Two years ago I made my husband sign up for a TD Aeroplan Rewards Visa credit card to take advantage of earning Aeroplan points since it was a first year free promotion (he also doesn’t like to pay annually for a credit card). He was able to accumulate over 65,000 Aeroplan points. He got an email in 2016 reminding him that his points were about to expire. I remember we then bought something at Home Hardware so that his points wouldn’t expire.
Fast forward to 2017, and we are planning to go to Hawaii (there will be more details about this in a later post) and wanted to use up the Aeroplan points before they expire in 2020 when Air Canada starts to have their own loyalty program instead of contracting it out to Aimia. We were finally organized to book our flight and he logs into his Aeroplan account and sees a ‘0’ balance and that his points expired about 2 weeks before. He didn’t get a reminder email (or perhaps he did and it went to junk or spam or he often deletes emails that he views as non-important) so we didn’t renew this year by earning points at one of the Aeroplan partners, or donate or do some sort of Aeroplan activity.
As some of you may know, Aeroplan has a policy whereby if you don’t use your Aeroplan points (either add or use them) within a 12 month period, it expires.
So I was crushed, but I have 100,000 points and there was enough to purchase both our tickets with points. Ideally I was hoping for a Round The World (or Mini-RTW) trip with my points some day, but that some day won’t be coming since Aeroplan points will be expiring in 2020 anyway…. Since I am married and we share things I shared my points and got us two tickets to Hawaii. I know, I’m such an amazing wife, LOL.
Trying to Get Back the Lost Aeroplan Miles
When I commiserated on Twitter, @stupid_debt suggested that I contact an Aeroplan customer service representative to see if they can reinstate it. Knowing that it would be a low chance (because c’mon, it’s Aeroplan), I decided to give it a Yeoman’s effort anyway.
So gave the customer service representative a call. I was surprised that there were actually options to see if you can get retroactive credits or to pay for the points to be reinstated. When none of the options applied or appealed to us, the customer service representative was very good at giving a firm but gentle ‘no’ with my whining when asking if we could get the points reinstated for free or reduced cost lol.
If your Aeroplan points expired, you may be able to qualify for retroactive credits, meaning Aeroplan points that you can apply for after the fact (if you didn’t use them already).
Retroactive Aeroplan credits include:
- Hotel stay in the past six months at qualifying hotel partners– including Hilton, Best Western etc.
- Booking an Air Canada Flight (but without putting in your Aeroplan number when buying the ticket) in the past 12 months
- Flying on Star Alliance partner in 12 months (again without using her Aeroplan number when booking)
How Much Does it Cost to Reinstate the Aeroplan Miles?
If none of the above retroactive activities pertain to you, then you have the option of paying for the Aeroplan miles to be recouped.
It will certainly cost you though.
The cost to reinstate the expired Aeroplan miles is a $30 service charge plus $0.01 per mile.
Therefore, if my husband were to reinstate the 65,000 Aeroplan miles that he lost, it would be $650 ($0.01×65,000) plus the $30, so almost $700.
That wasn’t really worth it for us, given that a ticket to Hawaii is under $500 and Aeroplan points are expiring in 2020 anyways, so he bid adieu to those Aeroplan points forever.
Lol…is it still considered minimalism if you let go of your points? Even though they aren’t ‘things’ per se?
In any case, Rob Carrick recommended that you should use your Aeroplan points ASAP in a recent Globe and Mail article and that points will devalue so it’s a good idea to use them well before the 2020 timeline if you can!
Related: PC Travel Review
Preventing this from Happening Again
To prevent this from happening again, we got the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card (it’s free with our premium banking plan that we don’t pay for because of the minimum balance that we hold). When you have an Aeroplan credit card, your points don’t expire as long as the card is active and in good standing.
Also, I hold the reins for the Aeroplan points and I am more careful to not let them expire.
Readers, have you had points expire? If so, was it worth it to pay for your points to be saved?
