Mastering Aeroplan and Air Canada Status

Jenn: [00:00:00] Hi everyone and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. This week we are joined by Geoff from Abeam travel design to chat all things Aeroplan and Air Canada status.

So if you're just getting started collecting Aeroplan points and you're wondering what everything is meaning, and you're trying to figure out what is Air Canada status, this episode is for you. So welcome to the show, Geoff.

Geoff: Thanks for having me.

Jenn: Sweet. So tell us a little bit about you and your travel company, how you got into travel as a career.

Geoff: So I've been hooked on travel since I was probably in high school. The first trip that I made out of Canada was to Iceland uh, when I was a wee lad , And since then, I've, I, I guess you, the travel bug bit got me and I, um, I, you know, I started, I think our first trip was probably a cruise or an all-inclusive, and then we got more adventurous as time went on. And, , fast forward to I am older than 40. Uh, so before I took, when I turned 40 [00:01:00] in 23, my goal was 40 countries by 40. And, uh, so I, I rolled that, rolled the odometer over on that. Right, right. In time. But yeah, no, I've always been obsessed with travel. I've been, you know, um, someone who everybody comes to for advice on how do I, how do, like, how do I build this and how do I get there?

And how come you're flying in that business class seat and how, like, just all these things where people are curious and assuming that I'm not engaging in legal activity. So, uh, you know, a lot, a lot of that comes from, from my ability to navigate, uh, you know, points, programs like Aeroplan. But yeah, I had a, a bit of a, a. A career change of sorts. So some changes in my company that I was working for the fall and and then the opportunity presented to me to, uh, explore something I always wanted to do. So here I am. I started my own travel business, uh, officially on February 1st.

Meggan: Congratulations

Geoff: yeah, so it's, it's been a lot of fun working with people who are looking to scratch some countries off their own lists and explore their cultures and things like [00:02:00] that. So, yeah.

Jenn: Yeah. Amazing.

Meggan: Too, yeah, I used to be in travel. It was more corporate travel, so not as fun. But the thing about travel is, if it is leisure travel, is it's one of those businesses where people are generally happy, like people are generally excited. And I know things can go wrong, and you have to deal with all of that stuff as well, like that's sort of part of it too.

But I think it's really exciting when you are, you know, making people's dreams come true. So I guess I'd like to understand from your perspective, like what's your personal Aeroplan origin story? Like, you mentioned it yourself, like working with points and using points. Like, why did you decide to learn to master it? How did that part come about?

Geoff: I don't remember how it came about, but I do remember it was in 20, I think it was around 2018. There's a 2020 connection here. Uh, there always is all roads Point to to the All roads point to COVID-19.

Meggan: good

Geoff: but I remember getting like a, an alert that I had reached, I dunno, 25K, which is very basic. And I think at the time it was likely because I had a credit card and, you know, I'd flown on a few flights and paid for them and stuff. So then I was like, what's [00:03:00] this? So of course the dopamine hit of, you know, the, the little thing you get, uh, the reward. So then you know, I try, then I try started to actually look at the program. 'cause prior to that, what I was always doing is, I won't say it's a mistake because obviously people travel and spend within their means. But I was just booking everything on points. So I'd earn points for my credit card and I'd just book flights and like my account balance was always pretty low. Uh, and then I kind of clued in. I was like, wait a minute. So if I, so then I started doing the math, you know, uh, the ADHD brain, uh, started calculating. It was like, okay, so I could get higher status if I started paying for flights instead of booking everything on points. So then, yeah, it just kind of, and so next thing I think I was 35K in 2019, um, which qualified me for, for status in 2020, which was really great because.

Jenn: Yeah.

Geoff: Which was really great for my travels across Marine Atlantic,

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Geoff: with, within the old Atlantic bubble.

But, um, yeah, no, it was, [00:04:00] um, yeah, so 2020 was a bit bit strange. And then, uh, and then I kept, again, I kept snowballing in the last couple years and this year I am 75K. And it was really just I cracked the code, and then air Canada changed the Aeroplan program completely as of this January, making it a little bit more difficult, but, uh, still doable. Uh, you just gotta know all the tricks,

Jenn: Yeah. So as a teaser to maybe what's possible, what's the best redemption that you've made with, uh, Aeroplan points?

