multi city trip air canada

How to Use Multi-Ticket Itineraries to Save Money

• Post author: Andrew D'Amours
• Post published: March 16, 2018
• Post category: Travel tips
• Post comments: 0 Comments

Here is a pro tip that could save you a lot of money when you can’t find a great deal for your chosen destination, especially when the ticket seems very expensive at first glance: multi-ticket itineraries .

As you probably know by now, every day we publish the best deals we can find (often up to 50% off ) for dozens of destinations, on our flight deals page .

However, as explained in the article “ Why Only Certain Cities Are Featured on Our Deals Page “ , you may not always be able to find deals for your specific destination on your specific dates, especially if have no flexibility. Why? Simply because they don’t always exist.

What can you do when you have to buy a ticket that is not discounted ? This article, along with the others on this blog, will help you save money when you have to buy a plane ticket that is not on our deal pages–and how to successfully book multi-city flights in Canada.

Of course, it all starts with our flight search tools . It compares dozens of booking sites for your exact dates and destinations. You should always use such an aggregator to look for tickets that are not on our deal pages (preferably through our links, we appreciate the support – and it is at absolutely no cost to you).

Here’s one of our best tips to save money, our pro tip about  multi-ticket itineraries . Warning: this is a very detailed article for you to really understand how to use this trick… as there are important rules to know.

Multi-City Flights in Canada Itineraries

What exactly are  multi-ticket itineraries? Simple: it’s an itinerary where you have to buy tickets separately , instead of buying it all at once. Why should you do that? To save money, of course.

Obviously, this trick doesn’t work 100% of the time. Then again, no tip that we will give you will work in 100% of cases, that’s simply impossible in the world of travel .

Plane ticket prices are extremely complex. So each and every search and each and every destination will be different, there is no magic recipe that applies to all situations. Sometimes it’ll work, sometimes it won’t.

However, you should still try each of our tips before buying a ticket at regular price : there is a good chance you will save money, often up to hundreds of dollars.

Last year, I paid only $360 for an itinerary that would have cost $1,200 if I had bought it on a single ticket. That amounts to a  saving of nearly $1,000 per ticket , simply by purchasing separately. It’s worth it. Imagine if there are two of you saving hundreds of dollars. It adds up quickly.

Why It’s Cheaper… and When

Again, it’s a complex subject. In short, flight prices are a function of the markets that are served. The fare is based on how much people in the market you are leaving from are willing to pay to go to the destination you are going to. And may I remind you that prices have nothing to do with the distance traveled… or any form of logic for that matter.

That’s why sometimes it pays to trick the airlines and circumvent their pricing mechanisms by combining two tickets.

But it takes a bit of extra effort and it’s a bit more complex. Otherwise, everyone would do it right? We’ll walk you through it right away, but don’t forget to read the last section below to know the very important rules regarding the use of multi-ticket itineraries.

Obviously, it’s simpler and more practical to buy everything in one itinerary. So sometimes, it’ll be more expensive that way. You pay for the convenience of having a single transaction, a single airline, a single ticket, a shorter stopover, no complexity, etc.

And it really is true : in many situations, it could cost you hundreds of dollars more to buy everything on one same ticket.

But not always. If the ticket is under $400-500, this trick probably won’t work. Same thing if the price is already a little lower than the regular price.

In fact, in most cases, this thing may not work. But if checking if it does takes you twenty minutes and allows you to save $200, it’s a good investment to at least try it.

The multi-ticket itineraries are an especially advantageous option for those who are looking to go to Europe, and sometimes Asia if your final destination is expensive… or for closer destinations that are very expensive for whatever reason (at the last minute, during peak season or when you have less flexibility on dates for example).

So, in these situations, you should consider multi-ticket itineraries.

The 3 Main Types of Multi-Ticket Itineraries

There are three main ways to save money by combining separate tickets. I’ll summarize each of them in two lines below, and then we’ll get into more details about each one.

I’m not sure there are any formal names so I’ll name them as best as I can:

1. Positioning Flight on Arrival: instead of buying Montreal-Bulgaria, you’d buy Montreal-Stockholm and Stockholm-Bulgaria roundtrips separately (you land at a different place than your final destination – in this case Stockholm)

2. Positioning Flight on Departure: instead of buying Montreal-Thailand, you’d buy Montreal-New York and New York-Thailand roundtrips separately (you leave from a different place than your departing city – in this case New York)

3. Two One-Way Tickets : instead of buying a Montreal-Reykjavik round-trip ticket, you buy Montreal-Reykjavik and Reykjavik-Montreal separately as one-way tickets

Here’s how each of those techniques works, but don’t forget to also read the last section of this article to find out important rules for multi-ticket itineraries.

