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 others.

On one hand, travelling to places like East Asia and Hawaii with Aeroplan is eminently feasible, given the geographic proximity.

Indeed, Western Canada is home to one of Aeroplan’s best sweet spots: 55,000 points for a one-way ANA business class flight from Vancouver to Tokyo. 

It’s also possible to find this price on the Seattle–Tokyo route, which is something to consider since award availability is quite difficult to come by these days.

If you have Aeroplan Elite Status, and therefore eUpgrades at your disposal, be sure to consider Air Canada’s seasonal Vancouver (YVR) – Osaka (KIX) route, which runs between May and October. Unlike the Tokyo routes, it’s much easier to eUpgrade availability to Osaka.

Even though you might not score a business class seat for 55,000 points, you’ll still get a good deal compared to dynamic pricing on Air Canada business class flights, and you’ll also benefit from greater availability than what ANA releases to Aeroplan.

Another excellent Aeroplan sweet spot from Western Canada is flying from Vancouver to Papeete via San Francisco. If you’re able to find award availability, you can score a seat in business class for just 55,000 Aeroplan points.

Heading to Hawaii, Western Canadians also benefit from the lowest price points in economy class, and the most generous “R” space for applying eUpgrades to upgrade into business class.

Besides those options, you’ll typically have to route through Toronto, Montreal, or US hubs to get on a reasonably priced partner award in business class or First Class.

A starting point in Western Canada also makes it a bit harder to take advantage of the “Asia 3” sweet spot, with which you can fly up to 11,000 miles to Aeroplan’s Pacific zone for only 87,500 Aeroplan points in business class.

It’s still possible to make these routings happen – but you have less leeway to customize your routing before you start exceeding 11,000 miles.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

One benefit of Air France/KLM Flying Blue is that you can book direct flights to Europe from Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton using miles. 

While the standard pricing of 65,000 miles looks good on paper, you’ll want to factor in the 1:075 transfer ratio from American Express Membership Rewards to Flying Blue, which is the most meaningful way to access the program in Canada.

With the transfer ratio factored in, it would cost just shy of 87,000 Amex MR points for a flight, which isn’t necessarily a great deal, especially with a few hundred dollars of taxes and fees factored in.

However, keep in mind that one of the best features of Air France/KLM Flying Blue is the monthly Promo Rewards, which offer a discount for award bookings in various classes of service on specific routes.

For example, in July 2023, there’s a Promo Reward for flights between Europe and Calgary, which offers a 25% discount on business class flights. 

If you’re able to take advantage of a Promo Reward like this, the price drops down to 48,750 Flying Blue miles for a one-way flight in business class, which is equivalent to 65,000 Amex MR points with the transfer ratio factored in.

It’s certainly worth considering at that price, especially since Flying Blue often offers multiple award seats in premium cabins.

Promo Rewards are released at the beginning of every month, so be sure to keep an eye on what’s available, as you might be able to score a deal to Europe.

British Airways Executive Club

Lastly, Western Canada is home to some of the best British Airways Executive Club sweet spots.

In economy class, Vancouver to Tokyo on Japan Airlines can be booked for only 25,750 Avios one-way, while a flight to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific can be had for only 31,000 Avios one-way, if you can find award availability.

And if you get yourself down to Seattle or Bellingham, you can take advantage of a well-documented sweet spot and book flights to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines for only 13,000 Avios one-way!

2. The Prairies

Sorry Saskatchewaners and Manitobans, but there just isn’t much going on in this part of the country, at least in terms of award program sweet spots.

There’s virtually no direct international traffic coming into any of the region’s major airports, meaning that any attempt to redeem your points will likely have to route through the bigger population centres to the east, west, or south.

That’s not to say that you can’t get good value for your points, but rather that there aren’t really any sweet spots that are particular to this region.

Aeroplan

Aeroplan will certainly be your program of choice, given that you can add on domestic Air Canada flights in order to get yourself to places like Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver and continue your onward journey.

If you’ve had your eye on a trip to Churchill, Manitoba, or to Nunavut, then be sure to explore your options one of Aeroplan’s domestic partners, Calm Air. The regional airline covers a number of remote destinations across Manitoba and into Nunavut.

All one-way flights on Calm Air price out at 7,500 Aeroplan points, plus around $175 (CAD) in taxes and fees. 