Geoff: So. I feel like the best redemption I made was a really long time ago, so it was very much on the old, it was on the old program, but like we flew to Australia, uh, 10 years ago in business class and we had enough points for it. It was, I, I don't remember exactly, I'm gonna say it was like about a hundred and. Maybe a hundred thousand points each and, uh, round trip to Australia in business class flying with, you know, Singapore Airlines and,

Meggan: Nice.

Geoff: uh, yeah. And Asiana. So like, that was really cool. You'd never get that now. [00:05:00] Um, well, you can, it's just, you gotta, you gotta know what you're looking for. And, and I've used some, some of these priority rewards that I've earned and gotten like last minute flights that would normally be like ridiculous point values for half price. So yeah, I mean those are probably two of my favorite things. But you know,

Meggan: Not bad choices at all. Um, so for someone maybe brand new to all of these terms, what is the difference between, , earning Aeroplan points and earning status with Air Canada? 'Cause I don't think that's something everyone probably knows about.

Geoff: So points get you rewards. So points are, you know, um, I'm trying to think of the best way to explain it. It's, it's just, uh, you, you basically can amount points and you can use 'em to buy you know, flights, or you could use 'em to buy, uh. A DVD, not a DVD player. Oh my God, I'm not that old. I swear.

Meggan: What

Geoff: Where the hell did that come from?

Meggan: 2020?

Geoff: A DVD player? Well, grandpa's gonna buy a DVD player out of his points.

Meggan: buy a Walkman with my points.

Geoff: Yeah. [00:06:00] Uh, if you want a record player, actually, yeah, you could get a record player. That's cool again.

Meggan: That's back.

Geoff: But you could, you could buy anything. You could buy a blender. You could buy headsets. You could buy gift cards.

You could do whatever you want with the points. The status they used to have it, it was like SQDs and SQCs and sq everythings, and they, they simplified it, uh, in a way because basically the old program used to be on how far you flew, and then it was those miles where how many you get towards status. Um, which was great because if you've, like I flew to Dubai, uh, last year, the year before, and I flew somewhere else.

So the total miles were crazy, but now it goes by the dollars you spend. So they just basically took out, 'cause before you used to have to have, um, a certain amount of miles and a certain amount of spending and a certain jib in your walk. Like it was very, they had a very, uh, weird system and it was very hard for people to understand.

So they simplified the program essentially, um, and got rid of all of the sqs and scs and all those things. And now it's [00:07:00] just status qualifying credits. So basically if you spend a thousand dollars on a flight, probably $250 we'll say is taxes and fees. So you get 750 SQCs towards your status. So that's kinda how it works.

Jenn: Okay. Yeah, that is.

Geoff: And it's multiple, and it's, and it's, but it's multiplied by four, I should clarify that. So it's the dollar value multiplied by four.

Jenn: Gotcha. Yeah, that's much easier than the Miles Plus like it was super confusing to be like,

Geoff: Yeah. And,

Jenn: even mean?

Geoff: and when you take five years to figure it out and you're like, aha, I've mastered it. And it's like, aha, we've changed it. So yes, yes.

Jenn: Amazing. So tell us about your strategy for, uh, specifically Aeroplan points. Like do you have a strategy around building those up?

Geoff: Yes. Well actually it's both two in one, so. I have a credit card with, and I'm not employed by or, uh, sponsored by any, any affiliate with any of these companies, but I just happen to be with CIBC. But, [00:08:00] um, you can also get with another bank.

Jenn: TD is the one I have

Geoff: and Amer and American Express. So you can do, so there's different credit cards. Um, you know, a lot of people will nab the $120 one or the $99 one. There's good value in that. But the higher one, the Visa infinite privileges, um, or the Amex privilege, I guess a similar one. . It's anywhere, depends on the card between 600 and a little bit higher per year.

But if you work at the value of it, for every $5,000 you spend on that card, you actually get a thousand SQCs. So there's actually, you could actually earn 25K status without ever getting on an airplane. That's the only card you can do it with is that one. So there's, so there.

Meggan: The Amex?

Geoff: With, it's with the, with the higher costing one, the Aeroplan infinite privileges one.

Yeah. But the card also gives you like a ton of other things with Air Canada, um, free bags and, uh, you get unlimited lounges and things like that. So, you know, those are good, but towards [00:09:00] status, that's very helpful. So you, you, it's kind of a bit of a combination of flying as well as earning from their other partners. So. You know, it could be Uber if you're Ubering a lot of food or Ubering a lot of places you'll earn some, uh, Starbucks I think is one if you're, you know, if you shop there a lot and Aeroplan web store, like there's, there's a lot of other ways to earn points. But the credit card is definitely, uh, the main one.

