CALGARY (660 NEWS) – An Alberta man is hoping Air Canada will have some forgiveness for Aeroplan points that may have expired during the pandemic.
Brendan Horwood and his wife were living and working in Calgary when the pandemic hit. His wife is immunocompromised, so they’ve stayed home as much as possible, limiting outings and shopping only when necessary.
The pandemic has forced the couple’s hand and now the pair is moving back to Newfoundland.
Horwood says he and his wife planned to use Aeroplan points to pay for the cost of flights to Newfoundland, but that the company isn’t taking his points.
“The only airline that is flying into Newfoundland is Air Canada. So, we are kind of stuck,” said Horwood.
Horwood says when he went to use the Aeroplan points saved up for years to secure flights for him and his wife, they had expired and were no longer valid.
“In an ordinary situation, yes, we would probably go to Home Hardware and pick something that we don’t even need just to keep the points but, during this time, as my wife is compromised, we are not doing that,” said Horwood.
Horwood says when he dealt with Air Canada customer support, they were nice but ultimately unhelpful.
He says the company told him the only way to keep points valid is to continue earning–but the opportunity to collect points has been limited due to the pandemic.
The loss of three tickets worth of points feels like a punishment, Horwood says, for following COVID-19 health restrictions.
Horwood is hoping that Air Canada will honour expired points now that it’s looking at a multi-billion-dollar government bailout.
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In a statement sent to 660 NEWS, Air Canada said Aeroplan accounts become inactive, and points are forfeited, if there has been no activity for 18 consecutive months.
“Aeroplan sends out e-mail reminders to all account holders who are approaching the 18-month time limit approximately two months in advance of their account going inactive, to remind members to keep their account active,” the statement reads. “It is the account holder’s responsibility to ensure that all current contact details are with Aeroplan.”
“Should a member’s points expire, within six months they can reactivate their account and reinstate their points through a few different options, including flying with Air Canada or taking on an Aeroplan credit card.”
-with files from Joey Chini
