Yahoo Finance Air Canada's Aeroplan program ranked top in North America by rewards search platform
Air Canada's (AC.TO) Aeroplan program has been ranked the top North American airline loyalty program, according to a new analysis from a travel rewards search platform.
Point.me ranked 62 airline rewards programs across nine different categories. The airline programs selected were those that are accessible to U.S.-based travellers. The categories include ease of earning miles, redemption rates, availability on partner airlines, ease of booking, expanded availability on own airline, routing rules, ability to hold awards, customer service and change fees, with different weighting for each group. For example, ease of earning miles accounted for 25 per cent, while customer service quality accounted for five per cent of the total score.
Aeroplan's overall score came in at 77.43 per cent, making it the top-ranked rewards program in North America and the second best across all airlines, behind KLM and Air France's Flying Blue program, which had a score of 93.06. Point.me cites reward seat availability on partner airlines as one of the key benefits for the Aeroplan program, as well as its "extensive" global network and "generous routing."
Air Canada reacquired the Aeroplan loyalty program in 2019, revamping it in 2020, something that has given the airline an advantage when it comes to its in-house reward program, says Tiffany Funk, president and co-founder of Point.me.
"Air Canada had the opportunity to completely rebuild its loyalty program in 2020, and so it is the most modern of these programs and that is reflected in a lot of the benefits it is offering travellers," Funk said, pointing specifically to ease of earnings.
"They've also expanded their partnerships. Previously, they were really locked in with Star Alliance... but they've opened up more partnerships with airlines that are in other alliances."
Rival WestJet's loyalty program WestJet Rewards was ranked the 13th best among North American airlines. It also was among the best airlines when it comes to ease of booking.
Competition in the domestic airline space has ramped up in recent years in Canada, as has the pursuit of rewards customers. Last year, Porter Airlines tried to woo customers over from Air Canada's Aeroplan program, offering to match the loyalty status for Aeroplan Elite status customers in its VIPorter program.
But Funk says Aeroplan's advantage remains Air Canada's extensive international network.
"The international advantage, the route network and Star Alliance – that's definitely the big difference compared to WestJet Rewards or some of the other Canadian programs," Funk said. But she notes that each customer's needs and wants for rewards will be different.
"If you're back and forth between Calgary and Vancouver a lot, WestJet may be better for you... Everyone's situation will vary quite a bit."
Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.
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