One Program, 40+ Airlines: How Aeroplan Stretches Your Points Further

Greetings from sunny Los Angeles, where temperatures are in the 80s this holiday weekend as we head deeper into spring.

On my way out of Vegas last week, I checked out Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge at Harry Reid International Airport — a brand new “speakeasy-style” concept from American Express that opened earlier this month. It’s designed as a companion space to the main lounge, built for quick-turn service for those who want a drink and a bite instead of camping out for hours. With just 33 seats and entry limited to 90 minutes before departure, it’s aimed at diverting traffic from the main lounge and relieving the overcrowding that’s become all too common.

The focus is on elevated made-to-order food and cocktails, and it delivered. I tried the “Chicky Chicky Parm Parm” slider (a signature monthly sandwich by Chef Sarah Grueneberg), a mini lobster roll with caviar, cucumber salad with chili honey and crispy rice, plus a classic Sidecar cocktail (cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice). Everything came out fresh and tasty. On paper, the model works — Amex is targeting 8-minute ticket times to help move travelers on to their flight quickly.

In practice, this setup needs work. I joined the waitlist 80 minutes before departure and was cleared to enter 27 minutes later, leaving me with just 8 minutes until my flight started boarding. That meant rushing my order, inhaling everything, and sprinting to the gate, boarding second to last. There’s real potential here, especially compared to the underwhelming buffet at the main lounge, but timing is tight enough that you need to game it. The waitlist is digital, so next time I’ll try to get ahead of it and add myself while I’m on the way to the airport.

Thankfully I didn’t stress too much about making the cut. I had already eaten at the Capital One Lounge next door, which I accessed with no wait using my Capital One Venture X. They’d just rolled out a seasonal menu including chicken tinga tacos, a Brussels sprouts salad, a cream-filled holiday spice cake, and a frozen Irish coffee. The food, coffee, and cocktail program here are great, and the grab-and-go section is incredibly useful.

I’m always surprised how much more fanfare the Centurion Lounge gets over Capital One. The Venture X comes in at a much more reasonable $395 annual fee — offset by $300 in easy-to-use travel credits and 10,000 bonus miles each year — versus the American Express Platinum Card’s $895.

On to this week’s news. Have a great weekend — and happy travels!

Disclosure: This post contains referral links, which may earn me a small bonus. I only recommend products I use or truly believe in.

Here’s a fresh batch of hotel deals available through travel advisors like myself!

Terranea Resort
Rancho Palos Verdes/Long Beach, CA
Offer: 2nd Night Free
Available Now – Apr 30, 2026

Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club
Dana Point, CA
Offer: 25% Off
Booking Window: Now – Jul 31, 2026
Travel Window: Now – Dec 20, 2026

Delano Miami Beach
Miami, FL
Offer: 4th night free
Booking Window: Now - May 30
Travel Window: July 20 - November 26, 2026

Montage Deer Valley
Park City, UT
Offer: Reserve two or more nights and receive up to a $500 daily resort credit. Receive a complimentary view upgrade at check-in, based on availability.
Booking Window: Now – May 19, 2026
Travel Window: Now – May 21, 2026

Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski München
Munich
Offer: 15% Off + guaranteed upgrade
Booking Window: Now – Jun 30, 2026
Travel Window: Now – Dec 31, 2026

Castelfalfi
Tuscany
Offer: Guaranteed double room upgrade and late check-out until 2:00 pm
Travel Window: Now – Apr 30, 2026

La Zambra Resort Mijas - Marbella The Unbound Collection By Hyatt
Offer: 25% Off Suites
Booking Window: Now – Apr 30, 2026
Travel Window: Now – Jul 30, 2026

Dinso Resort & Villas Phuket, Vignette Collection by IHG
Offer: 3rd Night Free + breakfast for 2 guests
Booking Window: Now – Apr 30, 2026
Travel Window: Now – Oct 31, 2026

Mandarin Oriental Geneva
Offer: Up to 30% off, complimentary kids’ meals and breakfast, 45-minute kids’ activity
Travel Window: Now – Dec 31, 2026

Travelers booking within World of Hyatt can earn extra free nights by simply rotating brands. Hyatt’s Brand Explorer awards a Category 1–4 free night certificate for every five different brands you stay at — and you can keep earning these repeatedly as you work across its increasingly broad portfolio of 30+ brands. That footprint now spans everything from budget-friendly options like Hyatt Place and extended-stay Hyatt House, to lifestyle brands like Thompson Hotels, and high-end resorts like Alila Hotels and Resorts and Park Hyatt, plus a rapidly growing all-inclusive segment.

Transfer partners are where flexible points currencies (like those from Amex, Chase, and Capital One) can provide outsized value — giving you access to award charts and partner networks that can stretch your points even further than redeeming directly with your bank at a cash-rate-based value.

One of the more popular transfer options is Air Canada Aeroplan, which stands out even if you never set foot in Canada. It combines easy earning through major transferable currencies with access to a massive global airline network, while still maintaining published award charts for most partner flights.

Add in low fees and the ability to build in stopovers for just 5,000 points, and it becomes one of the most versatile tools for turning everyday spend into high-value travel. Here’s how to use it to your advantage.