GYM is a 30 something millennial interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for blog updates, a free dividend yield spreadsheet, and the free Young Money Bootcamp eCourse.
1. Aeroplan is not dying in 2020, their partnership with AirCanada is.
2. You only need 1 transaction per year to keep your account alive, buy a pack of gum and show your card. (Or always get first-year-free cards with nice bonuses)
3. Sorry for your loss, 65k is a great shame…
@XYZ- I know, unfortunately my husband didn’t even get a pack of gum from Esso lol!
From the Aeroplan web site;
Did you know? You can prevent your miles from ever expiring as long as you are a TD Aeroplan Visa or CIBC Aeroplan Visa primary cardholder.
@David Patterson- Yes I’m aware of this 🙂 It’s one of the reasons why I have the TD Aeroplan Visa. And you can get it for free too without an annual fee with a minimum balance.
Great tip. Still the highest interest rate in the world? I regret having my CIBC Visa card. When I cut it up, I continued to collect at Home Hardware and Esso. It was a hard slog, but I wanted to get 60,000 for a transatlantic flight. I remember they used to have an expiry policy, then they didn’t. That was the last I heard. When Esso stopped taking it, I stopped using it. Was sure I was safe because I had spoken to an operator saying I had nothing to worry about. I feel I’ve been straight up robbed. All the times I chose to go to Esso and Home Hardware instead of someplace else….I’ve been a tool of marketing and as usual the rewards go up to a few from we the many.
@Leaf- I am a loyal Esso patron because of the Aeroplan miles too. Now it’s PC Optimum. We are all loyalty suckers.
I am sure Aeroplan made a killing after their expiry deadline when they first announced that points could expire. My mother collected points diligently for a while and didn’t do much travelling or much of anything for a year when she got a heart attack. Fast forward a year..BAM points expired because aeroplan has new rules. 60k worth of points..
Lesson Learned: Aeroplan (Aimia Inc) are a sneaky and not a trustworthy company. So glad that Air Canada is starting their own loyalty program soon.
There will be an uproar if such a sneaky move was pulled in the US market where miles and points are taken seriously. Problem here in Canada is that customers don’t have a lot of options..
@Jack Bauer- So cool that Jack Bauer is visiting this blog 😉 I still have to finish watching the 24 Series. That sucks that your mom’s points expired while she was ill and the 60K points disappeared 🙁 It will be interesting to see what Air Canada’s own points program will be like.
I am going through the same thing. My elderly parents have lost 87,888 points because they missed the date by a few weeks. Did you have any luck getting your points back? If so, how did you do it?
@Christina- Sorry to hear that they lost so many points! That’s a lot!! I did not get my husband’s points back- it cost too much money to reinstate the miles. You could try calling since it has been only a few weeks to Aeroplan to see if they will budge.
Have you tried emailing reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com?
I used reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com last year. I was nervous to use and thought for sure my money that she charged would be gone plus I would never see my points again…Nope, It worked. She was great and replied to all of my emails
Who are these people and what did they charge? I am sadly in the same boat… 🙁
I just lost 385,000 miles that is 25 years of points saving. I stopped travailling an using CIBC credit card, and I just forgot to use my Aeroplan card for other things left (Esso is out, Home Harware with is 50km from my home!!!). I missed the dates by a week or 2. I call talked to 2 different person (supervisor included), nothing they can do they told me. They told me I have received a e-mail. When I looked in my e-mail, yes they send me a m-mail 5 monts before expiry date but it look like a marketing e-mail that they where sending twice a month, and no more e-mails after their last. I think this is made on purpose so you forget them.
Looking back to this fidelity program, what of waste of money on my side to pay 120$ for the CIBC card X 20 years and to get nothing now. This is a serious steal from me, and morover they told me to put my name on the Class suit Action…Bravo Aeroplan!
