Air Canada is in the process of relaunching Aeroplan this weekend after bringing it back in-house from Aimia and just announced they will need at least an extra day to bring systems online.
Most Aeroplan functionality is currently unavailable since November 6 through the morning of November 9th (Monday) at the earliest during the integration process.
You can access Aeroplan’s site for updates here.
By 12h00 EST November 9, 2020, Aeroplan will be moving to a new home
As we prepare for the launch of a more rewarding Aeroplan program, some of the features and services you currently enjoy will be paused.
Between the evening of November 6, 2020, and noon of November 9, 2020, Aeroplan will be temporarily unavailable. However, some features will be put on hold ahead of November 6, to make your transition more seamless.
Both aeroplan.com and the Aeroplan mobile app will be decommissioned as the transformed program launches.
Here’s what Aeroplan has so far announced:
- Flight Rewards – Flight rewards will be temporarily unavailable for new reservations, changes and cancellations from the evening of Nov. 6, through the afternoon of Nov. 9. If a member is traveling during that time and needs immediate support for a previously booked flight reward reservation, they can contact the Aeroplan Contact Centre at 1-800-361-5373.
- Non-Air Rewards – Members will be unable to redeem points for merchandise (including gift cards) and other travel rewards starting from the evening of Nov. 6, through the afternoon of Nov. 9.
- Crediting points – For points earned with partners between Oct. 30 and Nov. 9, there will be a delay in points crediting. They will automatically be credited beginning Nov. 10.
- Altitude members – As in previous years, Altitude status members must choose their Select Privileges no later than Oct. 31. All status benefits, including eUpgrades, will remain available throughout the transition period.
- Star Alliance Upgrade Awards (SAUA) – Star Alliance Upgrade Awards will be paused for Aeroplan members starting Oct. 31. Members will be able to request these upgrades again later in 2021.
Aeroplan has updated their deadline for finishing the new integration until November 9th (one additional day) as the apparently ran into some issues that requires more time.
Conclusion
These system updates rarely go according to plan and the most recent ones Air Canada underwent were pretty much a complete disaster with customers being on hold for hours to rectify issues. The airline simply didn’t care and just let it go on for weeks.
I’d be surprised if things actually work smooth coming money and there aren’t major quirks along the way that make peoples life difficult. At least right now it’s a very light travel time to say the least and the amount of people impacted is minimal.
