Air Transat has a rewards program again. Staria opened to everyone on November 2, 2026, about ten months after Air Transat first announced it with Desjardins and Visa Canada, and after Transat suspended its old BonBon program in 2025.
It’s free to join, there’s no elite status to chase, and it’s simple to follow. You earn 3 to 7 points per dollar spent on Air Transat flights, depending on the fare, and you use them to take money off a future flight or Transat package.
Air Transat doesn’t publish what a point is worth, but when I priced a flight with points, every option came out to 1 cent per point. Let me walk through how Staria works, what that value means for the earning rates, and why the Desjardins credit cards are the piece to watch next.
How You Earn Staria Points
Staria earns on the fare and the carrier surcharge, before taxes and airport fees. The rate depends on the fare you book, and points only post once you’ve actually flown, usually a few hours after each flight.
Here are the earning rates, straight from Air Transat’s Staria pages:
| What you book | Points per dollar spent |
|---|---|
| Eco Budget flights | 3 |
| Eco Standard and Club Standard flights | 5 |
| Eco Flex and Club Flex flights | 7 |
| Transat packages | 1 |
| Options and extras | 5 |
Flights operated by Porter also earn, as long as you book them on airtransat.com, and on a trip with a connection, the eligible amount is split between the flights by distance. On a package, the flights inside it don’t earn anything on top of the package’s own 1 point per dollar spent.
Options and extras cover Option Plus, seat selection, extra checked bags, pre-ordered meals, and Option Flex on packages. They only earn when you add them ahead of time, which means more than 48 hours before departure for seats, bags, and Option Plus, and more than 72 hours for meals. Extras bought at the airport and paid upgrades to Club Class don’t earn.
Air Transat’s fare chart also lists an Eco Promo fare, which doesn’t appear in Staria’s earning table.
What a Staria Point Is Worth
Staria doesn’t use an award chart. Its terms say the number of points you need for a flight or package is dynamic, based on the fare, availability, season, and demand, and Air Transat doesn’t publish a value per point.
So I priced a flight. A one-way Eco Budget fare from Montréal to Paris on November 18, 2026 came to $468.41 in cash, made up of a $28 fare, a $360 carrier surcharge, and $80.41 in airport taxes.
Staria offered five ways to pay with points, and every one of them works out to about 1 cent per point, or 100 points per dollar.
| Points used | Cash still due | Amount saved | Value per point |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,900 | $429.41 | $39.00 | 1.00 cent |
| 7,800 | $390.41 | $78.00 | 1.00 cent |
| 11,500 | $352.41 | $116.00 | 1.01 cents |
| 15,400 | $313.41 | $155.00 | 1.01 cents |
| 38,800 | $80.41 | $388.00 | 1.00 cent |
Covering the whole flight took 38,800 points and left only the airport taxes to pay in cash. It’s worth noting that points cover the carrier surcharge too, which matters on a fare like this one, where the surcharge is most of the price.
Air Transat’s cancellation rules point to the same value. If you cancel a Club Standard booking paid entirely with points, the fee is charged in points, at 5,000 for domestic and US flights, 20,000 for the South, and 30,000 for Europe, Peru, Brazil, and Africa.
On a cash booking, that Club Standard fare from Montréal to Paris costs $300 to cancel, which is the same 30,000 points at 1 cent each.
At 1 cent per point, the earning rates are easy to translate. Eco Budget fares give you about 3% back toward your next trip, Eco Standard and Club Standard about 5%, Eco Flex and Club Flex about 7%, and packages about 1%.
Paying cash for that same Paris flight would earn an estimated 1,164 points, which is 3 points per dollar spent on the $28 fare and $360 surcharge. That’s about $12 toward a future trip, while on an Eco Flex fare, every $100 of fare and surcharge would earn 700 points, worth about $7.
Since pricing is dynamic, the value could shift on other flights. Every option I saw landed at 1 cent, and I’ll keep an eye on whether that holds.
Air Transat can change the program’s terms at any time, but members who live in Quebec must get written notice by email 60 to 90 days before a change takes effect.
Using Points on Flights and Packages
You redeem points while booking on airtransat.com or transat.com, and there are no blackout dates. On a flight, points can pay for 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, or 100% of the fare and carrier surcharge, while taxes and airport fees are always paid in cash.
On a Transat package, points can cover between 10% and 40% of the total. Either way, every flight on the itinerary has to be operated by Air Transat, and the points apply to everyone on the booking. You can also use your points to book a trip for someone else, as long as you’re signed in.
When I priced a Transat package with Air Transat flights while signed in, I didn’t see an option to pay with points yet. I’ve asked the Air Transat team about it and will update this post when I hear back.
