An ominous note on Air Canada's website reads like this: As of June 1, 2026, we're making a few changes to the number of points you may need to redeem for a reward.
That's right. Air Canada Aeroplan is hitting us with a dreaded devaluation – making it more expensive to book many of the same flights using points and miles, even though a few redemptions did go down in price.
The notice and expected changes were posted to Air Canada's points predictor tool page, where you can find all the exact changes. And while the changes are small and not as painful as other devaluations we've seen from airline programs over the past several years, they're still going to hurt some travelers a little bit. And maybe most importantly, they didn't announce anything about upping taxes and fees.
The worst of the changes came to partner award bookings, which is really the bread and butter of Aeroplan's program for U.S. travelers, especially. Also, travelers flying long-haul in business or first class will see the largest price increases.
The Worst of It
Here are some notable increases in award pricing set to go on sale June 1.
- Business class flights to Europe on Star Alliance partners are going from 70,000 to 75,000 miles each way for flights between 4,000 and 6,000 miles in length. (think Austrian, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, and more)
- First class flights to Europe will jump from 100,000 to 120,000 miles each way, including the famous Lufthansa First Class.
- Long-haul flights to Asia from North America will rise between 8% and 13%, making 75,000-mile redemptions in business class 85,000 miles.
- The sweet spot between Europe and Asia is gone: Nearly all partner award flights between the two continents will go up in price. Business Class flights will go from 60,000 miles each way to either 80,000 or 100,000, depending on the length of the flight. Economy awards will also go from 30,000 to 40,000 and first class flights will jump from 100,000 to 130,000. These increases range between 30% and 67%!
- The longest Intra-Asia partner awards will also shoot up, bringing business class flights from 45,000 to 52,500 miles or from 60,000 to 72,500 miles, depending on the length. Economy flights will go from 12,500 miles to 15,000 miles, too.
- The longest Intra-Europe partner awards rise, too: Economy awards will jump from 12,500 miles to 15,000 miles, and the longest business class awards will jump from 60,000 to 70,000 miles each way.
Thrifty Tip: Use Great Circle Mapper to calculate the length of your flight. Just put in the two airport codes separated by a hyphen (i.e., ORD-ZRH) and the calculator will spit out your mileage.
Silver Linings
If you're looking for good news, it's mostly about what didn't change and a few price drops, too!
- The business class partner award flights from Boston (BOS) and New York (JFK) will stay the same at 60,000 points each way, as will west coast flights at 90,000 points.
- The shortest economy flights to Europe will get 7% cheaper, going from 35,000 to 32,500 points on June 1.
- Most Intra-Europe business class partner awards will also get meaningfully cheaper, with the shortest flights going from 15,000 to 12,500 miles and the mid-range going from 25,000 to 22,500 miles each way.
Bottom Line
Air Canada is changing the prices of many of its flights bookable through Aeroplan, and while most of the changes are minor, they'll hit some travelers harder than others.
So while partner awards and long-haul business and first class flights got hit hardest, short-haul economy flights will actually get cheaper in these changes that go into effect June 1.
Overall, however, the sweet spots in Air Canada's program are shrinking. This is certainly a devaluation and bad news for travelers.