If you compare this to the cash fare for a flight from, say, Winnipeg to Churchill, you can wind up getting excellent value from your Aeroplan points.

For example, a one-way flight between Winnipeg and Churchill might price out at around $894 (CAD).

After accounting for the taxes and fees on the Aeroplan booking, you’d be left with a value of around 9.6 cents per point, which is outstanding.

While this is certainly a bit of a niche sweet spot, considering that people fly from all over the world to visit Churchill, it’s important to keep it in mind as a great redemption.

Other Loyalty Programs

Meanwhile, any attempt to redeem Alaska miles, British Airways Avios, or Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles will require a separate positioning flight, since none of the programs’ partners have any flights serving the region.

With such slim pickings, it’s probably also worth thinking outside of the box every now and then.

For example, the ability to transfer Amex MR points to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:0.75 ratio isn’t one that’s discussed too often, but it could be something to keep in mind if you live in Manitoba.

That’s because Delta’s service from its Minneapolis/St.Paul hub to Winnipeg might present a useful one-stop option for flying to your international destinations.

3. Ontario

Ontarians naturally benefit from Toronto being the largest city in Canada, and there are plenty of direct international flights to other countries that make for good points redemptions.

Aeroplan

As Toronto Pearson (YYZ) is Air Canada’s main hub, Ontarians have the ability to travel far and wide on Air Canada, along with the “Latitude Attitude” to help with Air Canada business class bookings when pricing is high. However, a one-way flight in business class between Toronto and Western Europe can be booked for less than 60,000 Aeroplan points.

Alternatively, there’s a wide range of partner airlines, such as Avianca, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Turkish Airlines, and TAP Air Portugal, which can be booked at fixed partner prices in economy or business class.

Between Toronto and Europe, a one-way flight in business class with partner airlines costs 60,000–70,000 Aeroplan points.

Furthermore, it’s a lot easier to take advantage of the “Asia 3” sweet spot from Toronto, and there’s a wide range possible stopover points en route to the Pacific zone while remaining under 11,000 miles in distance flown. 

For 92,500 Aeroplan points, you could fly to Asia in business class with a stopover in any of Europe, the Middle East, or even Africa…

British Airways Executive Club

Looking beyond Aeroplan, good opportunities exist with the other major programs as well. Redeeming British Airways Avios on British Airways flights comes with expensive surcharges; however, it’s worth noting that Reward Flight Saver bookings may prove to be useful to some.

For example, a one-way flight between Toronto and London typically costs 50,000 Avios and around $865 (CAD) in taxes and fees. With the Reward Flight Saver option, you can choose to pay more in Avios and less in taxes and fees, which works out to 80,000 Avios and $350 (CAD) in taxes and fees.

Keep in mind that there are often transfer bonuses from American Express Membership Rewards, HSBC Rewards, and RBC Avion to British Airways Executive Club. If you’re able to leverage one of these, then the Reward Flight Saver price starts to look quite attractive, even with the relatively high amount of fees compared to, say, Aeroplan.

This is especially true since British Airways consistently releases four business class seats on every flight. If you’re someone who values direct flights, then the above combination could indeed work very well in your favour.

If you happen to have a British Airways Companion Award eVoucher earned from an RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card, the value proposition becomes even more attractive.

Redeeming British Airways Avios on Aer Lingus flights can also be a great deal in some situations.

The distance-based award chart means that the Toronto–Dublin route is quite a compelling sweet spot, since an economy class flight can be booked for as low as 13,000 Avios one-way on off-peak dates.

Meanwhile, business class is 50,000 Avios one-way on off-peak dates, which is still lower than the 60,000+ points that Aeroplan would charge for a Europe flight. Just keep in mind that the taxes, fees, and carrier surcharges will add a few hundred dollars to the cost of your trip.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a little trickier for travellers based in Ontario. Alaska Airlines doesn’t fly to Toronto, so you’d have to book a separate positioning flight if you want to get on any high-value redemptions to destinations in Asia and Oceania.

To complicate matters even further, it’s lately been nearly impossible to find any Cathay Pacific award availability between North America and Asia, which is one of the most valuable uses of Alaska miles. 

