jj

I am thinking of switching over to the Avion program from Aeroplan. Is anyone familiar with how Avion compares to Aeroplan? It seems you never know all the ins and outs until you've actually been in the program itself. Thank You.

canuck

I'd be interested to know why you're considering the switch and what you know about Avion. Reason is the bill I just got from Aeroplan for $170 for two credit cards!

gary

Avion charges 25,000 points for a domestic flight on any airline in Canada. So it gives you a greater variety of airlines and available flights to choose from. But then it will only pay a maximum of $500 including tax for the ticket so, whgile they will search for the cheapest ticket, in most cases you're stuck with up to $3-400 for the extra amount. <BR><BR>Aeroplan for the same number of points pays virtually the whole ticket other than a few bucks admin and a little more for cross border. But the nuimber of available seats are less and you are restricted to the Air Canada and United Airlines family.

stephanie

This is timely since I saw an advert for Avion and have been wondering about it. I've been saving for a European trip with Aeroplan for next year and am thinking of switching to get the 7500 points they're offering as a promotion.I see where they cover $1300 for Europe. I wonder if this is going to cover me? Also Aeroplan would cover me from my originating city thru Toronto to major city in Europe thru to final destination there. Does Avion do this. Would really like to hear from people who have Avion card or who have made the switch.

jj

I am thinking of switching mainly because avion has no blackout periods, and can use more airlines. However all of the routes require more pts.than aeroplan (except flying short haul within canada which is 15,000 pts. for both programs). For ex.: Western Canada to Hawaii reauires 45,000 pts with Avion. Aeroplan requires 40,000 pts. With avion you can get pts. with the chosen airline- for ex.if you fly air canada using your avion pts. you will receive aeroplan pts. I was wondering if these avion benefits outweigh the disadvantage of having to use more pts. compared to aeroplan. I can't find anyone online or otherwise who has switched over and can provide info. Anyone out there?

rita

I have both an Aeroplan and an Avion card and have used the services of both cards/companies to book travel. Here is a list of my likes and dislikes for each card.<BR><BR>Aeroplan<BR>- I like the fact that I can book business class. On an overnight trip to Europe business class is definately nicer than economy.<BR>- I like the fact that I can pay for an airline ticket using my card and also get bonus points (a double whammy).<BR>- I like not having a preset value to my bonus point ticket (i.e. a ticket in North America is 25,000 points regardless of seat sales or special offers).<BR><BR>- I don't like the fact that when using the online booking of Aeroplan I can't choose my own itinerary (i.e. if I am flying Calgary to Miami it automatically routes me through Toronto as opposed to Montreal which usually has more seats available)<BR>- I don't like the fact that after I use their online booking system I STILL have to call and confirm my tickets (why didn't I just call in the first place?)<BR>- I don't like the fact that for popular destinations I have to book up to a year in advance.<BR>- wait times on-hold can be lon- I don't like the fact that everytime I call to book travel there seem to be more restrictions<BR><BR>The short of it is I use both cards that way when I go to book rewards I can &quot;shop&quot; around for the best deal. Does this help? <BR><BR>Avion<BR>- I like the fact that I can apply my award points to almost any type of travel and any airline (I used mine last summer for a hotel in Victoria)<BR>- If the &quot;fare&quot; of your bonus point allotment is not available they will allow you to &quot;top up&quot; your ticket with cash. This means you can always get a seat and are not at the mercy of Airline award programs who only designate a certain amount of seats.<BR><BR>- I don't like the fact that some vacation properties are not available with Avion points (i.e. smaller boutique hotels)<BR>- they do not have an online booking form (or at least they didn't the last time I used it)<BR>- wait times on the telephone are long<BR>- you can only book economy class <BR>

rita

I have both an Aeroplan and an Avion card and have used the services of both cards/companies to book travel. Here is a list of my likes and dislikes for each card.<BR><BR>Aeroplan<BR>- I like the fact that I can book business class. On an overnight trip to Europe business class is definately nicer than economy.<BR>- I like the fact that I can pay for an airline ticket using my card and also get bonus points (a double whammy).<BR>- I like not having a preset value to my bonus point ticket (i.e. a ticket in North America is 25,000 points regardless of seat sales or special offers).<BR><BR>- I don't like the fact that when using the online booking of Aeroplan I can't choose my own itinerary (i.e. if I am flying Calgary to Miami it automatically routes me through Toronto as opposed to Montreal which usually has more seats available)<BR>- I don't like the fact that after I use their online booking system I STILL have to call and confirm my tickets (why didn't I just call in the first place?)<BR>- I don't like the fact that for popular destinations I have to book up to a year in advance.<BR>- wait times on-hold can be lon- I don't like the fact that everytime I call to book travel there seem to be more restrictions<BR><BR><BR>Avion<BR>- I like the fact that I can apply my award points to almost any type of travel and any airline (I used mine last summer for a hotel in Victoria)<BR>- If the &quot;fare&quot; of your bonus point allotment is not available they will allow you to &quot;top up&quot; your ticket with cash. This means you can always get a seat and are not at the mercy of Airline award programs who only designate a certain amount of seats.<BR><BR>- I don't like the fact that some vacation properties are not available with Avion points (i.e. smaller boutique hotels)<BR>- they do not have an online booking form (or at least they didn't the last time I used it)<BR>- wait times on the telephone are long<BR>- you can only book economy class <BR><BR>The short of it is I use both cards, that way when I go to book rewards I can &quot;shop&quot; around for the best deal. Does this help? <BR><BR>

jj

Rita, thanks for your input. For us to build up enough points to be able to travel, we need to choose only one card to use, so this is the dilemma. I may charge everything on the avion card for a year or two, and see how it goes...

tt

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