During the COVID pandemic, essentially every North American airline either removed or suspended the expiration of points and miles, a welcome move for consumers. Once air travel recovered, most of those policies remained in place…currently, American Airlines is the only major North American carrier whose miles expire.
In 2026, there will be another program adding use-by dates to its currency, as Aeroplan announced earlier this week that it will be reinstituting an 18-month clock on all points, starting November 30th, 2026.
The News
- Aeroplan Points will again have an 18-month expiration policy, effective November 30, 2026.
- Any of the following activities will reset the 18-month clock:
- Crediting a flight to Aeroplan
- Earning points from a purchase or a partner
- Redeeming points for a flight, hotel, or gift card
- Donating points to a charity
- Transferring points to another account
- Converting points from another partner
- Any of the following activities will reset the 18-month clock:
Quick Thoughts
This is a bummer, and comes on top of far-reaching (and widely disliked) changes that Aeroplan is already implementing in 2026. Having to keep track of another activity clock is nobody’s idea of a good Christmas present.
On the plus side, Aeroplan is giving members a full year’s notice before restarting points expiration, and a wide variety of activities will reset the date. Effectively, if you earn, redeem, or convert any Aeroplan points, your 18-month “inactivity” clock resets. That said, the industry standard for carriers in our neck of the woods is to offer points and miles that never expire. Why do it now?
It’s important to note that the clock doesn’t start on November 30th of next year; all points in accounts that don’t have qualifying activity within the previous 18 months will instantly expire. So make sure to earn, redeem, or transfer some Aeroplan points before then.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Surprised there won’t be a grace period for existing miles. Guess I better set a reminder to transfer 1000 transferrable currency points next October!
How is this a bummer? They were set to start expiring at the end of this month and now that has been extended for another year.
Had no idea the 18 month expiration was suspended.
Oh no! I have 20K points stranded there from a backup booking I made in 2021.
What about the Chase Aeroplan credit card – does that keep points from expiring?
If you earn or burn on the account, then yes. So any charge to the card will keep your points active.
I’m not sure if holding the card alone (without any spending) will keep your points active though.
It does, at least up to now.