Aeroplan’s June 2026 Devaluation: What UK Amex Holders Must Book Now

British Airways is playing games with Avios availability to India right now. Carrier surcharges on long-haul redemptions are still sitting stubbornly above £650 for premium cabins out of London. If you have a healthy stash of American Express Membership Rewards in April 2026, your best escape route is Air Canada’s Aeroplan. But that window is closing rapidly.

On 15 June 2026, Aeroplan is pushing through a painful devaluation of its partner award chart. The programme has long been the secret weapon for UK points collectors who want to fly Star Alliance or non-alliance partners without paying extortionate taxes. With airline schedules currently open up to March 2027, you have roughly six weeks to lock in your Easter and winter trips at the current rates.

What exactly is happening to Aeroplan on 15 June 2026?

Air Canada will increase the cost of booking partner airlines using Aeroplan points across several key global distance bands on 15 June 2026. The flat booking fee applied to these partner redemptions will also rise by 25%, moving from $39 CAD to $49 CAD (around £28).

The biggest hit for UK flyers is the Atlantic to Pacific Business Class rate. The highly lucrative 4,001–8,000 mile distance band, which covers flights from London to Asia on partners like Thai Airways or Singapore Airlines, is jumping from 80,000 to 95,000 Aeroplan points each way.

Heading west is getting more expensive too. The North America to Atlantic 0–4,000 mile band is increasing from 60,000 to 70,000 points in Business Class. This covers the prime UK to East Coast North America routes on United Airlines or Air Canada partners.

If you prefer First Class, expect a flat 20% pricing increase across all global distance zones for partner airlines like Etihad and Oman Air out of London.

There is one piece of good news. The famed Aeroplan stopover allowance is surviving the cull at 5,000 points. You can still add a stopover on a one-way partner award without paying extra distance-based premiums.

Why UK points collectors should care about a Canadian airline

Aeroplan charges zero carrier-imposed surcharges on its 45 partner airlines. That is the single reason UK flyers need to pay attention to this programme.

When you book a reward flight on British Airways, you pay your Avios plus a massive cash component. A Business Class return to Singapore will easily sting you for £650 or more in taxes and fees. Book a similar route through Aeroplan flying Singapore Airlines or Thai Airways, and your cash component will be closer to £80.

You are trading a slightly higher points cost for a massively reduced cash copay. Even with the June 2026 increases, keeping £500 in your bank account makes this a highly attractive redemption path.

How to move UK Amex points to Aeroplan

UK Amex Membership Rewards do not transfer directly to Aeroplan. You must route your points through the Marriott Bonvoy programme.

The maths looks awful at first glance, but the reality is highly profitable. You transfer American Express points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 2:3 ratio. Then, you transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Aeroplan at a 3:1 ratio. Marriott adds a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer to an airline.

The final equation looks like this: 40,000 UK Amex Membership Rewards = 60,000 Marriott points = 25,000 Aeroplan points.

If you hold the UK Marriott Bonvoy Amex, you earn 2 points per £1 spent. Putting £30,000 of everyday spend on that card generates 60,000 Marriott points, which yields that same 25,000 Aeroplan point chunk.

The India workaround: Beating British Airways at their own game

As of April 2026, British Airways is actively blocking Avios redemptions to India 45 days before departure. If you need to travel to Mumbai or Delhi on short notice, your Avios are virtually useless.

Aeroplan completely bypasses this restriction. You can use Aeroplan points to book Air India, Vistara, Etihad, or Oman Air to India. You avoid the BA availability blocks entirely and dodge the heavy cash surcharges at the same time.

Booking Etihad Business Class through Abu Dhabi to Delhi costs significantly less cash than a direct BA flight. Locking these routes in before the 15 June deadline will save you thousands of points on the new 20% First Class premium or the adjusted distance bands.

What you need to book before the deadline

You have until 14 June 2026 to secure flights at the current rates. Airline schedules are open up to March 2027. You should be looking at Easter 2027 and Winter 2026/2027 trips right now.

• Prioritise the 80,000-point sweet spot to Asia. Flying Thai Airways Business Class from London to Bangkok currently costs 80,000 points. On 15 June, that jumps to 95,000 points. A couple flying return will pay 60,000 more points if they wait until July to book.
• Lock in transatlantic hops. London to New York or Boston on United Airlines is currently 60,000 points in Business Class. That moves to 70,000 points on deadline day.
• Secure First Class on Middle Eastern carriers. The 20% hike on Etihad and Oman Air First Class is going to destroy the value of these redemptions. If you want to fly the Etihad A380 First Class Apartment out of London Heathrow, book it today.

The rules for changing your flights later

Aeroplan treats date changes after a devaluation as a repricing event. If you book a flight today for November 2026 and decide in September to move it by a week, you will be charged the new, higher point rates.

You will be on the hook for the difference in points. If you change that London to Bangkok flight, Aeroplan will demand the extra 15,000 points per person each way before confirming the new date.

The strategy here is simple. Book firm dates. If your plans are highly speculative, you need to accept that a later change will wipe out the savings you made by booking early.

Quick reference: The June 2026 Aeroplan changes

If you are mapping out your strategy, here are the hard numbers you need to beat:

• Deadline: 15 June 2026
• UK to Asia Business Class: Rising from 80k to 95k points
• UK to US East Coast Business Class: Rising from 60k to 70k points
• Partner First Class: Flat 20% increase globally
• Booking fee: Rising from $39 CAD to $49 CAD
• Stopover fee: Remaining at 5,000 points

Honest verdict: Is the Amex transfer tax worth it?

Honestly, I am not convinced the maths works for most people flying Economy. Losing so much volume routing Amex points through Marriott just to save £150 in taxes on a short-haul or Economy ticket is a bad trade.

The part I keep coming back to is premium cabin travel. Exchanging 40,000 Amex points for 25,000 Aeroplan points hurts on paper. But when you apply those points to a £4,000 Business Class ticket and save £500 in carrier surcharges compared to the Avios alternative, the pence-per-point value remains exceptionally high.

This devaluation stings. A 15,000-point jump on the Asia routes is aggressive. But even at 95,000 points, Aeroplan will remain a highly competitive option for UK flyers tired of the British Airways monopoly. Get your bookings done before 15 June, take the savings, and enjoy the flight.

If you want to optimise your credit card strategy before the next major airline shakeup, explore more guides on Points Uncovered.