Wow! Air Canada Offering 50% Rebate On Award Flights

Air Canada has definitely been making some noise lately.  We should expect to hear announcements soon about their new loyalty program, but they’re still busy ahead of releasing those details.  Just a few weeks ago they had a really incredible mileage sale.  I had a package of miles sitting in my shopping cart when they went on sale but ultimately wasn’t able to get the purchase confirmed.  Still, it was an incredibly popular deal that some folks were able to score.  Now, they’re back with what may end up being the best mileage redemption offer of the summer.

50% Rebate on Award Flights In Canada And To The US

Air Canada is offering a 50% rebate on all award flights booked between now and July 1st, 2020 that are either within Canada or between Canada and the US.  There are a couple of important points:

• Travel must be on Air Canada flights, not partners (such as United).
• Travel must be completed between July 1 and October 15, 2020.
• This is a rebate, which means you need to have the full amount of miles necessary to book your award.  You’ll receive a rebate a few weeks after you complete travel.
• Air Canada is maintaining a flexible cancellation policy until at least August 31, 2020.  That means you can get all your miles and fees back if you book something now and change your mind.

Air Canada also shared some stats from their recent Travel at Home promotion:

5.5 billion miles earned/bought/transferred in during April and May is a huge number.  That’s a whole bunch of people excited to get back to traveling!

The Final Two Pennies

This is a fantastic offer if you’re ready to travel.  Heck, even if you’re close to being comfortable enough, book something now and take advantage of the flexible cancellation policy if you need to change your mind in July and August.  We’ll have a lot more information about the current COVID-19 pandemic by then. For those that don’t have a ready supply of Aeroplan miles, don’t forget that you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to Aeroplan to book awards like these.

If you’re from the US, there are so many fabulous places to visit when the border reopens.  Vancouver and Toronto are cosmopolitan cities with so much to offer.  Victoria has so much old world charm.  Banff and Lake Louise are some of my favorite places in the world.  And, overlook the maritime beauty of Nova Scotia at your own risk.

I’m personally on the fence for this offer.  I’m absolutely not ready to put my family on a plane today.  The US-Canada border remains closed, likely until late July.  I have family up in Nova Scotia and I would love to take advantage of this offer to visit them.  I wasn’t even really thinking about booking flights to go visit them with the uncertainty around both COVID-19 and the border reopening. This offer from Air Canada pushes me a lot closer to grabbing some flights.

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