And I think my strategy is to, hitch your wagon to one card and just put everything on it. It doesn't matter if it's a coffee, if it's whatever. I mean it, you know, depending on financial advice, I'm not, I'm not the guy for that. Uh, but I would say if you put everything on the card, all your expenses, uh, there's actually another one, uh, I think it's called Chexy, I believe.

Uh, and we've actually started paying our property taxes with Chexy. 'cause it's an Aeroplan promotion. So you basically use your credit card to pay for things that you can't normally pay your credit card for. So in some big cities, and, uh, you can, that allow you to pay rent with a credit card, for example, [00:10:00] you could, which is a thing.

Uh, you can also earn Aeroplan points just from your mortgage or from your rent.

Jenn: Yeah, think that's a really interesting, like underrated way to earn points, is to figure out ways to get things onto the credit card that like maybe wouldn't normally go on there and get those points. 'cause like if you're already spending the money, you might as well get the points, you know.

Geoff: That's how I feel, and that's how I justify a lot of high spending. I'm like, well, I mean it is expensive, but look how many points I'm gonna get.

Meggan: so that's your financial plan.

Geoff: Yeah, exactly. A friend of mine's a financial advisor and I'm gonna be doing some stuff with her and I don't know if she wants to do a podcast with me or something for her, um, social media, but we were talking about, about that and she's like, we need to, like, I want to talk about, you know, incorporating travel spending into a budget as part of like a household yearly budget. I'm like, let's, I'm not the right guy for that, but let's go for it.

Meggan: sure. Sure.

Geoff: Yeah.

Jenn: Amazing. Amazing. Yeah, I think it can be both. You can, you know, if you're already spending money on travel, [00:11:00] hope, you know, in theory, in a perfect world, you should already have the money to pay the credit card off. you know, that's, uh,

Geoff: Yes.

Jenn: not always how people work, but that is the ideal world sure.

Meggan: It is. Yeah

Jenn: Yeah.

Geoff: And just to add to that question, 'cause it's actually a really, a key part of it because before, if you flew a thousand miles, you got a thousand points. That was, it was pretty straightforward that way. So, you know, there's people who never will earn status and probably don't fly Air Canada a ton, but maybe that one time they look at their balance and there's like 6,000 points.

What am I gonna do with that? But the way it works now is once you have status, whatever the cost of the fare was, so say it's again, we'll use the thousand dollars ticket, so a thousand points if that was the fare. Uh, but if you have 25K status, you get 2000. So it's doubled. And if it's, it's three times for 35K, it's four times for 50 k, five times for 75, and it's six times for super elite.

So your points, it's like the richest getting richer. Like the, the higher status you have, the [00:12:00] more points you will have. So the more you fly, the more you get. Yeah.

Jenn: Interesting. Yeah, I

Geoff: Hmm.

Jenn: that is really interesting. And so like part of your strategy could be making sure that you fly Air Canada if possible, um, in order to like build up your status, which will then build your points.

Geoff: Yes, and also like fare matters. So flying, you know, a lot of people. Will, will choose the cheapest fare. And, and in, in selling travel, I've seen that a lot and, and I discourage people from doing it for many reasons. Because there's even a popup warning that says, are you sure you want this fare?

Like, we, we own your, like literally we own your soul if you choose this fare. And people are like, yes, it's cheap, but, but the.

Meggan: My soul is very cheap.

Geoff: Exactly. So if you're looking at a flight from Halifax to Vancouver, and it's gonna cost, you know, $300, uh, on basic, which is like, again, this the one where they own your soul, or you could go up to the standard fare, both give you no refunds, no changes.

And if [00:13:00] there is changes on standard, it's, it's expensive, but flex would give you like, you know, the complimentary changes, free seat selection, which, you know, probably $50 or more a bag. But you collect SQCs and you also collect points. If you go with the other ones, you don't or you, you will collect less on standard. Nothing on basic. So it's, it's, it's going with Flex makes, makes it, uh, that's the first one that you'll start earning, uh, the full, the full four points per dollar.

Meggan: Money to earn money, as they say.

Geoff: Hmm.

Meggan: there other underrated ways to earn points that people might overlook that you've not mentioned?

