Air Canada Aeroplan Is Devaluing Its Award Chart on June 1, 2026 — Here’s What’s Changing

Air Canada has confirmed updates to its Aeroplan award chart pricing for travel booked on or after June 1, 2026, and despite the careful framing on Air Canada’s site — which mentions only that “the number of points you may need to redeem for a reward” is changing — this is a devaluation.

In a nutshell, while a few economy and niche awards are getting slightly cheaper, long-haul premium cabins are getting more expensive. Transatlantic and transpacific business and first class are seeing the biggest jumps—up 20% to nearly 67%.

Let’s take a look at the biggest changes for U.S. travelers, how pricing stacks up now vs. before, and the few positives still worth knowing.

A Quick Refresher on How Aeroplan Prices Awards

Aeroplan uses a zone-and-distance-based chart. Flights are priced based on the zones you’re flying between (North America, Atlantic, Pacific, and South America) and the actual distance flown.

For Air Canada and “select partners” — which include United Airlines, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, and a handful of regional Canadian carriers — Aeroplan publishes a “starting at” price along with a median, which is what most members actually pay. Pricing on these carriers is dynamic, so the starting price can fluctuate greatly based on supply and demand.

For all other partners — most of the Star Alliance lineup plus non-alliance partners like SAS — Aeroplan still uses fixed pricing. That fixed partner chart is what makes Aeroplan particularly valuable to U.S. members, and it’s where the biggest premium-cabin increases are landing.

North America to Atlantic: The Pain Point for Most U.S. Readers

Transatlantic flying is where most U.S. members redeem Aeroplan points, and the news here is mixed.

Shorter East Coast routes to Europe (under 4,000 miles in distance) are largely unchanged, including the starting price for business and first class. But anything west of the East Coast — departures like Chicago and westward — is going up.

Here’s a look at the new pricing.

Air Canada and Select Partners — Starting Prices

All Other Partners — Fixed Prices

The fixed-partner chart is where things really sting.

Most U.S. cities to a large part of continental Europe fall into the 4,001–6,000-mile band, and partner first class on those routes — think Lufthansa First from Frankfurt or Munich to the West Coast — jumps from 100,000 to 120,000 points one-way.

Pushing into the longer bands, first class partner awards run from 130,000 to 150,000 points (6,001–8,000 miles), and the longest band tops out at a one-way price of 165,000 points, up from 140,000.

The one piece of good news: The shortest transatlantic economy band drops from 35,000 to 32,500 points one-way. It’s a small win, but still a win.

North America to Pacific: Premium Cabins Take a Beating

The Pacific story is similar. Short-haul to Hawaii or Alaska from the West Coast (the 0–5,000-mile band) is largely unchanged, but mid- and long-haul flying to Asia, Australia, and the Pacific gets pricier in most premium cabins.

Air Canada and Select Partners — Starting Prices

All Other Partners — Fixed Prices

The biggest hit is the partner business class jump in the 7,501–11,000-mile band — a common band for routings on ANA, EVA, Singapore Airlines, Asiana, and others between the U.S. and Asia — climbing from 87,500 to 102,500 points one-way. That’s a 17% increase on what has been one of the best partner sweet spots anywhere in the points world.

A small consolation: The longest economy band (11,001+ miles) on partners actually drops from 75,000 to 70,000 points, and the shortest Pacific economy band goes down 2,500 points.

Atlantic-Pacific Flights: The Steepest Increases on the Chart

These flights — used for routings like Europe to Asia, or Africa/Middle East to the Pacific — gets hit harder than any other in percentage of increase. If you’ve been booking ANA First from Frankfurt to Tokyo or Lufthansa First from Frankfurt to Bangkok, take a hard look at the new chart.

Air Canada and Select Partners — Starting Prices

All Other Partners — Fixed Prices

The 7,001+ mile band on Air Canada and select partners is the chart’s single ugliest line item. Business class jumps a full 67% from 60,000 to 100,000 points one-way. That number alone tells you where Aeroplan thinks the biggest pricing inefficiencies have been hiding.

The Bright Spots: Where Awards Got Cheaper

It’s a thin list, but it’s not nothing. Almost all of the decreases are concentrated in intra-Atlantic and intra-Pacific routings — flying that most U.S. members rarely book directly with Aeroplan, but which can come into play on connecting itineraries.

Short-haul intra-Europe business class on partner airlines is the most useful piece here. If you’ve ever paid 15,000 points for a 90-minute Lufthansa or LOT hop in business just to position yourself from a long-haul gateway, that price comes down to 12,500 points. The intra-Pacific business class reduction in the longest band is also welcome on routes like Sydney–Singapore.

Median Prices Are Climbing, Too

Aeroplan’s published medians aren’t really “chart prices” so much as Air Canada telling you what most members actually pay on dynamic Air Canada and select-partner awards. They’re worth paying attention to because they’re a more honest signal of what redemptions cost in practice.

Several key medians are jumping notably:

The 20%+ jump in the median for short transatlantic business class is especially telling. Even if the starting pricing remains 60,000 points, the typical Air Canada or select-partner business redemption between the U.S. East Coast and Europe is now expected to clock in around 129,000 points — well above the chart’s “starting at” pricing suggests.

What To Do Before June 1 (When the New Pricing Starts)

If you have a transatlantic or transpacific premium cabin trip in mind, there’s a simple answer: Book before June 1, 2026, and you’ll lock in the current pricing.

Aeroplan does charge change and cancellation fees, but for a partner first-class redemption that’s about to jump 20,000 to 25,000 points one-way, those fees can be more than worth paying if your plans change.

Here are a few awards we recommend booking now:

• The 4,001–6,000-mile band to Europe on partner first class — like Lufthansa, Swiss, Singapore Airlines, and Air France La Première — at 100,000 points before it goes to 120,000 points one-way.
• The 7,501–11,000-mile band on partner business class to East Asia at 87,500 points before it climbs to 102,500.
• The 8,001+ partner first class band — the ultra-long-haul redemptions like Lufthansa First from the West Coast — at 140,000 points before it hits 165,000.

Even after the increases, partner pricing is still generally cheaper than the dynamically priced Air Canada metal on the same routes when both are available.

Aeroplan’s broad partner access and stopover allowance still make it one of the more useful Star Alliance programs from a U.S. perspective. But this devaluation does narrow the gap between Aeroplan and United MileagePlus on a lot of redemptions where Aeroplan used to win on price alone.

Hot Tip:

If you need to boost your balance to make these redemptions possible, check out our favorite ways to earn lots of Aeroplan points.

Final Thoughts

Aeroplan’s June 2026 chart isn’t a bloodbath, but it’s a clear devaluation on most of the redemptions Upgraded Points readers care about most: transatlantic and transpacific premium cabins.

A few small price drops in short economy and regional business class don’t really make up for partner first class increasing by 20,000 to 25,000 points on the routes most U.S. travelers care about. The takeaway is simple: points lose value over time, so you’re better off earning and using them than letting them sit.

If you’ve got a large Aeroplan balance waiting for the perfect redemption, it may be worth booking sooner rather than later — ideally before June 1. Keep transfer partners like American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Bilt Rewards in mind for topping off your account, and be ready to reset expectations on what premium cabin awards will cost going forward.