The Ultimate Guide to Aeroplan Family Sharing For 2023

Using airline loyalty programs like Aeroplan makes travelling more affordable thanks to flight redemption rewards, and it’s more enjoyable because of perks like lounge access and priority boarding. Travel credit cards make collecting points a breeze, but it can take months or sometimes even years to earn enough points to redeem a flight reward. Aeroplan has come up with an innovative way for members to reach their travel goals sooner with Aeroplan Family Sharing.  

The Aeroplan Family Sharing program came out in 2020 when the Aeroplan program was reintroduced after undergoing a major overhaul. Previously, Aeroplan members could transfer points to and from one another, but restrictions (such as a limit of 5 transfers per year) and high fees made transferring points unattractive. 

The new program is much more flexible. Since members can pool their points, you can earn travel rewards faster than you would collecting points on an individual plan.

What Is Aeroplan Family Sharing?

Aeroplan Family Sharing is a way for members to pool their Aeroplan points and use them either collectively or individually. The program lets you add up to 8 Aeroplan members to one account. When points are redeemed, they are deducted proportionally from each member. 

Unlike other family-sharing reward programs, you don’t need to be related to or share an address with other members of your Aeroplan ‘family.’ Groups can comprise any 8 people who trust each other enough to share an account. 

Aeroplan Family Sharing is a pretty great travel hack for families or groups of friends as it allows you to collect more points in less time and redeem them for travel rewards sooner. When you have enough members, you can accumulate a pile of points, enough to get away every year.  

How Does Aeroplan Family Sharing Work?

When you join an Aeroplan Family Group, all the points in your individual Aeroplan account get pooled into a group account. One member of the group (whoever created it) is the designated ‘Family Head.’ As such, they ultimately decide which members can redeem points, a handy feature for parents sharing an account with their kids.

Points are redeemed proportionally to how you earn them. So, points get deducted from accounts in the group, even if that member did not travel. You do not have to redeem points as a group.

Let’s say a family of 4, Rick and Val, and their kids, Paul and Kate have 600,000 Aeroplan points in their pool. Their individual accounts get broken down like this:

Family Member	# of points in an individual account	% of points in the Family account
Val	210,000	35%
Rick	180,000	30%
Paul	90,000	15%
Kate	120,000	20%
Total:	600,000	100%

Val and Rick want to send Paul and Kate to Ottawa for two weeks. Two tickets from Vancouver to Ottawa are 14,500 points each for a total of 290,000 points. Instead of 72,500 points being pulled from every account, the proportion of points each member has contributed to the total is deducted from each individual account.

So, 101,500 points will be deducted from Val’s account, 87,000 points will be deducted from Rick’s account, 43,500 points will be deducted from Paul’s account, and 58,000 points will be deducted from Kate’s account. Also, Val and Rick can’t make it so points are only taken from Paul and Kate’s accounts since they’re the only ones that are travelling.

With Aeroplan Family Sharing, points can be used for any flight available through the Aeroplan Rewards Program. With no blackout dates and no mileage limitations, you can use it to claim business class flights, flights with other Star Alliance partners or to book an Air Canada Vacation.

Why Open an Aeroplan Family Sharing Account?

An Aeroplan family-sharing account allows you to collect enough points to redeem more rewards faster, including gift cards, merchandise and travel rewards like seat upgrades, hotel stays, individual flights and all-inclusive vacation packages. Aeroplan is a great travel reward program that grants members perks like priority boarding, free checked bags, Maple Lounge access and preferred pricing for Elite members.

They also offer plenty of ways to earn points. There are several Aeroplan credit cards available through Canada’s major banks that earn you rewards for every dollar you spend. Plus, Aeroplan has more than 170 retail partners. As a result, you can earn double the points whenever you shop at any of them, including the Aeroplan e-store. You’ll also earn points on your Air Canada flight and on any flights in the Star Alliance network.

Finally, as a member of the Star Alliance, Air Canada partners with more airlines around the world than any other carrier, and its network is expanding. That means you’re not limited to Air Canada flights if you want to claim your points for flights.

Aeroplan Family Sharing also allows all members to take advantage of the preferred pricing model offered to Elite members. This can end up saving 3 to 5% on group travel. If any one member holds Elite status or is the primary cardholder of an Aeroplan credit card, preferred pricing applies to all members of the Family Group.

However, not all benefits get shared among Family members. Only primary Air Canada credit card holders can take advantage of the other benefits that come with their card, like Maple Lounge and DragonPass lounge access and priority boarding. Also, Elite Aeroplan Family Groups will not affect your Elite Membership status.

Finally, an Aeroplan family-sharing account helps prevent you from letting Aeroplan points expire. Points will expire when an account is left inactive for 18 months. With a family-sharing account, the expiration date on all accounts resets whenever a member uses the points. If the family account stays inactive for 18 months, group members will need to keep their individual accounts active.

How To Create an Aeroplan Family-Sharing Account

Creating an Aeroplan family-sharing account can be done easily on its website. First, log into your Aeroplan account and find the ‘My Aeroplan’ tab from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen. 

Next, navigate to the ‘Family Sharing’ heading in the center of the page.

Scroll down a little and click ‘Get Started’ to create an account. 

You’ll have to agree to the terms and conditions first, then click ‘Add new member’ to start adding members to the account. Enter the member’s name, Aeroplan number and their relationship to you. You can choose spouse/partner, child, parent, sibling, in-law, grandchild, grandparent or other. This part doesn’t matter, though. Aeroplan won’t ask you for any proof of relationship, so you can put whatever you want and add anyone, as long as they have an Aeroplan account. 

Once you’ve added someone, an invitation will be sent out that they can either accept or decline. If they accept the invitation, their Aeroplan points will be added to the family-sharing account. Now, they can use them right away.  

Whoever initiates the account will become the Family Lead. This person determines whether members can redeem points by selecting yes/no beneath the ‘can redeem points’ toggle. 

Aeroplan Family Sharing Rules

Aeroplan has stipulated a few rules in order to keep people from taking advantage of family sharing. For example, you must stay in a family group for at least 3 months. This keeps people from gaming the system by pooling their points for free to redeem a vacation package.

In the same vein, you can’t join a new group for at least 6 months if you decide to leave a Family Group. If and when you do leave a group, you’ll lose any points that you brought in and earned with the group.

Also, if you want to leave a Family Group, either you or your Family Lead will have to call the Aeroplan Contact Centre and speak to an agent. If the group is dismantled, all points are automatically transferred back to individual accounts.

Best Credit Cards for Aeroplan Family Sharing

Pairing this program with the right Aeroplan credit card can significantly accelerate the process of accumulating Aeroplan points. From annual fee waivers and welcome bonus points to luxury travel benefits, these Aeroplan credit cards could help you optimize the Aeroplan Family Sharing program to its fullest potential. Whether you’re a frequent flyer or just starting out in the world of travel rewards, a card out there fulfills your needs. And if you don’t find the right credit card for your needs below, you can always use our credit cards comparison tool.