Geoff: I think those are probably the main, the main ones One thing a lot of people don't realize in terms of maximizing the way you use your points

Meggan: Oh.

Geoff: You can do family pooling, so for example, if, um, like I have one client and. The mom and dad travel a lot for work like they, one of them has super elite status and the other's, you know, [00:14:00] 50 or 75K. So they, they're doing a lot of traveling and they have two kids who travel with them. And the kids, uh, the kids are earning all these points as well. So if you go on a family trip for four of you are going to Florida for whatever, and you earn 2000 points and you know, your husband earns 2000 points and your kids each, so that's 8,000 points, which all two, you can't put 'em together, but if you're on a family pooling plan, your balance is 8,000. So like it's, it makes sense to, um, yeah. It's, it's a, a strange new form of child labor. It's like, I just need you for your points. Uh, but,

Meggan: And

Geoff: it is a good way though, for,

Jenn: Yeah.

Geoff: it's like my partner and I do that.

Like we, we have one balance and it, it, it makes it great because then we can book flights on the same itinerary and the same booking reference number and things like that.

Jenn: Oh yeah, that makes sense. Well, Meggan, there's a downside for not having kids. They,

Meggan: That's

Jenn: they're not, they're not racking up the points, but we also don't have to.

Meggan: One of the few, so I'm not gonna worry about it.

Jenn: Um, so on the flip side, what do you [00:15:00] look for when you are redeeming Aeroplan points? I know that there have like dynamic point pricing now, so do you have any strategies for redemptions?

Geoff: It's a tricky one. There's no real, I wouldn't say there's a real science to it in some ways. Uh, sometimes if you're booking really far in advance, you'll get a, a decent price because they'll just price flights really far out at a, you know, a, I guess what they estimate will be the, the going rate for flights into the future.

Um. And then sometimes last minute. Now, not everyone can go last minute, but if you are someone who's flexible in terms of like looking for a vacation, 'cause a lot of times I'm looking if I'm gonna redeem, redeem my points for flights. Sometimes I'm very flexible and I'll just have a bunch of destinations in mind and I'll just plug it in to see which ones will work.

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Geoff: and I do that for buying the tickets as well. So like that's a good, a good plan. Yeah. So I mean that, that's probably how I would [00:16:00] suggest people try to maximize it. if you are booking, um. Uh, on points sometimes, depending on what you wanna get out of your reward. Like if you want the ability to change things, sometimes it is worth going with a higher, um, higher reward and, and the Latitude fare.

That could be a whole other show. There's, it's what, I don't know if you guys have ever heard the term Latitude attitude, but there's very much a whole thing about, um, redeeming in Latitude or purchasing in Latitude in terms of getting free upgrades to business class. So there's. There's a lot of ways to do it, but I mean, again, I think flexibility is probably the number one, uh, number one thing and, and being a bit creative or open to things and stopovers, you know, no one wants to stop in 30 cities to get somewhere.

But, uh, when I went to Australia to get that a hundred thousand reward for business class, we went through New York City. And we didn't fly Air Canada because oftentimes points on a redemption with Air Canada, especially the international flights are more expensive than their partners. I don't really know [00:17:00] why, but you could probably fly, um, like Halifax to there's a couple European flights, not with Air Canada, but with one of their partners. Lufthansa has one, one of their operators into Germany.

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Geoff: might get a flight with them for cheaper than you'd actually get with Air Canada and strangely enough, I was looking at flights recently. It was, uh, St. John's where I am to The Bahamas, and there's a direct flight outta Halifax and I could fly for 18,000 points each way to Bahamas from St. John's. And I was get trying to get friends to join us and it was 35,000 to go from Halifax and it was the direct flight from Halifax and I had to connect with pal. Yeah. It made no sense. So

Meggan: Ugh!

Jenn: So, so frustrating, isn't it?

Meggan: goodness, that makes zero sense.

Jenn: Oh, weird.

Geoff: I know I was trying to get, then I said to my friend, I was like, well, you need to fly to St. John's and just start from here.

Jenn: Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Thanks

Geoff: No.

Jenn: Yeah,

Meggan: How do you know when a redemption's not worth it?