@Thierry- Oh my gosh that is horrific!! I’m so sorry. As a points lover, that is very painful to see- that’s like 3 mini- round the world trips right there! Yes, I agree that their email to remind you looks like a promotional email- that’s why my husband deleted it too. Kind of like ‘the boy who cries wolf’.
That’s awful.
Try emailing reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com
Helped many people on this thread, though none with quite as big a loss as yours ;-(
Thanks. Will try emailing. Just found out that I lost 32, 879 points! Not very happy!
This is all just outright theft. It’s a sneaky, sleazy way to steal property from people who have rightfully earned and diligently earned. Why should points expire? There’s absolutely no reason for it other than the motivation by these low-life cowards to assume benefits they are not entitled to. Shame on the government and the courts for allowing this behaviour.
@James- Sucks that everyone here is having a bad time with expired Aeroplan points. If you have the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite your points don’t expire, that’s one way that we are preventing my account from expiring.
I had an Aeroplan Visa for many years too. Yet another reason I feel so ripped off about this. I paid about $120 a year for 15 years for those points. You have to factor that fee into the cost of whatever you get for the points.
@Eileen- Oh my gosh, $150 for 15 years! That’s a lot of money! This is why I can’t pay for credit cards annual fees, there’s too much at stake. Sorry that you lost your Aeroplan points too.
They just stole 165,000 points from me. I had made several purchases from Home Hardware in the 12 months and was never asked for my card at check-out. In fact I’ve shopped at several HH stores in 3 provinces in the past few years and I dont recall ever being asked for my card or number. What other store do you shop at that doesn’t ask for their loyalty program? Anyway HH refused to retroactively credit the points saying its my own fault because they have a sign on their counter and anyway Aeroplan won’t allow it after the day of purchase. Aroplan flatly denies that.
Dealing with Customer Service at both of these companies it was painfully obvious that neither of them cares at all about customers or loyalty and I suspect Aeroplan’s strategy is to erase as much liability from their books as possible before the alliance takes over in 2020.
I was a loyal HH customer because I like to support a Canadian locally owned retailer and, since Esso bailed, it was the only place left to use my Aeroplan. Guess I’ll be off to Lowe’s next time.
@Eileen- Oh gosh that sounds terrible. Sorry that you lost 165,000 points. That’s a lot of points. Do you have receipts and they still decline to reimburse your points collection?
Yes, I have 3 receipts that they won’t honour.
@Anonymous- Sorry to hear that 🙁
Try emailing reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com
For a predated car rental and help reinstating your account.
165k is no small matter
@Gill- I would normally mark this as spam, but a reader wrote about how they emailed you and paid for your services and they did get their Aeroplan miles reinstated. Please don’t spam the comments with multiple messages, thanks!
I have been at HH and asked if they take one of these loyalty cards. They told me “No”.
Found your site after going through an expiry…and like your husband, had a rude awakening that I lost 39000 points. Grrrr. Sad part is I think I did buy online items (I think Banana republic) within the crucial time period…wonder if I can claim that way…
I had the same habit as your husband…ignored the e-mail since I get so much spam. Didn’t realize I had this expiry until way after the fact. Wonder if I can get in on that class action suit that Aeroplan recently settled.
Welcome back to blogging, I used to read your stuff on the other blog. Funny, I thought your voice sounded similar and confirmed who you were on your ‘about’ page.
@Johnny Elle- Whenever I get a reader that ‘recognizes’ me from my old blog, it always makes my day 🙂 Thanks for reading and visiting.
Sorry to hear that you lost 39,000 points. It sounds like you can’t claim it even if you have the receipts from other readers/ commenters, unfortunately, but you never know until you ask!
The class action wasn’t settled. It was withdrawn when #Aeroplan announced that they weren’t going to proceed with the other part of their points theft plot, to expire all points over 7 years old. They dropped that part when they realized all their clients were going to cash their old points just before the first 7 year deadline and possibly drive them into bankruptcy. For some reason the #MerchantLawGroup decided not to proceed with the remaining part of the suit that covered this form of points theft. They still have the suit on their website but there is a note saying they are no longer pursuing it. I sent a message inquiring why but they haven’t replied.