1. Positioning Flight on Arrival

Especially convenient for Europe and Asia, but could also work elsewhere.

Europe really is  the best destination to apply the  multi-ticket itineraries . We already shared  a complete article on the subject . There are always super cheap flights on ultra-low cost airlines from Montreal & Toronto to any of the following cities in Europe (often around $400 round-trip): London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Dublin, etc. If you’re not leaving from Montreal or Toronto, the same rule often works with the cheapest flight from your city to anywhere in Europe (often the same cities as above). This is the best feature of multi-city flights in Canada–they allow you to see the world while still saving money.

No matter where you go in Europe, it’s almost always worth taking one of these cheap flights, and then buying another one to your destination separately. Because in Europe, flights are ridiculously cheap. One of my flights on Ryanair cost me $9 (one-way) this winter, I saw plenty at around 5 Euros … and there was even a deal with tickets at only 49 cents . I repeat: flights in Europe are really cheap. ESPECIALLY if you are traveling light. As always, those who travel light save the most!

ALSO READ: The Best Credit Cards for Travel Hacking in Canada

As an example, look at the prices of deals on our new Flytrippers Paris website…

Cheap round-trip flights from Paris are very common, to almost everywhere within Europe and even to some parts of Northern Africa and the Middle East . Just combine a Canada-Paris flight to a flight from Paris to where you want to go.

Here’s a tangible example. So, you buy a Montreal-Stockholm ticket and once you get to Stockholm for $450 round trip (very frequent), the round trip to Bulgaria could cost you only $100 more. This applies to many destinations , almost every city in Europe in fact. In total, you go to your destination for about $550, let’s say it even costs you $600 to be conservative. Do you know how expensive Montreal-Bulgaria flights are on one single ticket? Over $1,000 all year round.

True story: I literally saved over half the price, just by splitting my ticket into two segments. It also allowed me to visit another city (Stockholm is beautiful by the way, blog post to come) completely free, saving $500 while doing so. In fact, I saved more than $500, because my specific trip cost me $360 and the round trip on the same dates, from Montreal to Bulgaria on one itinerary was $1,200. I saved almost $1,000 just by buying tickets separately.

These kinds of savings are possible for most European destinations, which are excessively expensive when you buy them from Canada on one ticket (and they’ll often have layovers anyway). Take the cheapest ticket that crosses the ocea n, and you will often get to your final destination for less with an extra European flight AND you get to visit another European city for free! This is one of the reasons why we love long stopovers.

When it comes to choosing the cheapest city for your stopover, it’ll depend on your final destination, but in general, London is usually a good choice for most destinations in Europe, but each case is different. To find out which is the cheapest ticket to cross the ocean (and then to your final destination), use our advanced search tool to find the cheapest destinations for your dates.

You can also replace the additional flight with trains, which are frequent, fast and affordable in Europe. I’ve tested them in several countries, and even if I am an extreme AvGeek who loves to fly (sometimes I even add unnecessary stops just for fun if it’s the same price), there are some situations where taking the train can be worth it to save even more.

We did it for our trip to Turkey also: on one ticket, Istanbul from Montreal was around $1,100. We got there for less than $600 with trains, buses, and flights in Europe… which allowed us to visit Amsterdam, Cologne, Sofia and Kyiv on the way. We also got to experience a unique sleeper-train ride between Bulgaria and Turkey (blog post coming soon). Saved money and visited four extra countries: that’s how we like it.

For Asia, it doesn’t work as often, but it is still worth looking into if your specific destination is $1,200 or so. Kevin just booked a flight to Indonesia this way: going directly to Bali was $1,400 from Montreal but Taiwan was only $700. And Taiwan to Indonesia? Under $200 roundtrip. So he saved $500 per ticket just by splitting it up into two tickets.

2. Positioning Flight on Departure

Works mostly with nearby US airports. Sometimes the flight to your chosen destination is so much cheaper from New York, Boston, Los Angeles or San Francisco that it’ll cost you less to pay for that flight AND an extra flight from your departing city to the US city, rather than just buying the flight in one piece directly from where you are. And it is even more profitable if you drive there, especially if you are traveling in a group of two or more and it’s within reasonable driving distance.

Flights in Canada are much more expensive than in the United States, as you all know now. But sometimes the price difference is big enough to justify a multi-ticket itinerary. Probably not to the United States, but definitely to other international destinations. As a general rule, the more expensive the ticket is from your city, the more it may be worthwhile to leave from another airport.

