Airline points: The 7 currencies easily accessible to Canadian travelers

Airline points are the best for those who want to get the most value from their rewards; the largest amount of free travel, that is. They’re the best for those who love good deals and want to get literally unlimited value! And you may already have some indirectly without knowing it!

Airline points are the best to redeem… but the best ones to get are actually bank points that are transferable to airline points. Many travelers have them without even knowing it… and often waste these precious points by using them so poorly, unfortunately.

Getting airline points directly is very good too, obviously. And it’s something you should also do. But transferable points simply give you more options and are therefore better for beginners, especially those who want to travel in business class for less!

Here is a teaser of airline points for Canadian travelers.

 

List of airline points for Canadians

I’ll go through them one by one below.

But here is first the complete list of 7 airline points that you can easily get thanks to Canadian credit cards. These 7 points allow you to book flights on 114 different airlines worldwide.

And you just need to have the best bank points to be able to get flights with these 114 airlines! That’s the beauty of transferable points!

Here are the 2 bank points transferable to airline programs:

• Amex points
  • Transferable to 6 programs
  • Allows booking on 114 airlines
• RBC Avion points
  • Transferable to 3 programs
  • Allows booking on 49 airlines

Here are the 4 airline points available directly AND through transfers:

• Air Canada Aeroplan points
  • Allows booking on 48 airlines
• British Airways Avios points
  • Allows booking on 33 airlines
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles
  • Allows booking on 36 airlines
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • Allows booking on 26 airlines

Here are the 3 airline points available only through transfers:

• American AAdvantage miles
  • Allows booking on 20 airlines
• Delta SkyMiles
  • Allows booking on 25 airlines
• Etihad Guest miles
  • Allows booking on 24 airlines

Without credit cards, you can also buy points from many other airlines, but it’s obviously not as good of a deal. I’ll do a detailed post about that, but there’s a good intro in the article about the last promo to buy Aeroplan points points.

Marriott Bonvoy points are also transferable to many airlines, but the transfer rate is terrible, and hotel redemptions are much better. I’ll talk about that separately soon, too.

Fianlly, I’ve also added Alaska Airlines miles below, because more experienced travelers may have had the defunct Alaska credit cards (and may still have remaining points) and because they are sometimes the best to buy if you really want to buy points instead of getting some way more easily.

 

Best airline points for Canadians

The best airline points for Canadians are Aeroplan points… but the best points to get to have airline points are Amex points.

They’re transferable to Aeroplan at a 1 to 1 ratio, and they are also transferable to 5 other airline programs, so it gives you even more options (without sacrificing anything).

RBC Avion points are excellent too, because they are transferable to 3 programs. But good redemptions are less numerous. So they’re not the easiest if you’re just starting — unless you’re super flexible.

You should have these, too, at least eventually. Especially since RBC’s welcome bonus eligibility rules are the most generous in Canada! Their card switching rules, too! Combining that with Aeroplan points is almost as good as Amex points!

Aeroplan points are excellent as mentioned, but there’s no advantage to limiting yourself to them instead of Amex points when you’re starting out, unless you absolutely want Visa cards or if you want travel benefits like free bags on Air Canada or access to Air Canada airport lounges (offered only by Aeroplan cards).

Avios points are definitely the best of the other airline points. It’s better to have them by transferring RBC Avion points, to keep Amex points for transferring to Aeroplan.

Asia Miles and Flying Blue miles are the others directly accessible with cards and are also very good, but with fewer good redemptions.

Finally, AAdvantage miles, Delta SkyMiles, and Etihad Guest are also good for only certain redemptions, partly because transfer rates from bank points are a bit less favorable.

 

Amex points

Amex points are the best points in Canada.

These are the points you earn with these 6 Canadian cards:

They are transferable to several airline programs (at varying transfer rates):

• Air Canada Aeroplan (1 to 1)
• British Airways Avios (1 to 1)
• Air France–KLM Flying Blue (1 to 0.75)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1 to 0.75)
• Delta SkyMiles (1 to 0.75)
• Etihad Guest (1 to 0.75)

Each of these programs is detailed below.

You can read our step-by-step article on how to transfer Amex points to partners or about the basics of transferable points.

 

RBC Avion points

RBC Avion points are the 2^nd best bank points in Canada.

These are the points you earn with these 5 Canadian cards:

Note one particularity: with the 2 cards that don’t have the word “Avion” in the name, you can only transfer points once you have a card that has the word “Avion” in the name (which you should definitely get).

They are transferable to several airline programs (at varying transfer rates):

• British Airways Avios (1 to 1)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1 to 1)
• American Airlines AAdvantage (1 to 0.7)
• WestJet Rewards (100 to 1)*

*I list it to be thorough here, but the WestJet Rewards program doesn’t give you the “real” good airline points with unlimited value.

Each of these programs is detailed below.