Nevertheless, if you somehow manage to find award seats, you can drop 50,000 Alaska miles on Cathay Pacific’s Toronto–Hong Kong flight in business class (the route doesn’t offer First Class, unfortunately), or you could continue onwards to South Africa for 62,500 Alaska miles.

You can also redeem Alaska miles for travel on American Airlines, which has excellent connectivity to Toronto from its many US hubs. From there, you could leverage another one of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan’s sweet spots by flying American onwards to South America.

4. Quebec

Just as Ontarians benefit from the large volume of international air traffic in and out of Toronto, so too do Quebec residents enjoy strong connectivity out of Montreal.

Aeroplan

In terms of Aeroplan redemptions, the daily flight from Montreal to Zurich on Swiss is certainly a fan favourite, as is the 3x weekly flight to Vienna on Austrian Airlines. These flights can be booked for 60,000 or 70,000 Aeroplan points, respectively.

The 5pm departure is a great way to make a quick afternoon escape from your workplace, catch a flight, and wake up in Europe bright and early the next day. Indeed, it’s one of the most popular one-stop routings to Europe for everyone else in Canada as well.

A few more good ideas include the 3x weekly flights from Montreal to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines or from Montreal to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal, as award availability on these flights is often easier to come by than the airlines’ Toronto or Vancouver services.

And if you’d like to fly to Morocco, a one-way flight with Air Canada would cost 35,000 or 60,000 Aeroplan points in economy or business class, respectively – assuming no sky-high dynamic pricing.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Quebec residents can benefit from Air France flights to Quebec City and Montreal, as well as KLM flights to Montreal. 

A one-way flight between Montreal and Europe goes for 56,500 Flying Blue miles in business class. With the 1:0.75 transfer ratio from American Express Membership Rewards taken into consideration, the effective cost is just over 75,000 Amex MR points.

While this isn’t necessarily the cheapest way to get across the Atlantic, it’s worth noting that there are often multiple seats available in business class, which can’t be said of every loyalty program. Even with the taxes and fees and the transfer ratio taken into consideration, Flying Blue can be a great option in the absence of award availability with other programs.

As always, you’ll want to keep an eye out on the monthly Promo Rewards, which have featured Montreal and Quebec City in the past. In early 2022, there was a Promo Reward that offered a 50% discount on business class flights between Montreal and Paris. 

This brought down the cost to just 28,750 miles, or just over 38,000 Amex MR points with the transfer ratio taken into consideration. 

It’s worth noting that flights in economy also have attractive pricing through Flying Blue. Without a Promo Reward, a one-way flight costs as few as 15,000 miles; however, the price drops even lower if there’s a Promo Reward available.

Indeed, it doesn’t get much cheaper than that.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Montreal is the lone Canadian city to which Qatar Airways currently flies. This means that you’ll either have to position yourself in Montreal or a US hub to access Qatar Airways Qsuites, which is widely considered to be the world’s best business class product.

American Airlines AAdvantage is a Oneworld program that offers attractive pricing for flights with Qatar Airways. Aside from US-issued credit cards or crediting paid Oneworld flights to your AAdvantage account, you can access the program as a transfer partner of RBC Avion at a ratio of 1:0.7.

A one-way flight from Montreal to Doha in Qsuites typically costs 70,000 AAdvantage miles, plus a very nominal amount of taxes and fees.

However, what’s unique about this program is that you can continue onward to other destinations in the Middle East or the Indian Subcontinent without incurring any extra fees. For example, you could add on a flight from Montreal to Mumbai or Malé, and it would still price out at just 70,000 AAdvantage miles.

Continuing further afield, you could fly to destinations in Africa for just 75,000 AAdvantage miles.

It’s worth noting that award availability between Montreal and Doha ebbs and flows. Keep an eye out for last-minute availability, or look to plan your trip far in advance, for the best chances at scoring a seat.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

If you don’t have access to American Airlines AAdvantage, then consider booking Qsuites through Qatar Airways Privilege Club instead.

A one-way flight from Montreal to Doha typically costs 70,000 Avios, plus around $160 (CAD) in taxes and fees.

You can continue onward to other destinations, across the Middle East, Oceania, and Asia, but you’ll incur more costs.

For example, you could continue onward to Bangkok once again in Qsuites, and the total cost would come to 95,000 Avios.

However, you could also continue onward to Bangkok in Qatar Airways First Class, and still only pay 95,000 Avios.