Geoff: I do the math on it. I think, [00:18:00] and it, it depends on when you're buying them, but I, I look sometimes at how much it would cost to buy points. Usually off the top of my head, and I could be wrong, and your listeners are gonna be like, Hey, totally wrong. I think it's like 3 cents a mile, roughly. So I will work out what it would cost. If, if a flight is gonna be 25,000 points, I will look to see, well, what is 20? You know, do the back backtrack and it, it almost, in most cases, it almost is exactly the same price if you bought the ticket. Like, in terms of the value, but when you see something that seems really high, I just say, no, I'm just gonna buy. Uh, like for me, I will use a redemption only for like St. John's to Halifax because it's, it's such an inexpensive flight. I wouldn't earn anything anyway. But if I was flying somewhere further, I would, uh, I would use points. And in the old system it was about miles, so I would never redeem miles, uh, for flights that were overseas.

Jenn: So let's talk about, uh, let's break down Air Canada status. So, you mentioned, I think [00:19:00] different tiers of the status. So what are they, like, what does it mean?

Geoff: So they go 25, 35, 50, 75 and Super Elite. So 25 and 35 are kind of the first two. You know, pillars 25 is fairly common. Uh, it's easy to get with a credit card, you know, if you do a little bit of work travel, but not a ton. Some you probably just end up getting that anyway. So you need 25,000 SQCs. So if you were to do the backwards math on that, you would need to spend with Air Canada.

I'm using my trustee abacus because of course I only look, think of DVD players. So, uh, 25,000 divided by four, it would mean you spent $6,250 on the fares for the year.

Meggan: Mm.

Geoff: But you can combine it. So maybe you spent $4,000 on fares and then some was from credit card stuff. So like it 25 is actually pretty easy to get. You do get your two free check bags, which is great. You get five E upgrades, uh, which you can use [00:20:00] and you get, um, priority lines at the airport and for check-ins, zone two, like those kinds of things. Same with 35. You do get, um, lounge passes with 35, you get a, I believe it's two to use.

Um, but the real magic I think is when you hit 50, 50, 75 and sup super elites in its own category, but 50 and 75 give you star, alliance gold. So basically, you like at 50 k you get unlimited maple leaf lounge. And I mean, I love that. I think it's the best perk of status. And especially in Halifax, when the new lounge opens, it's gonna be incredible.

Meggan: Yeah.

Geoff: but you get to use a gold lounge anywhere in the world. So like we went lounge hopping at Frankfurt a few months ago and which was crazy because there was pe We went to the first class lounge because the first class lounge is open to first class passengers or people with gold status. But if you were a business class passenger, even on Air Canada, you don't get to go into the first class lounge.

So I was [00:21:00] flying on a latitude ticket. I was upgraded, but I was flying on a latitude ticket. Uh, and I got in because I had 75K and, and people were being turned away who were business class. So it is huge perk, basically you hundreds of lounges around the world to use, and you can come in and out of them, which is really cool.

You also get arrival perk. So if you're traveling, uh, and for work for example, and you want to grab a quick coffee or grab a quick breakfast before you leave the airport, if you have 50 K or higher, you can go into the lounge on arrival. Which you can't do on any other. Yeah, it's, it's a gold status perk, and I've used that at Pearson a ton. Um, think, think of traveling to Toronto for work. You could actually go to that lounge and grab a shower and get breakfast and, and change and then go to your, your meetings. And it's all just part of being, uh, gold status.

Meggan: Sounds

Geoff: So that's,

Meggan: got latitude attitude if, if I could say, Geoff.

Geoff: I listen, I will tell you if you've, if you've ever used the showers at the Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto, Pearson. You know what I'm talking about. 'cause they're amazing.

Meggan: Oh,

Geoff: Um, [00:22:00] yeah, it's a really, it's really, really bougie. Um,

Meggan: I wouldn't have thought that.

Geoff: But yeah, and then I know, no, no, I, the, the, the ones in the, uh, air Canada lounge are really nice. They're like a, like a five star hotel kind of shower. Like these

Meggan: like maybe a

Geoff: Yeah,

Meggan: I should've showered.

Geoff: you just ask at the front and they'll give you a key and set you up. Um, and then the, yeah, so 50 K is like 50 and 75. Both have some different perks. Basically, the higher you go, the higher you are in line, uh, or you know, for, for quick access for things, for the call centers, uh, for rebooking, all those things.

