r/pointstravel

SWISS International Air Lines Business Class award space is available from multiple North American gateways to Zurich and Geneva when booked with Air Canada Aeroplan.

Routes with availability:

JFK to GVA
60,000 Aeroplan points
7/6, 7/7, 7/8, 7/9, 7/10, 7/11, 7/12, 7/13, 7/14, 7/21, 7/23, 7/24, 7/25, 7/27, 7/28, 8/21, 10/26, 10/27, 10/31, 11/5, 11/8, 11/9, 11/10, 11/11, 11/12, 11/13, 11/14, 11/16, 11/17, 11/23, 11/24, 11/25, 11/28, 11/29, 11/30, 12/1, 12/5, 12/7, 12/8, 12/9, 1/11/27, 1/12/27, 1/18/27, 1/19/27

JFK to ZRH
60,000 Aeroplan points
7/8, 7/9, 7/10, 7/11, 7/12, 7/13, 7/17, 7/22, 8/11, 8/19, 10/26, 11/9, 11/10, 11/16, 1/11/27, 1/12/27, 1/18/27, 1/19/27

BOS to ZRH
60,000 Aeroplan points
7/6, 7/8, 7/9, 7/10, 7/11, 7/13, 7/14, 7/15, 7/19, 7/20, 7/26, 8/19, 8/29, 1/4/27, 1/6/27, 1/9/27, 1/10/27, 1/11/27, 1/12/27, 1/13/27, 1/16/27, 1/17/27, 1/18/27, 1/19/27

EWR to ZRH
60,000 Aeroplan points
7/18, 8/18, 8/19, 10/27, 11/9, 11/10, 11/16, 11/17, 11/24, 1/11/27, 1/12/27, 1/18/27, 1/19/27

Notes

• These itineraries are operated by SWISS International Air Lines and booked using Air Canada Aeroplan points.
• Business Class is available for 60,000 Aeroplan points on all listed routes.
• Air Canada Aeroplan is a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, and several other major bank programs.
• Taxes and fees on Aeroplan awards are generally modest compared to many other programs.

Found using Roame.travel

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points)

My wife and I have both carried the Hilton Surpass card for years, and between us we’ve redeemed well over a million Hilton Honors points and have close to that sitting waiting to be deployed again.

Looking back, I realized the points themselves aren’t really what I remember.

It’s the experiences they created for our family.

One of my favourite examples was last summer at Conrad Chia Laguna Sardinia.

We used:

• 360,000 Hilton Honors points
• Hilton’s 5th Night Free benefit
• Two Free Night Certificates we’d earned through Surpass spending

That gave us a full 7-night stay at what was probably the nicest resort we’ve ever visited as a family.

The rooms were selling for around $850/night, we were upgraded to a King Oasi Garden Suite, breakfast was included every morning thanks to Hilton elite status, and one evening the hotel left little stuffed animals and handwritten notes for our kids. They still have them today.

That’s when it really hit me, this whole collecting Hilton points game I was playing was more to do with giving my family better experience on things we wouldn’t normally be spending.

I know there are plenty of people who can calculate redemption values down to the decimal place. I enjoy that side of the hobby too, but that’s not really why I stay loyal to Hilton.

For me now, the value is being able to take my family on trips I’d probably never justify paying cash for.

I actually just finished making a video walking through why the Surpass has stayed in my wallet for years, how we’ve used the points, and why I think the Free Night Certificates are the most underrated benefit on the card.

If anyone is interested, here’s the video link here

https://youtu.be/2PbhTX_V2BE?si=ntICJ16CxB_X0RX_

I’d also love to hear from other Hilton families and their experience using either Surpass or Aspire Card.

What’s been your favourite Hilton redemption or Free Night Certificate use?

Brussels Airlines Business Class award space is available from Washington D.C. and New York to Brussels when booked with Air Canada Aeroplan.

