan card and just | | | | |