How to pick the best travel rewards program and get the most out of it

Starting in April, Aeroplan members will be able to use their points to cover the taxes, fees and surcharges associated with their bookings.

The move follows a series of horror stories surrounding surcharges including a Nova Scotia man’s complaint that the Air Canada-run loyalty program charged him an additional $800 in fees after he spent 75,000 points on a flight from Halifax to England.

“A lot of people when they’re redeeming their miles think ‘okay, I’m going to get a free trip’… but when they try to book it and get hit with those charges they’re really ticked off,” says Jeffrey Kwok, a travel agent and blogger behind Canadian Kilometers. “I think this might be something (Aeroplan) is doing to improve that public perception that they have.”

Aeroplan has a policy where collectors must earn or redeem at least one mile a year to keep an account active. Air Miles, which competes with Aeroplan, has taken a harder edge. As of Dec. 31, 2016, points older than five years will begin to expire.

But not all programs seem like they’re pushing members to use up points or lose them, nor do they carry such tight stipulations, says Kwok.

“Other programs like RBC Avion, Aventura and Amex, which just launched a program, let you use your points to pay completely for the ticket,” says the travel point expert. “They have that advantage of being able to purchase a ticket on any airline, for whatever flight you want with no black-out dates.”

Plan your trip and your points

Kwok says the key to getting the most out of your points is to take up long-term planning surrounding how you gather loyalty points.

“If you want to plan a trip to Europe, Aeroplan is probably going to be your best option so you want to be using an Aeroplan credit card – earning points with that card while out shopping, renting a car or staying in hotels,” says Kwok.

You should familiarize yourself with the airlines and flights under Aeroplan that have high taxes.

“Really centre and direct your focus towards a specific redemption,” he says. “A lot of people, they have lots of credit cards and collect lots of different kind of points but they don’t have enough in any one of those programs to go anywhere.”

Read the fine print

Before focusing your efforts on a specific loyalty plan or travel rewards card, find out if there are blackout periods or hidden charges that could end up hurting your wallet down the road.

Some travel reward credit cards will let you purchase a cheap flight on Expedia or through another platform then use the points to “wipe” the charges off your cards. Others, like RBC, require you to book through their own travel agency if you want to weigh your options on flights.

“Some people like RBC because they have the fixed travel rewards – 25,000 or 30,000 points to go to Orlando, period,” says Kwok. “But if you find a really cheap ticket and want to redeem points, you’re (better) to charge it to something like a Capital One or Aventura card that will let you wipe off the charges.”

Stay organized

Kwok also recommends using some sort of third party storage platform like Points Loyalty Wallet or Award Wallet to keep track of your memberships.

“I’m tracking 62 different loyalty program accounts,” he says. “If you’re paranoid about security you can use the platforms to keep your information on your computer locally, rather than online in their database – I find it really useful.”