Routes with availability:

IAD to BRU
60,000 Aeroplan points

7/4, 7/5, 7/6, 7/8, 7/10, 7/11, 7/12, 7/17, 7/18, 7/19, 7/20, 7/22, 7/24, 7/25, 7/26, 7/27, 7/29, 8/1, 8/2, 8/3, 8/5, 8/9, 8/10, 8/12, 8/15, 8/16, 8/17, 8/19, 8/22, 8/23, 8/24, 8/26

JFK to BRU
60,000 Aeroplan points

7/5, 7/6, 7/7, 7/9, 7/11, 7/12, 7/13, 7/14, 7/15, 7/18, 7/25, 7/27, 7/28, 7/29, 8/1, 8/2, 8/6, 8/9, 8/10, 8/22, 12/28

Notes

• These itineraries are operated by Brussels Airlines and booked using Air Canada Aeroplan points.
• Business Class is available for 60,000 Aeroplan points.
• Air Canada Aeroplan is a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, and several other major bank programs.
• Taxes and fees on Aeroplan partner awards are generally low, making these excellent value redemptions.

Found using Roame.travel

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points)

Recently had the chance to fly Etihad’s A380 First Class Apartment from Abu Dhabi to Toronto. Even at over 14 hours, the flight went by in the blink of an eye.

Found this award in First Class all the way from Nairobi to Toronto via Abu Dhabi for just 120k AAdvantage miles + ~$70 in taxes. Etihad has been releasing first class awards with decent consistency within 5-10 days of departure, provided that there are at least ~5 seats available for sale.

I first flew this product over a decade ago when it first launched, and I’m happy to report that it’s still just about as good as I it was! The single aisle layout on an A380 is iconic, with the amount of real estate only rivaled by Singapore’s new first class. The separate bed vs. lounge vs. vanity areas really made it easy to rest and stretch in any way I want. With that said, I do wish that they used thicker and more plush bedding, as the sleeping surface felt rather hard.

In terms of F&B, it’s definitely been scaled back a bit since a decade ago - gone are the inflight chefs or highly customizable dishes with a dozen different ingredients to mix and match with. However, the quality is still pretty top notch. The recent addition of caviar is a nice touch, I thoroughly enjoyed the cod as my entree so much so I decided to order it again for breakfast. The wine list was good but nothing spectacular, with the champagne being Veuve La Grande Dame.

Service was fine, but didn’t have a ton of warmth or personalization. There were several major misses: 1) the iconic inflight shower was out of service as the handle apparently fell off and prevented the door from locking (water can’t be activated without it); 2) half of my seat controllers weren’t working, which prevented the bench from reclining to convert into a bed, thankfully the flight was less than half full and the crew was able to set up my bed in the adjacent suite; 3) towards the end of the flight, the entire upper deck, including all of business class, ran out of ice…so no iced coffee, juices were served warm, no cold drinks at all. Seems like a very easily avoidable issue that should’ve never happened.

Still, very happy to have got to fly on this iconic product again. Would highly recommend it to anyone!

STARLUX Airlines Business Class award space is available from Taipei to multiple North American gateways when booked with ATMOS Miles.

Routes with availability:
TPE to SEA
75,000 Alaska miles
7/7

TPE to SFO
75,000 Alaska miles
7/7, 7/8, 9/30

TPE to ONT
75,000 Alaska miles
8/29

TPE to LAX
75,000 Alaska miles
9/26, 5/29/27

TPE to PHX
85,000 Alaska miles
7/4, 11/19, 5/29/27

Notes

• These itineraries are operated by STARLUX Airlines and booked using ATMOS Miles.
• Business Class starts at 75,000 Alaska miles to San Francisco, Ontario, and Los Angeles.
• Phoenix starts at 85,000 Alaska miles.
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a transfer partner of Bilt Rewards.
• STARLUX Business Class offers one of the best premium cabin experiences across the Pacific.

Found using Roame.travel

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points)

STARLUX Airlines Business Class award space is available from multiple North American gateways to Taipei when booked with Alaska Airlines ATMOS miles.

Routes with availability:

SEA to TPE
75,000 Alaska miles
7/3, 5/28/27

ONT to TPE
75,000 Alaska miles
7/3, 7/6

LAX to TPE
75,000 Alaska miles
2/6/27, 4/18/27

PHX to TPE
85,000 Alaska miles
7/2, 7/4, 7/14

Notes

• These itineraries are operated by STARLUX Airlines and booked using Alaska Airlines ATMOS miles.
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan partners with Bilt Rewards for point transfers.
• STARLUX Business Class is widely regarded as one of the best premium cabin products across the Pacific.

Found using Roame.travel

(Award space can disappear quickly. Always verify availability before transferring points)

I noticed a cool new development this morning. It looks like EVA is now releasing multiple seats to Aeroplan for T-7.

Positively surprised and I even saw 8 seats available on the TPE-ORD route.