The Best Sweet Spots for Canadians, By Region

While most of the Miles & Points knowledge in the Canadian landscape is applicable nationwide, some of the finer aspects can vary significantly from region to region. In many ways, we’re all playing different variations of the same game, depending on where in Canada we live.

In this article, we’ll explore the most compelling sweet spots that are particular to each region, and shed some light on the best redemption opportunities available to you as a resident of a certain part of Canada.

Hint: Some parts of the country have it better than others!

1. Western Canada

Western Canada is home to some of the most compelling sweet spots available through various loyalty programs.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

If you live in British Columbia or Alberta, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan works so much better for you than it does for everyone else.

That’s because while the Mileage Plan program has some excellent partner redemption possibilities, it only allows you to have one partner airline per award ticket, in addition to any flights operated by Alaska Airlines.

In other words, if you wanted to fly with Cathay Pacific using Alaska miles, you can’t also add, say, an American Airlines flight to the itinerary – you can only add Alaska Airlines’s own flights.

Why is that to the benefit of Western Canada residents? Well, the only Canadian cities historically served by Alaska Airlines are Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Calgary, and Edmonton. Therefore, if you live in one of those cities, you can catch Alaska Airlines flights to your gateway city of choice, before catching an international flight on one of Alaska’s partner airlines.

So if you wanted to fly Japan Airlines business class for 60,000 Alaska miles one-way, you could book Vancouver to Seattle on Alaska Airlines, followed by Seattle to Tokyo on JAL, all on one ticket.

Anyone east of Alberta would not have such a luxury – they’d need to book a separate positioning flight to one of the US cities to which Japan Airlines flies, which comes at an additional cost.

If you’d rather visit Europe instead of Asia, you can consider redeeming Alaska miles for a flight from Edmonton to Frankfurt with Condor for just 55,000 miles and a very modest amount of taxes and fees.

Aeroplan

Meanwhile, Aeroplan remains one of the most useful programs in Western Canada; however, certain types of Aeroplan redemptions are easier to accomplish than…