Do Aeroplan Points Expire? How to Keep Them Active

It’s a particularly pertinent time to discuss the expiration policy of Aeroplan points because the current pause on points expiry is slated to end on November 30, 2026. Like with Marriott, Aeroplan paused points expiry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aeroplan Expiration Rules

You must have activity in a rolling 18-month period; if not, your entire balance will expire, regardless of when you earned the points.

Air Canada will notify you by email up to 60 days before your points expire, so at least you should never be caught off guard.

Check Your Expiration Date

You can check the status of your Aeroplan points by scrolling to the Activity tab after logging in and seeing the last date of any activity (your points expire 18 months after).

You can also scroll down to see your points inactivity date.

Check your Aeroplan points expiry date (picture credit to Air Canada)

It will show member exempt if you fulfil a few conditions (more below).

For Some, Aeroplan Points Never Expire

For those most engaged with the Aeroplan program, Aeroplan points effectively never expire.

Being the primary cardholder of any Aeroplan co-branded credit card or having any Aeroplan Elite Status prevents your points from expiring. There are already plenty of reasons to hold an Aeroplan co-branded card, and this just adds to the list.

If you want to minimize out-of-pocket cost, holding the no-annual-fee CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is enough. I suspect most PMB readers are after a core or premium card for its Air Canada benefits, and you can learn here how to choose between them.

Don’t forget: Marriott Titanium Elite status members receive complimentary Aeroplan 25K status, and any Elite status will prevent your points from expiring. On the U.S. side, holding the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Card both provides automatic 25K Elite status and also prevents points from expiring.

Prevent Aeroplan Points From Expiring

To prevent Aeroplan points from expiring, you must have account activity within a rolling 18-month period.

Aeroplan defines these as any earning, redeeming, donating, transferring, or converting.

Prevent your Aeroplan points from expiring

Really any activity counts, so here are a few straightforward examples:

• Transferring Amex MR to Aeroplan
• Scan your Aeroplan card when shopping at LCBO
• Make a redemption
• Donate Aeroplan points to charity
• Using Aeroplan eStore

I’d recommend against making and cancelling a booking because, while it’s technically activity, it’s easy to see that no points were actually earned or redeemed, and there’s no reason to resort to that when definitely-qualifying activity is so easy to do.

If you’re in a Family Sharing program, redemptions by any member qualify because points are deducted from all individual accounts.

Get Points Back Even If Expired

Prevention is the best cure really applies here because the best way to preserve your Aeroplan balance is not letting it expire in the first place. But if it does, there are a few ways to get them back, at least within 6 months of expiry. After 6 months, you’re out of luck.

Reinstate expired Aeroplan points within 6 months

The most straightforward is to buy back expired points for a fee. Historically, that fee has been 1 cent per point plus a $30 administrative fee and applicable taxes, though I’d confirm the pricing once points expiry actually resumes. For a small balance, this may be worth it, but if hundreds of thousands of points expire, this could get expensive quickly.

The second way to reinstate your points is to take a flight with Air Canada within 6 months of expiry. In my opinion, this is the easiest option, since I don’t see a requirement that it be a cash booking, so you could book your next Aeroplan redemption on Air Canada.

Finally, the last way to reinstate expired points within 6 months is getting an Aeroplan credit card. If you have no upcoming Air Canada flights and you don’t want to pay 1 cent per point to reinstate a large balance, signing up for any Aeroplan co-branded credit card will do the trick, including the no-annual-fee CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card.

Takeaway