So the higher you can get, the better. But, uh, the, one of the things is different with 75 is you get these priority rewards. So in all the tiers, you earn priority rewards based on how many points you earn. They basically give you 50% off a point redemption. So if you're booking a flight that's a hundred thousand points from Halifax to Vancouver, you have a priority award. It's only 50, so [00:23:00] that's great, but when you go higher up. Lets you like, so 50 lets you use for an economy, uh, anywhere in North America. Uh, but once you hit 75, you can use up to premium economy anywhere in the world.

Jenn: Hello.

Geoff: So I have two priority rewards. So if I wanted to book a ticket to Australia and it was 500,000 points each, I could get both for 500,000.

Meggan: points.

Geoff: rewards and, and that's premium. And, and you'd probably get upgraded to business class because a premium economy ticket's the first to get upgraded. So, um, yeah. So there's, it's kind of like these little ins and outs, but I think for the people listening, if you're gonna aim for anything, I mean aim as high as you can, but like, you don't need to go on a, you know, a mileage run or a spending spree just to get to 75. If you hit 50, I think you're fine. Um, super elite is not really something that's easy to just wake up and say, I'm gonna be su Yeah, it's, it used to be a, I'll [00:24:00] say a little, a little easier, but they changed it because really, if you think about it.

Um, if, if I, if my company sends me to Tokyo five times a year, I could probably be super elite just because of how many miles that is. But the, the cost of how much money that maybe that w. air Canada made for me wouldn't be as much as it would be from the business traveler who goes, uh, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax to Washington like 50 times a month for work. And because it's not Miles, they're never earning enough miles 'cause they're not going very far. But the cost of those tickets are adding up and they're spending more than some people who are going long haul. So Super Elite is, um. You know, it's one of those like secret societies. If anyone's listening, it's like, what the heck is that?

It's like, we're not really allowed to tell you. It's, you know, it's, um, fight club rules, but essentially it's, it's the top 1% of all travelers. Uh, they have, uh, concierge, so I don't know if you guys knew this, but like, if you're super elite as soon as you book a ticket, then the concierge team is aware that you are flying somewhere and then they track it and they'll [00:25:00] proactively reach out to you if there's. Uh, incoming weather. Um, they, they're like the, the doers of anything you can. It.

Meggan: We would not know this, Geoff,

Jenn: Yeah.

Geoff: No. Like they are, like, you will get, like, if you don't have to call into anybody, you just email or call like a concierge line. Uh, and someone who's assigned to you who just deals with stuff. It's, it's, it's a whole other level.

Meggan: Nice.

Geoff: And even if you think about business class, like at the lineup in Halifax. There's a business class line. There's a super, but there's a super elite. So the people who are traveling in super elite, they aren't, not even in business class. They get to go ahead of business class. It's because they, they do get, uh, some extra perks. They also get zone one forever when they're flying. So, um, yeah.

Meggan: Mm,

Geoff: Yep. Good

Jenn: Oh, that's, that's how the 1%

Geoff: for them.

Jenn: Yeah. I don't,

Geoff: Yeah. The other 1%,

Meggan: ha- so happy for them.

Geoff: yeah.

Jenn: I.

Geoff: But you know what's funny though, is the people I've talked to, I have a couple of clients who are super elite and I've said to them, I'm like, oh, you're [00:26:00] super elite. And the response I get from them is like, you can have it because I have super elite because of how much traveling I have to do for work. Like in most cases, like a friend of mine was in Germany like for two days this week for, um, for a conference. And like, he didn't wanna go across the world for two days. I mean, you know, but he does it 'cause he is like, yes, points also work, but like it's, yeah.

Jenn: yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, they're not traveling just for fun at that point where usually,

Geoff: I mean, it still sounds fun to me, but yeah,

Meggan: I would deal, but yeah, I get it.

Geoff: woe is me.

Jenn: Yeah, exactly. Are there other, um, really like valuable benefits of having status that we haven't chatted about already?

Geoff: Honestly, I think the lounge is the best. Um, I. The lounge is my, one of my favorite parts of traveling, to be honest. It really is the e upgrade system. If you've mastered that, which is its own masterclass to be able to like the. You [00:27:00] know, um, in terms of, not a redemption, but in how I've navigated this. So I booked, so I had a companion pass. So part of the credit card that the, the, uh, infinite privilege is one. It gives you an annual companion pass. So, you know, $99 you get, your second person can go on the same flight you're going on, within. Canada, US and then I think it's $299 for like Hawaii, sun, those places. And then $499 for Europe, uh, and beyond.