This is not to be confused with flights departing from nearby US airport to catch domestic US flight. Like Plattsburgh for the Montreal market, Niagara for the Toronto market & Bellingham for the Vancouver market. Going to one of these airports is almost always worth it but that’s not a  multi-ticket itinerary , they’re only 45 minutes to 1h drive away, so they’re considered secondary airport for your own city, they’re not considered another departure city.

Regular prices to almost everywhere are often cheaper from bigger cities like New York City or Los Angeles…. and if it’s very expensive in where you live, it can be worth looking at prices over there. Also, since New York is a gigantic market, there are also many more deals  (prices are shown in USD on Flytrippers’  US pages ), which means you have more chance of getting one.

There can be crazy sales, for example from New York to Thailand for about US $400. Convert it back to Canadian dollars, it’s still around $600. Knowing that Thailand is oftentimes $1,400 from Canada… do the math. If you are travelling as a couple, you could save over $1,500 for two tickets ! Obviously, this is an extreme case. But that’s why it’s worth at least checking. You’ll find the same kind of savings for many other destinations from other places in the country as well, this is only to give a concrete example with numbers for a specific city.

Most of the time, the Montreal-New York round-trip flight usually costs around $250, so the savings must at least be equal to that amount to be worth it (and even more from other Canadian airports).

Want to save even more? Buy the flight from New York, then get there by bus or train to reduce the price even more if you’re not in a hurry. Or combine a train/bus departure and a plane return. That way you save a little more, but you arrive faster at the end of your journey when you can’t wait to get back home.

I did it this winter (to take advantage of a deal in New York and try out Norwegian Air ‘s Boeing 787 Dreamliner), and I can tell you that the Montreal-New York train ride along the Hudson River is sublime. One-ways cost about $90 CAD. On the way back, I took a one-way flight from New York for less than $100 CAD. The savings on my flight was $300 so I saved only $100 overall, but I wanted to test the Amtrak trains, to (re) visit New York and wanted to try a new airline that isn’t in Canada yet . Depending on your dates, it could be worth the savings.

If you choose to drive to a US airport, whether it’s to save even more as a group while driving to a secondary airport or simply to go take a local flight, a great option for parking is Park Sleep Fly . You can read more about it here , but essentially, it allows you to get essentially a free one-night stay in an airport hotel the day before your flight (or the day of the return) instead of paying for parking at the airport, as you leave your car at the hotel and a free shuttle takes you to and from the airport.

Finally, you can even make a great double multi-ticket itinerary, combining the #1 tip and the #2 tip. That’s what I did starting from New York instead of Montreal directly, and landing in Stockholm instead of Bulgaria directly. That allowed me to save almost $1,000 for a single ticket… and to visit lots of new cities. And if you don’t like visiting new cities, why are you even traveling?

3. Two One-Way Tickets

By far the rarest multi-ticket itinerary. It doesn’t work very often, but sometimes the cost of two one-way trips can be a bit cheaper than the same round trip in one piece. Especially (in fact, almost only) with ultra low-cost airlines.

So, again, it may be worth it to at least check it. The cheapest price we’ve ever seen for Europe, $190 round trip, was only possible by buying two separate one-ways. There was a $75 one-way sale to Europe, but the return flights were a bit more expensive than usual. It was avoidable by booking a separate one-way to fly back and get a better price.

Quickly check this option before booking if it’s on an ultra low-cost carrier and the price is not discounted, it can maybe work. Use our search tools and select your points of arrival and departure as one-ways to see if you can save this way, although keep your expectations low, unlike the two first tips, this one only rarely works.

The 3 Rules That You MUST Know about Multi-City flights in Canada

That’s it, you’ve almost made it through the entire article. As you can see, the savings can be pretty huge! But it involves very very important rules that must absolutely be respected if you combine multiple tickets!

1. Always Book the Most Expensive Flight First

If you are well prepared, have done your research, and are ready to book online quickly, you should not have any problem. But it’s always possible that by the time you book the first flight, the price of the other segment changes (it never happened to me and if you make your two reservations quickly , it should be okay). But by booking the most expensive first, the impact will be much less significant if you get very unlucky.

For example, if like in my example above you take advantage of the deal from New York to Thailand at C$600 and, in the meantime, the corresponding Montreal-New York flight changes… well it will not change by much. It could go from $250 to $300, maybe $350 if you are really unlucky. Just $100 more, it’s not so bad. Much less damaging for your wallet than if the flight to Thailand goes from $600 to the regular price of $1,000 for example… and you’d be stuck with a $250 flight to New York for nothing (and flights are usually non-refundable).

2. Allow A LOT Of Time Between Flights

This is actually the most important rule. Give yourself a lot of time between your flights . I recommend a full day personally: take the opportunity to spend a day in another city to visit and explore.