Every year, the RBC Avion program offers a 30% transfer bonus to the British Airways program!!! That gives you literally 30% more free travel, completely free and effortlessly! It’s one of the best deals around! We’ll let you know when it’s back if you sign up for our free newsletter specifically about travel rewards.

You can read our step-by-step article on how to transfer RBC Avion points to partners or about the basics of transferable points.

 

Aeroplan points (Air Canada)

Aeroplan points are the best airline points for Canadian travelers.

These are the points you earn with these 11 Canadian cards:

And also with the 6 cards that earn Amex points.

Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance airline alliance, so you can book flights on all member airlines.

But you have access to 48 airlines in total, because Aeroplan has several non-alliance partners too! Aeroplan actually has the most partners of any airline points program in the world!

 

Note that for United, Etihad, and domestic airlines, Aeroplan rules will change in March 2025.

With partner airlines, prices are guaranteed and fixed: they’re set by an award chart. This gives you an unlimited potential value! On Air Canada, it’s dynamic pricing. That said, you have access to so many partners, so it’s the best program.

I’ve redeemed points for dozens of flights, the highlight being the amazing business class on Turkish Airlines. Aeroplan also offers stopovers for just 5,000 points, meaning you get 2 destinations instead of just 1. And you can add a stopover on the outbound and inbound flights, a sweet spot we call the mini-round-the-world trip, with 3 destinations.

You can read our detailed guide on 40+ Aeroplan airline partners and on the basics of Aeroplan. And don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the Aeroplan program and the best Aeroplan sweet spots soon.

 

Avios points (British Airways)

Avios points are the 2^nd best airline points for Canadian travelers.

These are the points you earn with this Canadian card:

And also with the 5 cards that earn RBC Avion points:

You can also get some with the 6 cards that earn Amex points. Avios points are the easiest currency to earn, given the 1 to 1 transfer rate from both transferable bank points. But it’s better to keep the Amex points for Aeroplan and the other unique partners.

British Airways is part of the oneworld airline alliance, so you can book flights on all member airlines.

But Avios is very unique: you can also transfer Avios points between several airline programs that all use Avios points as their rewards currency. That’s because British Airways’ parent company owns stakes in Qatar Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Aer Lingus, and Vueling.

This means that, in total, you have access to 33 airlines. But you can actually get them at different prices, with different rules, and with different availability. All within the various Avios programs. It’s really unique.

 

The peculiarity is that you have to have had your account for at least 90 days to access some of the other programs that use Avios points. So go and create them right away, it’s obviously free and it only takes a few minutes! We will soon be updating our free cheat sheet on the best rewards programs for Canadians (download it now to automatically receive the new version).

Avios points are governed by award charts, too, giving you a lot of potential value.

If you persevere and get to grips with the complexity of this program, you can get some great deals. My 12-hour flight in the best business class in the world was booked with Avios points. I have also made my best points redemption in economy class ever thanks to Avios points.

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the Avios program and the best Avios sweet spots soon.

 

Flying Blue miles (Air France-KLM)

Flying Blue miles are airline points that can be very good for some specific redemptions, particularly to Europe.

These are the points you earn with this Canadian card (no welcome bonus right now, so obviously not the time to get it):

And also with the 6 cards that earn Amex points:

Air France and KLM are part of the 3^rd of the 3 airline alliances, SkyTeam. So you can book flights on all member airlines.

You have access to 36 airlines in total because there are a few non-alliance partners. One that’s very interesting for Canadians is WestJet (which will include Sunwing starting in May 2025).

 

The biggest downside to Flying Blue miles is that there is no award chart. They use dynamic pricing only. The upside to that is that more seats are available, but at a higher rate (like on Air Canada with Aeroplan). That said, the lowest-priced available seats are still often great value, especially for transatlantic flights.

Flying Blue also has 6 non-alliance partners that are inaccessible with any of the other 6 airline points currencies for Canadians (but which are very niche, like Winair to travel between Caribbean islands).

One of the great sweet spots is flying direct to Paris in business class for just 50,000 Flying Blue miles one-way (so 66,667 Amex points).

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the Flying Blue program and the best Flying Blue sweet spots soon.

 

Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific)

Asia Miles are airline points that can be very good for some specific redemptions.

These are the points you earn with this Canadian card (NOT available in Québec):

And also with the 5 cards that earn RBC Avion points:

You can also get some with the 6 cards that earn Amex points. But the transfer rate is better with RBC Avion (and in any case, it’s better to keep Amex points for Aeroplan and the programs that are unique to that currency).

Cathay Pacific is part of the oneworld airline alliance, so you can book flights on all member airlines. The non-alliance partners aren’t really that unique, though.

 

Prices are also governed by an award chart, which is great. They aren’t often better than with Avios points, but it happens on some specific routes. So it’s obviously worth comparing, like with everything!

This is particularly true for flights on Cathay Pacific directly, one of the best airlines in the world. For just 42,000 Asia Miles one-way, you can fly from Toronto to Southeast Asia in economy.

