This is major news that was just announced this morning. There’s a new partnership between Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada Aeroplan. I’ll have a much more detailed post later, but I want to at least share the basics of this excellent development.
Here are the essentials.
Marriott Bonvoy and Aeroplan partnership
The best hotel rewards program for Canadians and the best airline rewards program for Canadians are now partners.
It’s great news for travelers with high-level elite status in either program (don’t miss our complete guide on elite status soon).
Here are the 3 main aspects of the Marriott Bonvoy and Aeroplan partnership:
- Marriott Titanium and Ambassador members now get automatic Aeroplan 25K elite status
- Aeroplan 50K, 75K, and Super Elite members now get automatic Marriott Gold elite status
- Aeroplan points can now be transferred to Marriott (we strongly recommend against this)
You can already link your accounts to get the matching status!
I’ll have a lot more on this soon. In the meantime, here’s a short analysis of the 3 aspects.
Aeroplan status for Marriott elites
The new Titanium benefit is amazing, as it’s great to get another path to airline elite status.
Airline elite status is much harder to attain than hotel elite status. My Marriott Titanium status already gives me United Silver elite status, a benefit I absolutely love, and it’s great to see the same thing now available with Air Canada!
The 2 alternatives to get Aeroplan 25K status are:
- Earn 100,000 Aeroplan points (welcome bonuses and Amex transfers excluded)
- Spend $3,000 on Air Canada (taxes excluded) AND fly either 25 segments or 25,000 miles
It’s so much easier to just reach Marriott Titanium status instead, assuming you travel a lot. If you don’t travel a lot… you don’t really need airline status anyway.
Marriott status for Aeroplan elites
The Aeroplan to Marriott match is good too, although it’s not as hard to get Marriott Gold elite status.
The 3 alternatives to get Marriott Bonvoy Gold are:
- Staying 25 nights if you don’t have the only card every Canadian traveler should have
- Staying just 10 nights if you have the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card or Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card
- No stays required if you have the American Express Platinum Card or American Express Business Platinum Card
Aeroplan points transfers
The last part of the partnership is a new option to transfer Aeroplan points to Marriott Bonvoy points at a 1-to-1 transfer rate.
That’s really not good, as are almost all points transfers that don’t involve bank points. You can read our post about the Marriott Bonvoy to Aeroplan transfer bonus to learn more about that.
You can already transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Aeroplan (and dozens of other airlines) at a rate of 3-to-1 (or 60,000-to-25,000), which is a bit better in terms of rate… but still not recommended at all. You lose ≈ 40% in value from Aeroplan to Marriott and “just” ≈ 31% from Marriott to Aeroplan.
Learning how to travel for less
Join over 100,000 savvy Canadian travelers who already receive Flytrippers’ free newsletter so we can help you travel for less — including thanks to the wonderful world of travel rewards!
Summary
Travelers with elite status in the Marriott Bonvoy or Air Canada Aeroplan programs can now get automatic status in the other thanks to this great new partnership between 2 of the best travel rewards programs for Canadians! More info to come soon.
What would you like to know about the Marriott Bonvoy and Aeroplan partnership? Tell us in the comments below.
See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights
Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards
Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration
Learn pro tricks: Travel tips
Featured image: Sibu Island, Malaysia (photo credit: Louis Gan)