And I use the term “theft” purposely. There is a transaction that takes place when you earn points. You purchase goods and pay for them with money. #Aeroplan (and all rewards programs) purchase the data regarding your transaction and pay you for it with points. Their business isn’t promoting travel or selling goods it’s consumer data mining and marketing. And they’re ripping us off because they can.
I am thinking of personnaly suing them at the Small Claim Court. I’m in Quebec it might be easier since they are Montreal based. I lost 390,000 miles.
Please let me know if you can do this? I just found out that I lost thousands of points.
On their website it says otherwise,
“If the tentative class action settlement is approved by the Courts, it is anticipated that by March 2019, an application process will be in place, to allow affected Aeroplan members the option to directly apply for a portion of the compensation from the settlement. “
From the Aeroplan web site;
Did you know? You can prevent your miles from ever expiring as long as you are a TD Aeroplan Visa or CIBC Aeroplan Visa primary cardholder.
Sure, and you can pay $150ish annually for the privelage
I was sucked into that loop for 15 years. You’ll still find a way to steal our points if we save up to many.
@Eileen- I don’t pay the $120 annually but you do have to keep a minimum balance to get this card for free.
https://genymoney.ca/the-best-aeroplan-credit-card-is-the-one-that-is-free-td-aeroplan-visa-infinite-for-free/
But yeah, really sucks to accumulate so many points and have it go poof. That’s why I am going to keep it fresh and use them as fast as we can within 1-2 years.
Any update? Seems like the new class action is over and they settled. They might be crediting back the lost miles in the upcoming months, I wonder how that would work.
I’ve just lost 100,000 airmiles from these thieves. Never got an email. Is there a clasa action lawsuit pending I can join. If not anyone want to start one?
You can reinstate it with a car rental.
I have listed my name with the class action suit on their web site but never got contacted. Maybe yes we have to start another one?
343,044 aeroplan miles removed…today’s conversation with the contact call centre was nothing short of an exercise in patience…bottom line, no email was sent or received…I am out of luck…
@B- Oh man that’s a few ‘around the world’ tickets. Sorry about your Aeroplan points loss.
Try emailing reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com to get a car rental credited to your account and reinstate it.
That’s insane amount
The class action lawsuit on merchant law seems to be only about the 2006 incident where they expired points, not about their ongoing policy – and their sketchiness in not actually awarding points in the first place.
Just lost 73900 after they failed to award Esso points that were earned in order to prevent expiry of the rest. Esso has cut ties and is not willing to help. Aeroplan points the finger at Esso. Classy all around.
I lost over 105000 points the same way as others on this blog. Never saw a notice from aeroplan. Looks like some of my home hardware purchases were not posted. I was a member since 1989 and planned to use the points for a late bucket list trip.
@Kurt- Sorry to hear that 🙁
@kurt
Try getting a car rental receipt from before the expiration date to reinstate it.
I can commiserate with everybody that has lost points. I just discovered last week that 76,600 points that I’ve been collecting since 2009 expired because of inactivity! I’m very upset as I had been saving for a family vacation to Vancouver! Similar to many others I’m very sure that I did buy gas at Esso that was wasn’t posted. Based on the stories in this site I guess I’m out of luck. I’m very disappointed with Aeroplan. I do feel that they’ve stolen from me!
@Nathalie- A reader here paid someone $100 (another reader claims to be able to get points back for $100) and she confirmed that she got her points back.
It was $100 for her since she had a small account.
Usually Sammy from reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com asks for using 25k points from the account and then you keep the rest reinstated free.
@Nathalie
You can get a car rental to reinstate your account.
Go through your gas receipts and send copies to Aero Plan, if they missed posting points you should get your points back.
