Word is spreading...

A coworker of mine finally broke free of Aeroplan. He had some travels on Aeroplan although mostly in North America. He decided that the $170 annual fee ($120 + $50 for supplemental card) was too much for him.

I have been collecting Airmiles points for the past year or so. This year I have accumulated enough points to send my mother from Vancouver to Hong Kong & Thailand Business Class on Cathay Pacific. She got the dates she wanted which is great. I hope she has a great time.

Comparison of my point programs

I had been thinking about doing this for a while. For comparison sake I used my travel rewards programs to compare travel from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to three locations. Have you ever wondered how much you would need to spend on your credit card to get a reward?

Vancouver to Los Angeles (LAX) Stay for 1 week, round trip.

CIBC Aerogold Card gives you 1.5 aeroplan points per $1 spent.
60,000 aeroplan points
Spend $40,000

TD Visa First Class Travel 3 travel points per $1 spent
You can book through TD travel rewards or any travel site & get reimbursed. 10000 points = $50 travel. I found you would need 50,000 points.
Spend $16,666

TD Elite gives your 1% on all purchases. Take that money and go to Expedia YVR to LAX $346. You need to spend $34,600 to earn a free ticket to Hollywood.

Vancouver to Hong Kong (HKG) stay for 1 week, round trip

CIBC Aerogold Card gives you 1.5 aeroplan points per $1 spent.
Best Value Offer 75,000 aeroplan points
Spend $50,000 BUT when I tried to pick a date there was not availability. I tried shoulder date but nothing was available except in Business Class or a 36 hr return with two stop overs.

RBC Cathay Pacific gives you 1 point per $1 spent
60,000 points.
Spend $60,000

Td Elite 1% back & Expedia
Ticket costs $1875 flying Cathay Pacific non stop
Go spend $187,500.

So it would seem to me if you want travel then a travel card is preferred over a rebate card. However, my beef with Aeroplan remains, I am never able to pick the days that I want to travel even if it is the random week of January 22 to January 29.

Any one any better programs?

Capacity controls

Question:
Aeroplan told me there are no seats available but I can buy a ticket on the flight, why is that?

Answer:
Well, my dear, it is called capacity controls.

Aeroplan Terms & condition state:

16. Capacity controls also apply. This means there are a limited number of ClassicFlight reward seats available on a given flight. There may be instances when flights are not completely booked but all available reward seats have been claimed. Capacity controls do not apply for ClassicPlus flight rewards.

In other words there are a limited number of reward seats on any flight.

I prefer the reward cards that allow me to book anywhere i.e. priceline.com, expedia, travelocity, travel agency etc. and redeem points for travel. Forget about Aeroplan too restrictive.

Shanghai Airlines No Longer Aeroplan Partner

Effective October 31, 2010, Shanghai Airlines will no longer be an Aeroplan Partner. You will not be able to earn or redeem Aeroplan Miles on Shanghai Airlines flights scheduled on or after that date.

Accumulation: Mileage accumulation on Shanghai Airlines flights will be permitted until October 31, 2010. Aeroplan Members will be allowed to claim retro credits up to six months from the flight date, according to the Shanghai Airlines accumulation structure.

Redemption: Flight rewards on Shanghai Airlines flights will be permitted until October 28, 2010. Aeroplan Reward Travel must be completed by October 31, 2011. No changes permitted on Shanghai Airlines flights after October 28, 2010.

Soure aeroplan website

Nearing the end of my Aeroplan woes.

This coming month I am sending my parents on a trip with my remaining aeroplan points. I hope that their travels will go off without a hitch. I will be sure to let you know. Their travels is taking them to Hong Kong, Korea and China business class. I still had to pay $1500 dollars in fees, taxes and extra charges. But they are my parents so what can you do?

After this I should be rid of Aeroplan forever! I have my Asia Miles card as well as my Vise Infinite card.

The other week I used Priceline to book the Hyatt Regency for $80/night. I used my Visa Infinite points to pay for it all no problem. Fabulous alternative to Aeroplan.

JetBlue Flight Attendant flips out

A JetBlue flight attendant, Steven Slater, left his job in dramatic fashion yesterday cursing out passengers on his flight before exiting via the plane's emergency exit -- beer in hand -- and eventually driving off in a car he had parked at the airport.

I have to laugh about this one. I am a critic of the Aeroplan but in this case I am on side with the flight attendant. I loath rudeness whether it be a customer or worker.

However, it has to be said Mr. Slater is quite the drama queen.

Cancelled CIBC aerogold

I have officially cancelled my CIBC Aerogold Visa card. I have switched to another card to collect points for another airline. I have a couple product suppliers, box company and email marketing company payments going through this card. I should have a business class ticket with in 6 months.

So long Aeroplan!