So I booked, uh, a flight to Dubai. I paid, I. Uh, I'm gonna say $4,800 for one in economy, but I booked latitude and people I've told this to were like, you're insane. 'cause like you could probably do that for $2,100. I said, yes. Both of us could go for 20, you know, 2200 bucks each would've cost about $4,500.

But I booked one in Latitude, which cost the price of the two. The second one got to go for minimal. We both were on a latitude fare at that point. We [00:28:00] both at the time, because it was LA a year before last got I think that redemption just earning alone. We got 50,000 aero plan points for that flight for two of us round trip.

And because we booked on latitude, we used 10 e upgrade credits and got business classes. So we had pods the whole way. To, Dubai and back, and the ticket cost for that was $14,000 per person. So I think we did okay with it. And I think that that's, that's the, that's the way you can kind of get smart with using it.

'cause I've had, I've had friends who will buy me a beer and be like, okay, we have questions about points. How do we get status? It's like, I, you, you were in a bed flying across the world. How do I do that? I'm like, well, again, I'm not doing anything illegal. I just have mastered. I've nerded out a bit. And, um, that, so that's definitely the thing.

The lounges, again, lounge, lounge, lounge. Just the peace of getting away from the insanity and like just weirdos wandering around an airport. It's, it's, it's worth its weight and gold. Um, when you call in, like, [00:29:00] so if you're, if you're just one of those people that's stuck because, you know, weather and things like that, and you call in, it's like their current hold time is five years and 32 minutes.

Uh, when you, when you do call in. The calls are sorted by priority, so it's not necessary. It's sorted by when you call in, but then it's, it's, I think it's actually sorted really by priority when you call in. So if you have no status and just call in, you might be waiting a lot longer. And for those people listening who are like, this is horrible, and this sounds crazy.

It's not though because people who are flying more, uh, are spending a lot more, and it's, it's not about being, I mean, it is a privilege, but it's not a privilege you get because of who you are. You get it because you get it because you're spending a lot more, and you're, it's basically, it's, it's an airlines or a business's way of kind of thanking people for their, you know. It's their business. Uh, so you will, so you will get it through. Like I've called in before with my friend next to me trying to get ahold of [00:30:00] something and I literally like, let me just call in and I punch in my number and it's like, thank you for being seven. And then it's just like literally, hello. So, so that's huge. Plus the lineup

Meggan: next time that happens to me. Let me

Geoff: also

Meggan: friend Geoff.

Geoff: and zone two, like zone two is also absolutely amazing. Apparently there are other zones beyond that. I've never been in one, but apparently there are.

Meggan: It's

Jenn: I mean,

Geoff: kidding.

Jenn: it is rough out there. I think I was zone five last time I flew. That

Geoff: Yeah. There's the 22 minutes ski of like now boarding zone 10.

Jenn: yeah, you're like. Am I ever gonna get on this plane? They're just gonna put me on the, on the top and fly away without, with me up there is how it felt that time.

Meggan: That is right.

Jenn: Yeah. So maybe can you give our listeners one like homework item that they can do to start earning or learning more about Aeroplan and Air Air Canada [00:31:00] status?

Geoff: . Look at the credit card you currently have, and just because you're loyal to the bank, you have like maybe the card's not getting you anything. So maybe you have a free card, but you're getting nothing back out of it. Right. So may, so maybe look at, that's the first thing is just size it up. You know, you can go with an Aeroplan credit card with one of the banks for, you know, a hundred or 120 or whatever the case is.

So maybe look at those and see, and, and for people who will immediately snub this and say, I'm not paying anything for credit. Well, you know, for. You know, uh, 50 bucks a month if you travel enough, I, I get free bags on every single flight I'm on. I get, I earn points for everything. Uh, so I get free flights. I get a unlimited maple leaf lounge, which is, you know, $50 a visit. So it kind of pays for itself even with the 99 or the 120 or whatever, whatever cost in card it is. If you and your partner say, fly round trip somewhere, that's $200 in bags. So the card just paid for itself. So if you take two trips a [00:32:00] year, that's $400.

Like, it's, it's one of those things where I almost don't want people to figure it out because I feel like the more people figure it out, the price is gonna go up, but get the frigging card. It's like, it's really good. So that's number one is see what, see what you're actually getting from it. And if you're not, then like do some research. Look at, look at the cards that give you something and not ones that, um, like I know people have ones that give, they say. Especially in Newfoundland is that people are like, oh, well my card let me fly on any airline. I'm like, and what airlines are you flying on? It's really Air Canada out of Newfoundland.