I wanted to do that but unfortunately I’ve thrown away all of my old receipts. I have credit card statements but others have said those won’t be honoured. The additional issue is that my points expired in November 2017 and I believe the cut off for old receipts is 1 year. I know I used my Aeroplan card at Esso purchase so I think it’s very unfair that the onus is on the customer to provide old receipts when their system clearly does not pick up all transactions. In this day and age paper receipts aren’t even standard anymore. You have to ask for them to be printed at Esso. I’m also kicking myself for not getting the TD Aeroplan credit card which would prevented the points from expiring…
I’ve been a member since 1989 and lost 160,000 miles recently due to expiry. No notification of impending expiry. This has been acknowledged by several CS reps and supervisors at Aeroplan. No notice sent.
Yet no reinstatement of miles due to advice from “legal” according to one CS rep.
I keep all my email communications and notice that Aeroplan stopped sending me monthly email “newsletters” exactly 3 months after my last Air Canada flight. They clearly have a strategy to keep Aeroplan “awareness” very low key for those that don’t continually contribute to their revenues.
They sit with their fingers crossed that people will forget about their points until it’s too late.
@Joe- Geez! 🙁
That’s exactly their strategy. High point holders are just a liability on their books in the face of the new deal they’re trying to make with Star Alliance.
I did eventually receive a response from the #Merchant Law Group regarding the final settlement of their #Aeroplan class action. Here it is; dated May 16:
——————————————
Pursuant to the Aeroplan class action settlement, Aeroplan is reinstating to its members accounts a total of two billion (2,000,000,000) Aeroplan points which their office deemed to be expired between July 1, 2007 and October 15, 2007.
If you were an Aeroplan member on October 16, 2006 and some of your points were deemed to be expired between July 1, 2007 and October 15, 2007 due to there having been no activity in your Aeroplan account for a period of at least twelve (12) months, you are entitled to a share of the Aeroplan compensation points under the settlement. The compensation points being applied to each applicable member’s account is a pro rata share of the 2 billion compensation points, based on the total points expired from all eligible accounts during the above years.
The above process is taking place automatically and no action is required [i.e. no submitting of a “claim form” by class members] in order to see compensation points placed in your Aeroplan account.
Please note the following:
– This class action settlement has been approved by the Court. This Canada-wide class action settlement for the 2006 Aeroplan points system changes, results in eligible Aeroplan members receiving class action ‘compensation Aeroplan points’, as added to existing Aeroplan accounts.
– Eligible class members do not fill out an application form and do not apply to be part of this class action settlement. Under the terms of the class action settlement, Aeroplan points will automatically be added to eligible Aeroplan accounts, if you qualify for compensation under the settlement. Aeroplan is responsible to implement the same settlement terms.
– Your eligibility is determined by Aeroplan, based on their own records. For privacy reasons, our law firm does not have the ability to access Aeroplan records or information regarding individual class members Aeroplan accounts. In the result, to determine whether or not you are eligible to receive ‘compensation Aeroplan points’, you should contact Aeroplan directly at https://www.aeroplan.com/helpcenter/contact-us or 1-800-361-5373
Despite the above settlement having been negotiated, Aeroplan denies any liability or error by their office. Throughout the litigation of this class action, Aeroplan relied upon a ‘legal defence’ that the 2006 Aeroplan program changes were appropriate and permitted under the terms/conditions of the Aeroplan program.
Please do not contact our law office, Merchant Law Group LLP (who acted as lawyers for the plaintiffs) with questions about whether or not you are individually eligible to benefit from this class action settlement, as our law firm does not have access to the Aeroplan membership system.
Please direct all points inquiries to Aeroplan at 1-514-395-0300 or 1-800-361-5373 or through the above Aeroplan online help centre website. Our law firm does not represent Aeroplan [and does not act for Aeroplan in respect of this class action litigation process].
If you have questions relating to the 2006 Aeroplan class action ‘litigation process’ that occurred before the Courts, please call our law office at 1-306-791-2196.
