It’s common for airline and hotel loyalty programs to have partnerships, given that those who are frequent flyers are also often frequent hotel guests. Along those lines, we’ve just seen Air Canada Aeroplan and World of Hyatt launch a new partnership, offering reciprocal status, rewards, and points opportunities, for members who link their accounts. There are some potentially lucrative aspects to this…
In this post:
Details of the new Air Canada & Hyatt loyalty collaboration
Air Canada Aeroplan and World of Hyatt members can now take advantage of accelerated earning opportunities and exclusive benefits across both programs. Before I get into this, let me mention that I roughly value Air Canada Aeroplan points and World of Hyatt points equally, which is important to understand, as you consider the value of these opportunities (of course apply your own valuation).
Here’s what this partnership includes on the points earning and redemption front:
- Aeroplan members can choose to earn 500 Aeroplan points per Hyatt stay, in lieu of earning World of Hyatt points
- Aeroplan credit card members with cards issued in Canada can earn World of Hyatt bonus points and additional Aeroplan points on stays at participating Hyatt properties; the catch is that you’re forgoing some Hyatt points
- World of Hyatt members can convert World of Hyatt points into Aeroplan points at a 2:1 ratio, starting at 5,000 points
- Aeroplan elite members can convert Aeroplan points into World of Hyatt points at a 2:1 ratio, up to 100,000 Aeroplan points per day, or 250,000 Aeroplan points per week
- Aeroplan members can redeem Aeroplan points for World of Hyatt free night awards, with Category 1-4 free night awards starting at 25,000 Aeroplan points
- World of Hyatt members can earn a 30,000-point Aeroplan flight reward certificate by redeeming 50,000 World of Hyatt points
Perhaps the more interesting opportunity here involves elite status, with fast tracks (eventually) available for both programs:
- Aeroplan elite members and eligible premium credit card members can unlock World of Hyatt status with a 90-day challenge; Discoverist status requires four nights, Explorist status requires 10 nights, and Globalist status requires 20 nights
- Aeroplan premium credit card members also receive complimentary Discoverist status, five elite nights toward status annually, and two attempts each year toward a 90-day challenge
- Later this year, World of Hyatt elite members will get access to an Aeroplan status challenge, but that’s not available yet
- While not status related, World of Hyatt elite members receive an annual C$20 Air Canada flight credit for linking their accounts
Which of these opportunities is actually valuable?
More partnerships are generally a good thing, assuming nothing is being taken away (perhaps aside from swelling elite ranks). Ultimately more flexibility with points is something some people value, since some travelers may have a lot of airlines points but not enough hotel points, or vice versa.
That being said, just about all of the opportunities here involving points and certificates represent a massive loss in value. When I value points equally, I don’t want to transfer them to another program at a 2:1 ratio.
Here’s where I do see value:
- If you’re a World of Hyatt elite member, a C$20 Air Canada flight credit is better than nothing
- If you’re eligible for the World of Hyatt status challenge, that gets you elite status much faster than the normal pathway; it’s interesting how premium card members can even take advantage of that twice per year, which seems… a bit aggressive
- Later this year we should see an Aeroplan status challenge for World of Hyatt elite members, so that could be interesting as well
For now, this partnership is definitely better for Aeroplan members than World of Hyatt members. I suspect World of Hyatt sees growth opportunities in Canada, which is why we’re seeing the partnership rolled out in this way.
Bottom line
Air Canada Aeroplan and World of Hyatt have just launched a partnership, offering reciprocal opportunities. There’s quite a bit of depth to this, in terms of the number of ways to earn and redeem points, plus the potential for elite status.
The catch is that very little here represents good value. The exception is that World of Hyatt elite members can get a C$20 Air Canada flight credit annually, while Aeroplan elite members can take advantage of a World of Hyatt status challenge.
What do you make of this Aeroplan and World of Hyatt partnership?
You havent lowered Hyatt valuations in a while? the decline in partner availability industry wide hurts aeroplan sure, but Hyatt has definitely declined recently.
Canadian bloggers are SOO excited about this. I don't get it. I'm pretty sure all these cards have a 2% fx fee so using it on Hyatt stays outside Canada isn't as useful as using one of the (FEW) Canadian cards that have 0 FX.
The $20 is insulting. Give the globs a couple hundred bucks, come on now
You don't get why folks who profit off promoting things in this industry are "excited"?
Which you’re going to be doing most of the time because Hyatt has less than two dozen properties in all of Canada lol. But I guess it doesn’t hurt to (sort of) have an extra credit card / hotel partnership — the Amex Bonvoy is currently the only co-branded hotel credit card still available in Canada and it’s not that lucrative.
Yeah, but 98% of Canadian cards have the 2.5% (!) FX fee. The ones that don't, don't offer much in the way of rewards. For example, I'm better off using my ION+ abroad for 3x per CAD (which I value at 2 cpp) on food/drink and eating the 2.5% than I am using a FX-fee-free card that only gives me 1% cash back equivalent.
Likewise, there's no non-FX card that offers hotel multipliers, so we're...
Yeah, but 98% of Canadian cards have the 2.5% (!) FX fee. The ones that don't, don't offer much in the way of rewards. For example, I'm better off using my ION+ abroad for 3x per CAD (which I value at 2 cpp) on food/drink and eating the 2.5% than I am using a FX-fee-free card that only gives me 1% cash back equivalent.
Likewise, there's no non-FX card that offers hotel multipliers, so we're likely still ending up in the black here.
Canadians can jump through some hoops and get US cards, but you're likely still going to lose some value converting CAD to USD when you need to pay it off whether it's through FX loss or time/energy doing more complicated maneuvers. For me, the ION+ 3x per CAD with 2.5% FX fee still beats the US Green 3x per USD and no FX fee.
Overall, it's a positive change because we're getting better earn rates and giving up nothing.
A pathway to funnel Amex/C1 pts to hyatt. Requires elite aeroplan status but opening a chase aeroplan card gives temporary status. Not for me but it might interest some.
Where does it say it requires Aeroplan elite status? I was able find the page to convert to award but I didn't click it since it only last 6 months and I'm still sitting on 2 cat 1-4.
That would be the worst use of MR points. 75K MR to Aeroplan to Hyatt for a Cat 7 certificate, maybe getting you breakeven at 1cpp. Waaay too much effort for near-nothing.
Like I said not for me but I can see a use case for orphaned pts to cobble together a redemption.
@Jerry - Ben's 4th bullet pt in the post says aeroplan elites
@RandomTwoCents - I'm looking at 5th point where aeroplan members can exchange 25k for cat 1-4 cert. I guess that's what I thinking you were mentioning since it's only tiny loss for 25k for 20k cat 4. The 2:1 is crazy loss that no one should be doing unless they're desperate.
I don't think converting at 2:1 is crazy.
You can currently buy Aeroplan points at 1.27 cents. It's not uncommon to get 3+cents per point on a Hyatt redemption, and Hyatt points aren't so easy to come by.
Key word: 'sort-of.' (Besides, you can get called a "Globalist" for free, so long as you upset a certain subset of the commentariat on here.)
If you really want to piss of the commentariat, go over to reddit add if as flair.
Point of order: Do I want to “piss (off)” or “(the) piss of” the commentariat? And, do I add (it), or “if” what?