Air Canada eUpgrades: How Much Are They Worth?

One great feature of Aeroplan Elite Status is the ability to redeem eUpgrades on cash bookings and flight reward redemptions. This allows members to book in economy or premium economy, and use eUpgrade credits to move to a higher class of service.  

One of the questions that often comes up is how much eUpgrades are worth. While it’s not possible to give a definitive number, as there are so many factors at play, we can still estimate approximately how much value you should be able to get from eUpgrades.

Let’s explore the valuation of eUpgrade credits in the most common use-cases, which include booking with Aeroplan points and booking with cash. We’ll explore the difference between booking to premium economy and business class, too, to see if there are any differences.

Without further ado, let’s dive into this analysis.

1. Upgrading to Business Class on Aeroplan Bookings

For the first set of examples, let’s take a look at using eUpgrades with Aeroplan bookings, with the intention of flying in business class.

Valuation Methodology

To establish the value of an eUpgrade credit, we sampled a series of redemptions across domestic, North America & Sun destinations, and international flights.

For each sample search, we converted the prices for a given flight in Economy (Standard, Flex, Comfort, or Latitude) or Premium Economy (Lowest) into cash values using our current valuation of Aeroplan points of 2.1 cents/point, and added any additional co-pay amounts.

We then took the difference to the value of the Business Class (Lowest) redemption tickets, and divided by the number of eUpgrade credits required.

This represents the value unlocked by a single eUpgrade credit in this scenario.

[ Value of Business Class (Lowest) Flight – ( Value of Given Flight + Co-Pay Amount ) ] ÷ Number of eUpgrade Credits Required

The tables in this article break down this calculation row-by-row:

1. Aeroplan points required for a given flight, based on a sample search as an Aeroplan Super Elite member with a premium credit card
2. eUpgrade credits required to upgrade to business class
3. Co-pay amount (if any)
4. Cash cost of redemption: (1) × 2.1 cents/point + (3)
5. Difference to business class: Difference of (4) between cost of given flight and cost of corresponding business class flight
6. Value per eUpgrade credit: (5) ÷ (2)

It’s worth acknowledging that, for simplicity’s sake, our calculations here…