But above all, the Asia Miles calendar opens earlier, so you can book certain seats in advance! Finally, Asia Miles also has a sweet spot that allows you to book a round-the-world trip at a very good price. For 210,000 Asia Miles, you’ll fly in luxurious business class all over the world with 5 stops. It’s very good in economy class, too, at 130,000 Asia Miles.

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the Asia Miles program and the best Asia Miles sweet spots soon.

 

AAdvantage miles (American Airlines)

AAdvantage miles are airline points that can be very good for some specific redemptions, but there are fewer of them because of the lower transfer rate.

These are the points you can earn via the 5 cards that earn RBC Avion points.

American Airlines is also part of the oneworld airline alliance, so you can book flights on all member airlines.

You have access to 20 airlines in total, thanks to non-alliance partners. None are unique ones that aren’t accessible with other points, but for some, AAdvantage is the best option (and not just for the price).

 

AAdvantage is good because flights with partners are governed by a price table. Because of the lower transfer rate, it’s rarely better than with Avios points. But it happens on some specific routes, so it’s certainly still worth comparing!

As is the case with many programs, AAdvantage has access to more available seats than other programs with certain partners. It happens, because of special closer partnerships between certain airlines.

I got a great deal on a GOL redemption that wasn’t available through Aeroplan (even if GOL is an Aeroplan partner) and a great deal on an Alaska redemption that wasn’t available through Avios (even if Alaska is an Avios partner). Both cost me just 7,500 AAdvantage miles one-way!!! That’s just 10,714 RBC Avion points to save several hundred dollars in both cases.

Finally, Etihad is one of the world’s most aspirational airlines. Their first class “seat” gives you 3 separate rooms, including a private shower room just for you. AAdvantage is often the best option to book it for less.

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the AAdvantage program and the best AAdvantage sweet spots soon.

 

Delta SkyMiles

Delta SkyMiles are airline points that can also be very good for some specific redemptions, but like the other SkyTeam option, they are governed entirely by dynamic pricing, unfortunately.

These are the points you can earn via the 6 cards that earn Amex points.

Delta is part of the SkyTeam airline alliance, so you can book flights on all member airlines.

You have access to 25 airlines in total, thanks to non-alliance partners. 

 

SkyMiles miles are referred to as SkyPesos because they are often not worth much. But sometimes, there can be good redemptions. They are almost always exclusively for partners, but currently we have spotted flights from Vancouver to Asia for just 22,000 SkyMiles one-way (so 29,333 Amex points), or 30,000 from other cities in Canada (40,000 Amex points).

That’s not so bad! That’s cheaper than many domestic flights in points! It’s just that this kind of good redemption is rarer with SkyMiles compared to other points. And above all, there is no predictability and no transparency because there are no award charts.

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the SkyMiles program and the best SkyMiles sweet spots soon.

 

Etihad Guest miles

Etihad Guest miles are airline points that rarely give you good redemptions.

These are the points you can earn via the 6 cards that earn Amex points.

Etihad is not part of any alliance, so this is one of the only ways to get flights on this highly-rated airline (along with AAdvantage I just mentioned). In fact, their premium cabin seats are only released to their own program at first, so you get a lot more available seats (they are available with AAdvantage the month before departure, if any are left).

They also have 23 partner airlines. Most are in alliances and are not a particularly good redemption with Etihad Guest, but there are a few more unique ones like Hainan Airlines, El Al, and jetBlue.

 

Etihad Guest has an award chart for fixed pricing, which is great. Prices aren’t particularly attractive, though. Add the lower transfer rate… it’s not often a great redemption.

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the Etihad Guest program and the best Etihad Guest sweet spots soon.

 

Alaska Airlines miles

Alaska Airlines miles are airline points that can be very good for some specific redemptions.

They are no longer accessible with Canadian credit cards but I include them in case you followed our recommendation to get the Alaska Airlines cards before they disappeared.

Alaska Airlines is also part of the oneworld airline alliance, so you can book flights on all member airlines.

You have access to 29 airlines in total, thanks to non-alliance partners. 

 

One that’s very interesting for Canadians is Porter (coming in 2025). Condor and Icelandair are other unique ones that have many Canadian routes. STARLUX is a new very premium airline that also isn’t a partner with any of the 7 airline points that are easily accessible to Canadians.

On many routes, Alaska miles are great. Too bad they’re no longer easy to earn.

Don’t miss our revamped ultimate guide to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program and the best Alaska miles sweet spots soon.

 

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Summary

Airline points are the ones that can give you the best value, both in economy class and in business class. A more simple way to earn them is to have the 2 best bank points currencies in Canada, which are transferable to 7 airline points that can give you unlimited value!

 

What would you like to know about airline points? Tell us in the comments below.

 

See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights

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Featured image: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (photo credit: Elizeu Dias)

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