I mention the following frequently, only to ensure no miscommunication. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be legal advice or a legal opinion. We have not been retained to render such advice or opinion, and we are not in a position to do so.
This letter concludes our firm’s correspondence regarding this matter.
Thank you.
Yours truly,
J. E. Joshua Merchant*
Merchant Law Group LLP
Aeroplan is a scam and makes a profit just from their customers trying to buy back their points. My mother received no email, letter NOTHING from Aeroplan saying her points were about to expire. I am emailing the reinstateaeropoints email and hopefully it will work. She has 180k worth of points…gone. It’s very unprofessional, wrong and should be illegal.
@Kathleen- 🙁 That’s a lot of points 🙁 Sorry to hear. Maybe my husband never got an email or letter either, he’s not very good at checking ‘junk’ emails or promotional emails.
I have just lost my mileage. Can somebody help? The only option seems like to be the car rental.
Can anyone share experience emailing for a car rental, if it actually worked?
@Rachel- One of the readers of this post emailed me a few months ago to tell me she did this and this is what she said:
“So I decided to bite the bullet and trust a stranger.
Aeroplan wanted 210.00 to buy back my points
She charged 100.00 (e transfer) and she sent a receipt in ( I think a car rental). Anyways those points posted today and my 20,000 points are supposed to post tomorrow.”
I’m not sure if it works, as I haven’t done it myself, so I would take this with a grain of salt!
Thank you.
I lost 83,000 not 20,000, so aeroplan wants $830 – it’s crazy
Hope this can work for me too
Worked for me! Took 3 days.
Thank you to sammy for the help and thank you @genymoney for your networking!
I should add though that sammy charged me $200, still well worth it for the 83,000 points.
@rachel- is there a reasonable timeframe for the points? Like would this work for my husbands points from 2 years ago?
You’d have to reach out to @sammy, maybe he can chime in here.
Hi there!
Unfortunately car rentals can only help for accounts which expired in the last 12 months. Would have loved to have helped you.
Quick comment here. Sammy (reinstateaeroplan@gmail.com) is a legend. Just got 63,000+ points reinstated for my dad. Well worth the cost. Again, thanks so much, Sammy!
I lost almost 80,000 this February, I saved it for Air Canada travel in 2022. But heard that Air Canada will no longer partner with Aeroplan( maybe they get back, not sure), anybody has latest information about it? Thanks.
I lost my miles again. Not as many as other posted here, but it is 3rd time in a row. All my miles, miles on my wife’s and kids accounts always disappear. This time I did pay attention and purchased gas at Esso station twice last fall, but account was still zeroed out. On the second day I was able to reach CS (called late, 10:30pm, it was “only” 20-30 minutes hold), but she was adamant, policy, cannot do it, no Esso transactions recorded, had to follow-up earlier, too late. I can only view history for the last year, not sure what happened with my Costco on-line purchases or Best Western stays. Not helpful or sympathizing. Aeroplan is extremely greedy and tricky, skillful of zeroing out members accounts.
Even that Class Action is the worse class action I ever saw. I think we need to disclose name of people behind this greedy scheme borderlined with fraud. Country needs to know it’s “heroes”.
3 weeks back, I lost 80,000 points collected over 17 years! Whats’s even more fraustrating is that I converted miles from other loyalty programs into Aeroplan. Now its all gone, unless someone can point me in the right direction at getting them back.
We have all diligently put in time and effort by spending money elsewhere to gather our rewards.
Banks don’t walk away with your money because you didn’t transact from your account for a while. Gift cards don’t expire. So why should miles expire?!
Would greatly appreciate any help at recovering my miles.
Thank you.
@Kash- Ouch, that’s a lot of time collecting those miles. I don’t endorse it but people have written to me saying they found Sunny (?) helpful to get points back though there is a fee. You can email and inquire, the email’s listed on the thread.
Thank you for your comment.
Any idea how the process with Sunny works?
@Anonymous- I think there’s information in the comments on the process.