Many people are really stressed because of short connections when they buy a ticket. If you buy a normal ticket, on the same airline and same itinerary  who cares if your connection is too short . It’ll be the airline’s fault if you miss the connection and they will rebook you for free on the next flight (and if you pay for your tickets with a travel credit card , you will also be entitled to $500 for free for hotels and meals if the delay is over 4 hours).

BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH A MULTI-TICKET ITINERARY.

If you miss your connection, it does not matter who you are, you will have to buy another ticket to replace the one you missed, at your expense . Because your tickets are with different airlines, now it’s your problem. So you have been warned!

Under no circumstances should you take the riss. Give yourself a full day, why not even two days, to discover the city of your stopover and make it a 2-in1 trip for (less than) the price of one! It will be safer.

If you like to play with fire, the bare minimum (and I really say the absolute   minimum and it’s still very dangerous) would be to give yourself six hours between your flights for a self-connection (if it’s the same airport of course). It leaves you a bit of time for a delay of a few hours if there’s something wrong with your first flight and it will give you the time to go back to the baggage counter and thru security if you make the two common mistakes of inexperienced travelers, which is to check a bag or not check-in online?.

ALSO READ: The Perfect Daypack That EVERY Traveller Should Have

Remember that most cities in Europe have several different airports. So if you play with fire, and in addition, you have to change airports, it could cost you a lot. While if you stay there for a day or two, it won’t matter if you leave from an airport or another.

And check your arrival and departure times, because with the time zone differences, often if you leave Canada on the 21st, and you only arrive in Europe on the 22nd, so you have to account for that in your calculations as well.

3. Check Each Company’s Baggage Policies

Check each company’s baggage policies on your itinerary and remember that if you use ultra low-cost airlines, you will have to pay a baggage fee both ways. So as always, this is an especially beneficial trick for those who travel light!

Bottom Line

Multi-ticket itineraries can make you save hundreds of dollars if your original plane ticket is very expensive. So it’s worth taking the time to use our flight search tool to compare other options.

Any questions? Ask us in the comments below.

Don’t want to miss another great tip? Join the other 26,000 Canadians who’ve already  subscribed to our newsletters !

Want to see our current discounted plane tickets? Click here to see our flight deals

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Complete guide to Aeroplan's stopover and routing rules

Air Canada relaunched its loyalty program — Aeroplan — with an updated award chart , earning structure and stopover rules in 2020. These changes have been largely positive, too. The airline kept a standard award chart with very reasonable redemption rates, giving members a break from the many devaluations we've seen.

That said, the most intriguing changes to Aeroplan's program involve its routing and stopover rules. You can add a stopover on a one-way itinerary for just 5,000 Aeroplan points and another stopover on the way back with a round-trip booking, costing another 5,000 points. As of September 2022, you can also do this online.

Taking a detailed look at Aeroplan's current routing and stopover rules will help you maximize your points for longer trips that hit more cities. Also, check out the sample itineraries below for examples of ways to add more great destinations when you plan your next trip.

Let's get started!

For more TPG points tips and news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter .

Maximizing Aeroplan's new routing rules

Routing rules are — in short — the rules that dictate how you get from your origin to your destination. This isn't so important when it comes to nonstop flights, but it helps you understand the possibilities when you're booking connecting itineraries.

More often than not, you'll want to book the shortest itinerary possible. So if you're flying from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) with your Aeroplan points, there's a good chance you'll book something like Chicago to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to Prague. This is quick and easy.

So what's the point of learning about these rules? Simple: You can use them to book trips to destinations with limited award space, and you can maximize them by adding in long layovers (up to 24 hours) that give you a day in a new city.

Aeroplan's routing rules are extremely powerful and surprisingly simple. This starts with the program's loosely defined award chart: Four regions are shown in the image below. Awards are priced (more on that soon) based on the regions you're traveling between and the total flight distance, including layovers and stopovers.

Air Canada has confirmed that there is no Maximum Permitted Mileage. Likewise, you can transit via another region — whether for a layover or a stopover. This means you can fly from New York to Delhi via Sydney if you'd like. That said, you'll pay the mileage required for the total distance of the flights.

Now, Aeroplan lets you add one stopover to a one-way flight and two to a round-trip flight, for 5,000 points each. All awards are priced as one-way tickets, so you can also add an open jaw (arriving in one city and then departing from another) to your itinerary on round-trip tickets.

This means you can fly Houston to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Oslo on the outbound. You could then find your own transportation from Oslo to Stockholm and return to Houston by flying Stockholm to Paris for a stopover and then flying home from Paris to Houston.

