Which Points Can Be Combined Between Different People?

For those of you earning points in multi-player mode, there are many occasions when it might be helpful to consolidate all your collective loyalty points holdings into one account.

Maybe you have an uneven number of points across two people’s accounts, and harnessing them all into a single account would allow you to redeem the miles for a flight for both people.

Or, there might be one person in the household who has earned elite status with a program, and you’d like to make all the bookings under that account in order to fully enjoy the benefits and perks of the status.

Which types of points can be combined across individuals in this way, and what are the rules you need to know? Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to combine points from different accounts.

Aeroplan: Family Sharing

Aeroplan offers a Family Sharing program that allows you to easily pool your Aeroplan points with up to eight family members.

Setting up your Family Sharing pool is very simple, and you can do so directly from your Aeroplan dashboard. 

For each member you invite, you’ll need to input their first and last name, Aeroplan number, the familial relationship, and whether or not that family member has the ability to redeem points out of the family pool. They will then receive an email inviting them to join your Family Sharing pool, and have the option to accept or decline.

Once the invitation is accepted, the new member’s points balance instantly pools into the collective Family Sharing pool’s points balance.

All of their future earnings (from credit card signup bonuses, points transfers, flying activity, etc.) will enter the pooled points balance as well, and there’s no upper limit to how many points can be pooled. If you’re in two-player mode, it’s an effortless way to consolidate points that are earned between partners.

If you often fly as a family, then it’s a great idea to create Aeroplan accounts for the kids as well, since they’ll earn Aeroplan points when flying on paid fares on Air Canada and Star Alliance airlines, which will contribute nicely to the family’s total.

On the redemption side, when a Family member redeems Aeroplan points, there is no ability to designate whether those points are deducted from their own points balance or another Family member’s points balance.

Instead, the points will come out of all Family members’ balances, and will be deducted…