How Much Are Points Worth? (Quarter 4 2023)

We’re now in Quarter 4 of 2023, and it’s once again time to revisit our Points Valuations, which we update on a quarterly basis.

Recently, there have been some ongoing issues surrounding partner awards on Aeroplan. While there haven’t been any concrete changes to the program, the user experience continues to be affected.

Air France KLM Flying Blue has been rolling out First Class partner redemptions on the platform, starting with China Eastern Airlines and Garuda Indonesia. This is an unusual move for a SkyTeam loyalty program, as historically, partner awards haven’t been accessible through other programs.

Ever since BMO acquired Air Miles earlier this year, the bank has been promising to make changes to the program. Since then, we’ve seen some positive developments for members, which could be a sign of better days to come for Air Miles.

On October 1, 2023, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles implemented a new award chart. Despite the loyalty program trying to spin it otherwise, it resulted in a devaluation, since most awards cost more now than they used to.

RBC’s ongoing acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada recently became closer to being finalized, and one of the developments was HSBC closing off applications for new credit cards. This move hasn’t affected existing cardholders; however, the future of HSBC Rewards remains in flux.

Before we delve into the valuations, I should remind you that the focus of these valuations lies in the target redemption value of each points currency, rather than the acquisition cost that you might incur (which can vary significantly depending on how you prefer to earn points).

Air Canada Aeroplan

For the last little while, there have been some ongoing issues with Aeroplan partner award availability. 

Officially, there haven’t been any changes to the program, both in terms of which partner airlines are available, and the cost of redemptions with partner airlines.

However, some partner airlines are simply not available through the program, even if they are through other Star Alliance airline loyalty programs. 

We know that Aeroplan and other Star Alliance airlines are working on resolving the many issues that affect partner award availability, but there’s no timeline as to when a solution will be in place.

While no material changes to the program have taken place, the ongoing issues continue to have an impact on the user experience. 

We’re…