Again, you have flexibility in how you fly to your destination. This is where the routing rules come into play. Aeroplan permits up to six segments on a one-way ticket operated by a partner airline. According to the airline, Air Canada-operated tickets will be subject to the airline's internal routing rules.

So, if you wanted, you could creatively route your flight home to Houston with flights through Copenhagen and Munich. This means you could have two long layovers (again, up to 24 hours) in these cities before your stopover in Paris. Just note that you'll have to call in to book these long layovers; an itinerary involving this many cities can't be booked online.

Unfortunately, you cannot add open jaws between stopovers or other connections. This means you can't stopover in Tokyo and fly out of Osaka to your final destination. The open jaw must take place after you've reached your final destination.

There's no limit on the number of carriers you can fly with, from what we can tell. Likewise, it looks like non-alliance carriers like Etihad Airways and Air Serbia can be combined.

Related: Why Aeroplan's generous stopover option adds even more value to Amex cards

Restrictions to keep in mind

There are a couple of restrictions to remember when booking Aeroplan award tickets with stopovers and layovers.

The first is that you cannot add stopovers within the U.S. or Canada. Likewise, you're limited to 12-hour layovers in these countries, so tours of the U.S. are out of the question for Aeroplan rewards.

Also, you cannot backtrack through the same airport after you've already passed through. This is pretty standard and means you can't fly New York to Frankfurt to Prague and back to Frankfurt. In most cases, this isn't a big deal.

Additionally, your routing needs to stay logical. As first noted by Prince of Travel , this means you can't book itineraries that have connections that are 100% longer than the direct distance between two cities. This means something like New York to Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt isn't bookable on a one-way ticket.

This is because the distance is more than twice that of a direct flight between New York and Frankfurt. On the other hand, something like New York to Abu Dhabi to Delhi is bookable as it's considered a logical route. You can even book New York to Delhi via San Francisco and Singapore if you'd like, though San Francisco can't be your stopover.

If you're booking tickets within a single zone, they must stay within said zone. This means that you can't fly from London to Tokyo to Madrid. You can, however, book London to Frankfurt to Madrid. You can even stop in Frankfurt for a few days with a stopover.

Quick takeaways

It's a little complicated, so here's a quick breakdown of the routing rules. It's worth noting the airline hasn't published these rules to the public, but we've confirmed these with the airline:

• Stopovers cost an additional 5,000 points.
• You can add one stopover per one-way ticket.
• You can stop over for up to 45 days.
• No stopovers in the U.S. or Canada.
• You can have up to six segments per one-way ticket.
• You cannot book tickets that are 100% or more physical miles over the direct distance between two cities.
• Itineraries within a single region must stay within that region.
• There are no Maximum Permitted Mileage restrictions for flight rewards on partners.
• Open-jaw tickets are only permitted between one-way tickets, not between connecting cities or stopovers.
• All flights are priced on a one-way basis.

Note that Air Canada's system decides what can and cannot be booked. This means you could still run into issues on more complex itineraries. If this happens, you can try politely ending the call and calling back for another representative. In some cases, however, you may need to change your booking.

Related: How I booked a round-the-world ticket in business class for 170,000 miles

Pricing an Aeroplan itinerary

Pricing an Aeroplan itinerary is surprisingly simple. The award chart is broken into four regions: North America, Atlantic, Pacific and South America. Each region has a distance-based award chart for flights to and from North America and other regions. You can view these award charts on the Aeroplan website (warning: PDF document).

Here's a look at the North America to Atlantic award chart. Remember, the Atlantic region covers Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East.

You'll notice that Air Canada flights have price ranges. This is because Air Canada now allows Aeroplan members to book all seats on a flight, so if you're booking last-minute on a busy flight, you're more likely to pay at the upper end of the range. Flights with standard "Saver" award space will price at the low end of the pricing spectrum.

To price an award, use a tool like GCmap to find the total distance of your flight and compare the total miles flown to the award chart. For example, a partner flight from Newark to Johannesburg with a stopover in Zurich clocks in at 9,157 miles. Under the North America to Atlantic award chart, this would cost 105,000 points in business class when you factor in the 5,000-point surcharge for adding a stopover.

Related: Pros and cons of the new Air Canada Aeroplan loyalty program

Interesting Aeroplan itineraries

Excited yet? I know I am.

Here are a few examples of bookable itineraries to illustrate just how powerful Aeroplan's routing rules are. These itineraries are bookable according to what we know about Aeroplan's routing rules.

We've listed the economy award pricing for each of these awards underneath the itinerary's summary. These prices are for partner flights, so Air Canada's dynamic pricing doesn't need to be considered.