Aeroplan connects to nearly every major credit card points ecosystem:

• American Express Membership Rewards

• Bilt Rewards

• Capital One Venture Miles

• Chase Ultimate Rewards

All transfer 1:1, which makes Aeroplan one of the easiest programs to quickly build a meaningful balance.

Pro tip: Chase launched a 20% transfer bonus to Aeroplan this week, valid through April 30, 2026. With the bonus, every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points converts to 1,200 Aeroplan points, effectively lowering award costs. For example, a 60,000-point Star Alliance business class flight to Europe would require just 50,000 Chase points after the bonus.

Air Canada is part of Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance. You can earn and redeem Aeroplan points on any Star Alliance airline.

Star Alliance’s network is anchored by major global hubs — think Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Frankfurt (FRA), Istanbul (IST), and Tokyo Haneda (HND) — which makes routing through key international gateways relatively seamless.

The following airlines are Star Alliance members:

• Aegean Airlines

• Air Canada

• Air China

• Air India

• Air New Zealand

• All Nippon Airways

• Asiana Airlines

• Austrian Airlines

• Avianca

• Brussels Airlines

• Copa Airlines

• Croatia Airlines

• ITA Airways

• Egyptair

• Ethiopian Airlines

• EVA Airways

• LOT Polish Airlines

• Lufthansa

• Shenzhen Airlines

• Singapore Airlines

• South African Airways

• SWISS

• TAP Air Portugal

• Thai Airways

• Turkish Airlines

• United Airlines

Aeroplan also has partnerships with many carriers outside of Star Alliance, including Emirates, Etihad and Virgin Australia, which sometimes share award space.

Aeroplan’s stopover policy is one of its biggest advantages. You can add a stopover of up to 45 days to a one-way award for just 5,000 additional points.

Here are some of the most high-value ways to use Aeroplan points:

• Short-haul flights (especially on Air Canada or United) can drop below 10,000 points one-way for sub-500 mile routes, with strong value on cross-border and intra-Canada trips.

• East Coast to Europe in business class from 60,000 points one-way on partners like Lufthansa, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, Austrian, and Brussels Airlines.

• U.S. to India in business class for 90,000 points one-way on partners like United, Air India, and Turkish Airlines, with no fuel surcharges.

• U.S. to South Africa from 85,000–110,000 points one-way in business class on partners like SWISS or United, depending on routing and distance.

• U.S. to South America from 50,000–60,000 points one-way in business class on partners like Avianca, Copa, or United.

• U.S. to Asia from 75,000 points one-way in business class on partners like ANA, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, or Asiana.

• West Coast to Australia or New Zealand from 75,000–90,000 points one-way in business class on partners like Air New Zealand or United.

• Etihad premium cabins to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia from 85,000 points in business class or 120,000 in first class, with the option to add a stopover in Abu Dhabi for 5,000 points.

Aeroplan is powerful, but there are a few guardrails to keep in mind before you transfer or book:

• Transfers are one-way and irreversible. Once you move points into Aeroplan, you can’t send them back. It’s worth confirming award availability before initiating a transfer.

• Change and cancellation fees apply. Standard Aeroplan awards typically carry fees (roughly ~$100 CAD to change and ~$150 CAD to cancel), unless you opt for more flexible award pricing at a higher points cost.

• Dynamic pricing on Air Canada flights can vary widely. While there are deals on off-peak dates, pricing can spike quickly, especially on high-demand routes.

American Express is cutting the Platinum Card’s Saks Fifth Avenue credit effective July 1, 2026, ending a long-running perk that’s been around since 2018. Existing cardholders can still use the $50 semi-annual credit through June 30. The timing isn’t surprising — Saks filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and the partnership was often derided by cardmembers, as the modest credit proved difficult to use at a luxury department store without overspending.

Amex has hinted that new offers will replace it, but this move fits a broader shift across premium cards: away from fixed, easy-to-use credits and toward rotating, targeted offers that require more effort to maximize.

Denise A. reached out to book Fourth of July weekend in New Orleans. Cash rates were significantly elevated across the board, so I checked Hyatt award availability knowing she had a solid balance of Chase points that transfer 1:1. What turned up is exactly why understanding transfer partners gives you a huge edge.

She settled on The Barnett, a chic property under Hyatt’s JdV collection of independent boutique hotels. The cash rate for the weekend was $1,304 — or 121,650 points + $87 in taxes/fees — through Chase Travel at 1 cent per point. Meanwhile, booking directly through Hyatt priced the same stay at just 45,000 points with taxes and fees waived. Transferring Chase points to Hyatt saved her 76,650 points plus the $87 out of pocket.

There’s also a material difference in how the booking is treated by the hotel. Through Chase, this would show up to the hotel as a third-party (Expedia) reservation — typically meaning lower room priority, limited support if anything goes wrong, and no loyalty status recognition or elite night credit.

Booking through Hyatt counts as a direct booking, which also unlocked the ability to apply one of my Globalist Guest of Honor certificates, adding meaningful perks: upgrade eligibility, early check-in and late checkout, daily breakfast, and complimentary parking.

Thanks for reading! As always, I’m here if you want help with cards, points, destinations, or hotel bookings — especially for friends who don’t have time to decode this stuff. Hit me up anytime.