With a number of attractive redemption options with Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam airlines, Montreal is the place to be when it comes to award flights in Canada.

5. Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada’s relative dearth of international air traffic in this part of the country means that sweet spots are few and far between.

Aeroplan

In theory, the proximity to Europe would result in more accessible travel across the pond. However, Air Canada has reduced its transatlantic route network out of the Atlantic provinces, so you’d still mostly have to backtrack via Toronto, Montreal, or the US West Coast to fly in a premium cabin.

Currently, Air Canada operates a single route between Atlantic Canada and Europe, with its Halifax–London route. 

However, it’s worth noting that the aircraft used for this route is a Boeing 737 MAX 8, which doesn’t currently offer a lie-flat business class seat.  In fact, it’s sold under the “Premium Economy” banner, despite technically being a business class product.

On the other hand, the convenience of not having to backtrack to another Canadian or American hub might outweigh the less desirable product.

This ties into another potential (albeit minor) advantage for Atlantic Canadians: when an Aeroplan itinerary consists of only Air Canada flights, then it’s the point-to-point distance between the origin and destination that counts when calculating the points required, not the total distance flown.

Therefore, someone who lives in Halifax could backtrack to Montreal and then fly to Europe without paying much of a premium at all – dynamic pricing notwithstanding, of course. 

In the below example, 58,600 Aeroplan points in business class from Halifax to Rome via Montreal is great value, even with the first flight being in economy. 

If Air Canada’s dynamic pricing skews the prices higher, then keep an eye out for the Eurowings Discover flight that connects Halifax with Frankfurt. A direct flight between the two cities, which offers a lie-flat business class seat, is fixed at 60,000 Aeroplan points.

However, you could also continue onward to most destinations in Europe and still fall under the 4,000-mile threshold, which would keep the price fixed at 60,000 points.

For getting around within Canada, the recent addition of PAL Airlines can also help to take the sting out of Air Canada dynamic pricing during periods of peak demand.

For example, if you’re looking to fly from Moncton to Ottawa, you have the option of flying with PAL Airlines or Air Canada.

Since partner airlines have a fixed price, you can wind up saving a tidy sum of points when flights with Air Canada are prohibitively expensive.

It’s worth noting that Air Canada has indicated that its regional partner airlines will eventually be transitioned to their own separate award chart. At that point, it’s likely that award pricing will increase.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

For another option to fly across the Atlantic without routing through Toronto or Montreal, consider using Alaska miles to fly between Halifax and Frankfurt with Condor.

A one-way flight costs 55,000 Alaska miles in business class, which is competitively priced in comparison to other direct options to Europe.

This flight routing will become more accessible to Atlantic Canadians once MBNA Rewards become transferable to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio.

6. The Territories

Given the high cost of travel to and from the territories, one could argue that the very ability to redeem points for these flights is one of the greatest sweets spot of all.

Aeroplan

Indeed, with round-trip fares up to our country’s northern communities often reaching four-figures, being able to pay just 12,500+ Aeroplan points for a one-way flight instead is an incredible deal.

You can travel on Air Canada (which serves Whitehorse and Yellowknife), Calm Air (which serves northern Manitoba and parts of Nunavut), and Canadian North (which serves large parts of Northern Territories and Nunavut).

Canadian North flights can be combined with Air Canada on a single reservation, while Calm Air is not combinable with any other airline.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

There’s one more sweet spot to tell you about, and it’s completely out of left field. For some reason, Condor, the German leisure airline, operates a once-weekly flight from Whitehorse to Frankfurt in the summertime.

Condor is partners with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, so if you live in Whitehorse, you can book a direct flight to Europe for 25,000 Alaska miles in economy class, 45,000 Alaska miles in premium economy, or 55,000 Alaska miles in business class, one-way.

These are extremely competitive rates, especially considering that the very existence of a direct flight between Yukon and Europe is something of a miracle in the first place!

Conclusion

Whether it’s the West Coast to Japan sweet spot for Vancouverites or the abundance of premium partner flights from Toronto and Montreal, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the best sweet spots for redeeming points in Canada are concentrated around our major population centres.

Living in the big cities therefore gives you a significant head start in terms of redeeming your points for good value, whereas those of you based in smaller communities will likely need to put in some extra legwork in order to do so.