A tour of Europe

Interested in a trip to Europe? You can maximize Aeroplan's routing and stopover rules for an excellent trip.

Here's a look at what I pieced together for 85,000 points and $240.49 in economy. Here, you can visit Lisbon, Madrid, Prague and Frankfurt on one itinerary. However, you will have to find your own transportation from Madrid to Prague. You can potentially maximize this trip even further by adding a couple of 24-hour layovers if award space allows.

A tour of Asia

If you prefer a trip to Asia, you can use Aeroplan's pacific award chart to book a tour that includes stops in Seoul, Bangkok and Tokyo. In economy, this itinerary costs 130,000 points and $160.25 in taxes and fees.

Sweet spot: India via Asia, returning via Europe

Here's where things get even more interesting. Delhi — and the rest of India — is considered a part of the Atlantic Zone. This has lower pricing across the board compared to the Pacific award chart. This means you'll save points on longer trips while stopping in Asia and South Pacific.

With that in mind, you can book something like this for 150,000 points and just under $180 in taxes and fees. The above itinerary visits Seoul, Delhi and Warsaw. Again, you could further maximize this by adding in a 24-hour layover or two if you want to visit another city on your way to or from your final destination.

Related: The best ways to maximize Air Canada's Aeroplan program

How to book complex Aeroplan itineraries

As of September 2022, you can finally book Aeroplan itineraries with a stopover online . You'll need to use the multi-city booking tool on Air Canada's website and enter the stopover airport you want to use. Just note that you cannot add your own layovers, so if you want to book specific connecting flights, you may need to call Aeroplan.

If you're having issues with this, it's a good idea to search for your flights one at a time for each segment and then try to compile them later on. You can do this on Air Canada's website or with your favorite Star Alliance search tool . After finding the flights you want, if you can't accomplish what you want online, you can call Air Canada to book.

My favorite search tool is United.com. Any Star Alliance partner award listed as having "Saver Award" space on the United site is bookable with Aeroplan points.

Note the flight number, operating carrier, and travel date for the flights you'd like to book. Have these on hand if you call Air Canada to book your award ticket.

Alternatively, you can use ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures) to find award space on various airlines. The program even lets you set award space alerts for hard-to-find tickets.

Related: Ultimate guide to searching award availability for the major airlines

How to quickly earn Aeroplan points

Air Canada's Aeroplan program is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards , Bilt Rewards , Capital One miles , Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy . Other than Marriott, transfers from these other programs are at a 1-to-1 ratio and should occur immediately.

Transfers from Marriott Bonvoy to Aeroplan are at a 3-to-1 ratio and can take four days to finish . Additionally, you'll get a 5,000 airline mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer. This means that 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points equal 25,000 Aeroplan points.

If you're looking for a stash of Aeroplan points, consider applying for the Aeroplan® Credit Card . Applicants can 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. You can read our full review of the Aeroplan card here to learn more about its benefits.

Note that for applicants in Canada, Aeroplan has different credit cards, which you can learn about here .

Since Aeroplan has multiple points transfer partners, any credit card earning those points can effectively earn Aeroplan points. That includes the following popular travel cards:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card : Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. Cardmembers earn 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel , and 2 miles per dollar on everything else. The annual fee is $95.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card : Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. Cardholders earn 10 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked via Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked via Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on other purchases. The annual fee is $395.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card : Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening. Cardmembers earn 5 points per dollar on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, 5 points per dollar on Peloton Bike, Tread and Guide purchases over $450, with a maximum earning of 25,000 points (through June 2022), 5 points per dollar on Lyft (through March 2025), 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online grocery store purchases (excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all travel not booked through the Chase travel portal and 1 point per dollar on everything else. The annual fee is $95.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve : Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening. Cardholders earn 10 points per dollar on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel, 10 points per dollar on dining purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 5 points per dollar on flights purchased through Chase Travel, 3 points per dollar on all other travel ( excluding the $300 travel credit ) and dining purchases worldwide and 1 point per dollar on everything else. The annual fee is $550.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express : Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership . Cardmembers earn 5 points per dollar on airfare purchased directly with the airlines or through the Amex Travel portal (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year). Plus, you'll earn 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel . The annual fee is $695 (see rates and fees ).

Related: How to redeem American Express Membership Rewards for maximum value

Bottom line

In this article, I gave you a look at Aeroplan's routing and stopover rules. Using the information presented here, you can create complex itineraries that let you stretch your Aeroplan points to see more of the world.

Bookmark this article and refer to it when booking upcoming itineraries with Aeroplan. Now you can even book stopovers online, which can lead to incredible savings without spending valuable time waiting on hold for an Air Canada representative.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here .