So especially on the East Coast. I mean, we do have options, but Air Canada's the, probably the more, the largest network. Uh, I think, and I'm not employed by Air Canada. I wish I was, but, uh, I, I'm very loyal to them. I think I always say they're the. The most ev like of all, there's some airlines who are really good and some who are really good is like, they're the most averagely, mediocre. Like they're perfect. I have no complaints. So I, I really enjoy, and I do, I do, I do like Air Canada, but that's, that's the homework. Um, the tip that they have to [00:33:00] take from this. If, if nothing else besides booking travel with me, which would be great,

Meggan: Right.

Geoff: Is really is book flex. Stop looking at like, don't like. Flight's, $602 versus $709. It's like, oh, I gotta go like, no. Like what do you get for it? Like literally, I've had people book a, a standard ticket and come to me and like, I gotta pay for bags and seat selections. Like, yeah. And now you're paying more than you want. You went with Flex, so

Jenn: Yeah.

Geoff: doing?

Jenn: Yeah,

Geoff: Yeah.

Jenn: have to do that math. And on the credit card thing, I think that a lot of people don't realize that they can apply for a credit card with a bank that they're not already with. So obviously once you get a card, you like create an account, but, um, I have a credit card with a bank that like the only thing I have with them is that credit card.

And so I just pay it from my main bank account that I use, um, every day and just do it as a bill payment to that credit card. So it's, we're not asking you to go [00:34:00] open up a whole new like banking account system at another bank. You can just apply for a credit card there and just use that product. Yeah.

Geoff: And, and there's actually another thing with Aeroplan points. Uh, I, the old rules were, unless they've changed 'em, but it's, if, if there's no activity, I think it's like 12 or 14 months or, or 12 or 24, um, you lose your balance. So there's people who log in, it's like, oh, I used to have points. It's like literally all you have to do is earn or spend points.

So. Gas stations, if you have one of these cards now, um, I think it's ultra,

Meggan: Yeah,

Geoff: uh, gives you, with the, with the journey rewards, you save three to 10 cents depending per liter just by using your CIBC card and you're earning Aeroplan points. So it's like, yeah,

Jenn: Yeah, and and gas be expensive these days, so.

Meggan: It do be.

Geoff: it, it do be doing that.

Meggan: Yeah, it do be. Indeed, indeed. Well, since you mentioned booking travel with you, where can our listeners find you online and [00:35:00] learn more about what you do with Abeam Travel?

Geoff: Well, you can follow me on social media at at Abeam travel and we didn't actually talk about what Abeam meant. You didn't ask me.

Meggan: Well, now's

Geoff: You skip the question and I'm gonna tell you in a way that everyone is gonna remember my handle 'cause it's not Abeam. It's Abeam, like Abeam of light.

Meggan: Mm.

Geoff: Abeam is an aviation term and it means alongside, so in, in air, in air traffic nerd terms, if it's like a plane is going Abeam, its route, it means it's alongside of the route that it's supposed to be.

And they use it in, um, in marine as well. So a boat is Abeam of another. So it was something that I thought was really cool because I was racking my head around what to call this business that was unique and different. The idea came to me. 'cause I was like, well, I wanna be alongside people for their journey, but like, like, not literally, unless they want to pay for me to come with them, that would be fun.

But So Abeam. So yeah, so it's Abeam travel, so, uh, [00:36:00] A-B-E-A-M travel and, uh, I'm on Instagram and you can look at some ridiculous reels of me, uh, being very being a character. Uh, and I'm also on Facebook. And uh, you can also visit my website, which is abbe with an m, travel design.ca.

Jenn: Awesome.

Meggan: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I know that our listeners are gonna find this very useful. Um, I certainly did, so thank you so much. Um, we

Geoff: My pleasure. I.

Meggan: it. Yeah. And as always, you can find the Travel Mug Podcast on social media as well. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook and YouTube at Travel Mug Podcast, our website travelmugpodcast.com.

You can leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. Uh, buy us a coffee. I mean, we're, we're thirsty, n- needing of caffeine girls. So you can do that, uh, through a link in our show notes. And until next time, bye everyone.

Jenn: Thanks, Geoff.

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