There are a few limits worth knowing. Points can’t be combined with a promo code, a travel credit, monthly payments, or a package deposit, and you can’t buy trip cancellation insurance on a flight you pay for with points.
You still earn points on whatever you pay in cash. Changes and cancellations follow the same rules as a cash booking, and on a booking paid entirely with points, the fees come out of your points.
Points can’t be bought or transferred to another member. They expire after 36 consecutive months with no points earned or used.
Stars Unlock Seats, Bonus Points, and Baggage Perks
Stars run alongside points, and they’re only for members 18 and older. You collect them by completing missions, and once you have enough, you pick one of three rewards.
The missions in my account include connecting through the Air Transat app for six stars, creating or joining a constellation for four stars each, travelling with other members for two stars, and taking a flight for one star. Air Transat says some missions are only offered to certain members or for a limited time.
My account shows 42 more stars to go before the first reward choice. It’s free standard seat selection, 50% bonus points on your next package, or 2,000 points, which are worth about $20 at 1 cent each.
The next level offers 50% bonus points on a flight, priority baggage handling, or 1,000 points. Stars don’t expire, you have 30 days to pick a reward once it unlocks, and rewards for flights are valid for 12 months.
With only one star per flight, the one-time missions will do most of the work toward that first reward.
Constellations Let up to Nine People Pool Points
A constellation is Staria’s version of a family pool. Up to nine members combine their points into one balance, and an adult account manager decides who can only earn and who can also redeem.
Children aged two and up can join as junior members, but only through a parent’s or guardian’s constellation.
When someone redeems, the points come out of each member’s share in proportion to what they put in. You can leave at any time and take your share of the remaining points with you, but you then have to wait six months before joining or creating another constellation.
For a family or a group of friends who each fly Air Transat once or twice a year, this is what makes Staria useful, since individual balances would take years to add up to a free flight.
Where VIPorter Fits Now
Until now, the main way to book Air Transat with points was through VIPorter. Thanks to the Porter and Air Transat joint venture, VIPorter members can redeem on Air Transat flights from 25,000 points one way to Europe, such as Toronto to London Gatwick.
Staria doesn’t change that. The two programs now sit side by side, with Porter flights earning Staria points when you book them on airtransat.com, and Air Transat flights bookable with VIPorter points on flyporter.com.
The bigger difference is how you earn. VIPorter points come from Porter flights and cards like the BMO VIPorter World Elite®* Mastercard®*, while Staria points come almost entirely from flying and booking with Air Transat and Transat. Our guide to VIPorter covers that program in detail.
The Desjardins Visa Cards Are the Next Step
When Air Transat first announced the program in January, Desjardins said it looked forward to “unveiling our line of credit cards,” and Visa Canada described a new suite of cards for Air Transat travellers.
With Staria now live, those cards are the natural next step. Air Transat says Desjardins and Visa will offer cards that earn Staria points on everyday purchases, along with extra benefits, and that the details will come when the cards launch later in 2027.
No annual fee, earning rate, or welcome offer has been announced yet. Those details will matter a lot, because a card is the only realistic way most people would build a Staria balance between trips.
Is Staria Worth Joining?
Yes, if you fly Air Transat even occasionally. It’s free, the points have a clear value, and a constellation lets a family put small balances to use.
At roughly 3% to 7% back toward future trips, the earning is fair rather than generous, and it works more like a travel credit than a points currency you’d collect for big redemptions. There are no elite tiers and no award chart sweet spots to chase.
Before your next trip, sign up, add your member number to any upcoming Air Transat bookings, and knock out the one-time missions for stars. If you forget to add your number, you can claim the points within six months of travel, as long as you were already a member when you flew.
Conclusion
I’ve flown Air Transat from Toronto to London a couple of times and had zero issues. My flights left on time, the food was fine, and they even served wine in economy.
The only thing I felt was missing was a way to earn points. Now that Staria is here, paying out like a rebate of about 1 cent per point on future trips, I’ll definitely consider flying Air Transat again.
Staria isn’t built for collecting points toward big aspirational redemptions, and it doesn’t try to be. For leisure travellers who fly Air Transat once or twice a year, a steady 1 cent per point with no blackout dates is easy to get value from, especially with a constellation pooling the whole family’s points.
I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the Desjardins Visa cards. A card that earns Staria points on everyday spending is what would turn this from a nice extra on a yearly trip into something worth building toward.
The details I’ll be looking for are the earning rate on everyday purchases, the annual fee, and any Air Transat perks for cardholders. We’ll cover the cards as soon as Desjardins and Visa share them.
This story originally appeared on princeoftravel