Featured photo of Ybor City, Tampa, by Pgiam/Getty Images.

Use our online tools to manage your booking , or view travel requirements .

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How to Book Complex Trips with Aeroplan

Aeroplan offers generous stopover and routing policies that allow you to book epic once-in-a-lifetime trips.

For those who wish to maximize their flying time and visit multiple destinations in one trip, a complex multi-stop Aeroplan redemption can be one of the best sweet spots that the program has to offer.

In this guide, we’ll walk through Aeroplan’s generous, albeit complex, fare combination logic and routing rules to help you book your own round-the-world trips. 

In This Post

Examples of complex aeroplan trips, what’s the best sweet spot for complex trips, how are one-way bounds determined, which zones can you fly through, combining up to six one-way bounds.

To begin, let’s price out a few different multi-stop itineraries using the Flight Reward Chart . 

To keep things sufficiently aspirational, let’s focus on the business class pricing in our analysis. And to keep things simple, we’ll also exclude Air Canada’s dynamic pricing, assuming that travel takes place entirely on partner airlines or at the lower end of the dynamic range on any Air Canada flights.

(It’s true that dynamic pricing can negatively drive up the cost of award flights with Air Canada, but factoring it in to the below examples would result in additional complexity to an already complex situation.)

Before we get started with the examples of complex itineraries, make sure you’re familiar with the following basic facts about Aeroplan and how the program works:

• Aeroplan prices itineraries based on one-way bounds.
• Layovers are stays of less than 24 hours, while stopovers are stays of more than 24 hours.
• One stopover outside of Canada and the US)is permitted on a one-way bound for an additional 5,000 Aeroplan points.
• Open-jaws – flying into one city and out of another – can only take place between one-way bounds, not within one-way bounds.
• You can customize your routing between any two given points, including scheduling layovers of up to 24 hours.
• Each Aeroplan ticket can have a maximum of 12 flight segments if an Air Canada flight is included, and up to 16 flight segments if only partner flights are included.

Example 1: A Tour of the Asia-Pacific

• Vancouver–Tokyo (layover) on ANA
• Tokyo–Hong Kong (stopover) on ANA
• Hong Kong–Bangkok (layover) on Thai Airways
• Bangkok–Singapore (layover) on Singapore Airlines
• Singapore–Perth (destination; open-jaw) on Singapore Airlines
• Brisbane–Vancouver on Air Canada

Depending on whether long layovers suit your travel style or not, you can assume the layovers are either long layovers or convenient short connections – the cost breakdown is the same.

The first five flights will comprise a single one-way bound under the “Between North America and Pacific zones” chart. Since the total flown distance is 10,858 miles, this will cost 87,500 Aeroplan points in business class, plus 5,000 points for the stopover, for a total of 92,500 Aeroplan points.

Then, the Brisbane–Vancouver flight will form another one-way bound under the “Between North America and Pacific zone” chart. Since this flight’s distance is only 7,351 miles, this segment will only cost 75,000 Aeroplan points in business class.

In total, we’ll pay 167,500 Aeroplan points for this itinerary. 

Example 2: A Classic Round-the-World Trip

• Toronto–Lisbon (layover) on TAP Air Portugal
• Lisbon–Rome (stopover) on TAP Air Portugal
• Rome–Istanbul (layover) on Turkish Airlines
• Istanbul–Bangkok (destination) on Turkish Airlines
• Bangkok–Seoul (stopover) on Thai Airways
• Seoul–New York (layover) on Asiana Airlines
• New York–Toronto on Air Canada

The route through Europe and Asia, in either the westbound or eastbound direction, is widely regarded as a “classic” round-the-world routing.

It brings you to some of the world’s most famous tourist attractions, allows you to fly on some of Star Alliance’s best airlines, and gives you the satisfaction of having completed a true round-the-world journey by crossing the Atlantic and Pacific.

The outbound flights to Bangkok comprise a single one-way bound, while the return flights via Seoul and New York comprise a second one-way bound.

Both are priced under the “Between North America and Pacific zones” chart, and since the respective total flown distances are 10,249 and 9,525 miles, both one-way bounds would cost 87,500 Aeroplan points each.

Add 10,000 Aeroplan points for the two stopovers, and we arrive at a total price of 185,000 Aeroplan points. 

Example 3: Suboptimal Subcontinent

• Istanbul–New Delhi (destination) on Turkish Airlines
• New Delhi–Seoul (stopover) on Asiana Airlines

This booking is almost exactly the same as in Example 2, except that New Delhi is set as the destination instead of Bangkok. As we’ll see, the pricing is drastically different.

