Indo Canadian News News That Matters
As the Government of Canada has made restrictions on travel, Most of the flights have been cancelled in Canada to control the mounting numbers of COVID-19 cases. Travelers all over the globe have come to depend on loyalty programs which provide free upgrades, free flights or bonus extras like a complimentary baggage check or priority boarding, rewards for frequent fliers to make travel easier. But many travelers are now wondering what happens to their loyalty points for flights they have to cancel or re-book because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Luckily, three main Canadian travel loyalty programs i.e. Aeroplane Miles, Air Miles and American Express have been issued clear guidelines about what happens to cancelled rewards.
AEROPLANE MILES
Aeroplan, which is now owned by Air Canada, is Canada’s most popular travel rewards program. As per Aeoplan’s guidelines, firstly, if members would like to cancel any Flight Rewards, they can cancel it without any charges until April 30, 2020. They will also get a full refund of any related taxes, fees and surcharges on the unused value of their travel.
Due to high call volumes, Aeroplans Miles is urging to members not to call to cancel flights but can simply log-in and visit “manage your bookings” to make changes.
Secondly, an Aeroplan member must earn, redeem or transfer miles at least once every 12 months to keep their account active, normally.
The company has paused expiry until May 14, 2020. This means that between now and May 14, any Aeroplan Miles which would have expired will not.
AIR MILES
The AIR MILES Reward Program is a travel agency that works with upwards of 25 airlines. All AIR MILES change fees will be waived for all travel bookings with travel dates between March 13, 2020 and April 30, 2020. This one-time waiver applies to changes on existing bookings made through AIR MILES. However, cancellations are facilitated by AIR MILES in accordance with the policies put in place by individual travel Partners and providers. For any COVID-19-impacted bookings, we are working directly with the travel provider to process the cancellation in accordance with their policies, which could include a full refund, a travel credit with the airline including specific rules, or other.
AMERICAN EXPRESS
Generally, Travel program AMEX Membership Rewards is also used for travel. According to American Express’ Canadian website, if members used their Membership Rewards points to redeem for travel through Amex Travel or Used Points for Purchases, refunds will appear as a credit from the merchant on their statement. AMEX does not refund Membership Rewards points redeemed.
If members want to make changes to an existing flight, clients are advised to visit American Express’ COVID-19 travel planning page.
