Redemption rates are changing (and mostly going up) tomorrow, March 25, 2025 in two different programs…it’s your last call to reserve Hyatt properties at prevailing World of Hyatt rates and your last chance to redeem United Airlines awards via Air Canada Aeroplan at fixed prices ahead of new dynamic pricing. Here, I want to focus on Aeroplan redemptions.
Aeroplan Dynamic Pricing On United Airlines Goes Live On March 25, 2025
Tomorrow marks the shift of redemption pricing on United Airlines from fixed to variable when using your Air Canada miles.
Savvy travelers have noticed that the spread is often great between “saver” pricing on United Airlines and the same flight booked via Air Canada. Business class Europe? 80-88K on United, 60K on Aeroplan for the same United flight. Domestic shorthaul? 15K on United, 6K on Aeroplan.
United and Air Canada have a transborder (and transatlantic) joint venture and what I perceive is pressure on the part of United to equalize redemption rates (sort of like when Delta forced Virgin Atlantic to raise rates on Delta redemptions, which once offered outsized value in Flying Club compared to SkyMiles).
We don’t know how bad it will be, but if anything like Emirates or Flydubai, it will be terrible…thus far we see thresholds and median redemption rates for North America, but there are no published upper limits:
Air Canada one-way business class redemptions on transatlantic or transpacific flights routinely run over 400K miles…I’d wager a guess that United flights will soon cost the same, with the rapid inflation justified by access to more inventory.
United is not the only carrier going dynamic tomorrow. Etihad Airways, and the regional Canadian partners Calm Air, Canadian North, and Provincial Airlines will also go dynamic. Emirates and Flydubai are already dynamic.
This, unfortunately, appears to be the future of award redemptions, even though partner award redemptions are generally acquired by the loyalty program at a fixed (and cheap) rate (and we might see that evolving as well).
Also starting on March 25th, Etihad Business Class reward inventory will once again be available systemwide (they have been blocked for years). However, Aeroplan says there are no changes to Etihad First Class reward availability “at this time.”
CONCLUSION
If you’re eyeing any sort of award redemption using your Aeroplan miles on United Airlines, book today if you can…the prices will rise tomorrow (even if they do not on some flights, they will not drop in price) and my guess is that prices will rise exponentially on some routes with the outsized value of 6K short-haul economy or 60K transatlantic business class redemptions no more than a vestige of the past.
400k business class award levels? At that cost, miles are garbage and collected only because you fly anyway.
If earned by credit card use, that is $400,000 spending, which could earn $8,000 in a cash back card.
Don’t forget about Canadian North! Altho niche, those prices are expensive with cash but 10k miles
frequent flyer hamster wheel goes round n round …..
@Matthew, now that we have seen the updates (and they are bad) perhaps you’d like to reflect on the silliness of your ‘boycott’ of lifemiles? In fact, the aeroplan changes are much worse…
Nope. Aeroplan gave us notice. As bad as the changes are, no notice is the cardinal sin.