Air Canada Aeroplan Adds Marriott Bonvoy Points Transfers

There’s a new way for select Air Canada Aeroplan members to redeem their points. It’s worth being aware of, but I wouldn’t consider it to be an efficient redemption.

Transfer Aeroplan points to Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio

Air Canada Aeroplan members with elite status are now able to transfer their points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio. You can transfer as few as 500 points, and can transfer up to 100,000 points per day, and up to 250,000 points per week.

Let me emphasize that this is only available to those with elite status in the Aeroplan program (it doesn’t matter if you have elite status with Bonvoy or not).

Marriott Bonvoy has offered a mileage transfer program for eons, whereby you can convert Bonvoy points into airline points. Marriott Bonvoy points generally convert into airline miles at a 3:1 ratio, and with most partners you get 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer.

However, the ability to convert airline miles into Bonvoy points is much rarer, so I think it’s worth pointing out.

Is converting Aeroplan points into Bonvoy points worth it?

While more redemption options are a good thing, I generally wouldn’t recommend transferring your Air Canada Aeroplan points to Marriott Bonvoy. Not all points currencies are created equal, and personally I value Aeroplan points at 1.5 cents each, while I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each.

Now, let me of course acknowledge that you can get way more than 0.7 cents of value per Bonvoy point, and you can also get way less than 1.5 cents of value per Aeroplan point. But I find that to be a conservative valuation of the two currencies, for those looking to maximize their rewards.

I would say that there are situations where it could be worth topping off a Bonvoy account with a few thousand Aeroplan points, if it would allow you to make a great redemption. But also keep in mind that Bonvoy often sells points at a reasonable cost, which would be my preferred method for earning that points currency.

Bottom line

Air Canada Aeroplan elite members now have the option of transferring their points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1 ratio. While this wouldn’t be my preferred use of Aeroplan points, some people might find this to be useful when topping off an account for a redemption.

Regardless, I always appreciate more redemption options, as it’s not often you can convert airline miles into hotel points.

What do you make of the option of transferring Aeroplan points to Bonvoy?