The outbound flights to New Delhi comprise a single one-way bound, while the return flights comprise a second one-way bound. Both would be priced under the “Between North America and Atlantic zones” chart.

Since the respective total flown distances are 8,419 and 10,143 miles, both one-way bounds would cost 110,000 Aeroplan points each.

Add 10,000 Aeroplan points for the two stopovers, and we arrive at a total price of 230,000 Aeroplan points.

Example 4: North & South Atlantic

• Montreal–London (stopover) on Air Canada
• London–Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg (destination) on Etihad Airways
• Johannesburg–Addis Ababa–São Paulo (stopover) on Ethiopian Airlines
• São Paulo–Montreal on Air Canada

The ability to cross the North Atlantic in one direction and the South Atlantic in the other, while visiting Europe, South Africa, and South America all in one trip, has always been one of the possibilities that I find the most intriguing for an Aeroplan redemption.

In this example, the outbound flights to Johannesburg comprise a single one-way bound, while the return flights comprise a second one-way bound.

Both are priced under the “Between North America and Atlantic zones” chart, and since the respective total flown distances are 10,580 and 13,729 miles, both one-way bounds would cost 110,000 Aeroplan points each.

Add 10,000 Aeroplan points for the two stopovers, and we arrive at a total price of 230,000 Aeroplan points. 

Example 5: A Five-Continent Combo

• Toronto–Vancouver (layover) on Air Canada
• Vancouver–Sydney (stopover) on Air Canada
• Sydney–Singapore (destination) on Singapore Airlines
• Singapore–Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg (stopover) on Etihad Airways
• Johannesburg–Zurich (layover) on Swiss
• Zurich–Toronto on Air Canada

The outbound flights to Singapore comprise a single one-way bound, while the return flights comprise a second one-way bound.

Both are priced under the “Between North America and Pacific zones” chart, and since the respective total flown distances are 13,749 and 16,812 miles, both one-way bounds would cost 115,000 Aeroplan points each.

Add 10,000 Aeroplan points for the two stopovers, and we arrive at a total price of 240,000 Aeroplan points.

As we’ve seen in the above examples, maximizing Aeroplan’s routing and stopover rules can be very sensitive to the destination you choose.

Examples 2 and 3 are exactly the same, except that Bangkok has been swapped with New Delhi as the destination. These two cities aren’t that far apart geographically, but going to New Delhi ends up being 45,000 Aeroplan points more expensive than going to Bangkok.

Why? It’s all because of the differences between the North America–Atlantic zones and North America–Pacific zones charts.

If you run the numbers on these two charts relative to each other, you’ll see that the Pacific chart is significantly more generous in terms of how much distance you can fly for a given number of Aeroplan points.

Looking at the Atlantic chart’s maximum distance band, anything over 8,000 miles costs 110,000 Aeroplan points.

In comparison, the Pacific chart allows you to fly up to 11,000 miles and still pay only 87,500 Aeroplan points.

In fact, this particular cell on the North America–Pacific zones chart – the distance band of 7,501–11,000 miles in business class – is arguably the single best “sweet spot” in terms of booking a complex Aeroplan trip without paying an over-exorbitant amount of points.

11,000 miles will let you route from via Europe on your way to Asia from North America, or via Asia on your way to Australia.

If you can keep both directions of travel under 11,000 flown miles, you’d pay 185,000 Aeroplan points for a trip with two stopovers.

Unfortunately, if you want to book a multi-stop trip to Africa, the Middle East, or India (as seen in Example 4), you’re likely looking at a steeper cost, due to the fact that the North America–Atlantic zones chart is relatively less generous with its distance allowances.

Let’s further explore the logic behind where a one-way bound “breaks” and a new one-way bound begins.

After the entire itinerary has been sketched out by an Aeroplan call centre agent, the system applies “one-way bound logic” to the entire proposed itinerary to divvy it up into appropriate one-way bounds.

The system then calculates the price of each one-way bound individually (just like we did above), and adds it all up to arrive at the total points price.

So, what does that “one-way bound logic” actually look like?

Starting from the origin, the logic analyzes the entire trip segment-by-segment. After every segment, any of the following criteria, listed in order of priority, will mark the “breaking” of the one-way bound and the beginning of a new bound:

• A second stopover point (or a first stopover point within Canada/US)
• An open-jaw
• Backtracking to the same airport or country after already passing through
• Circuitous routing: As a general rule of thumb, this refers to flying 100% more than the direct distance between two points; however, there are also further rules on allowable transit regions (as we’ll discuss below).
• Reaching a maximum of six segments

Frankly, this is mind-numbingly complex stuff. Just as we did before, I think the easiest way to illustrate what’s going on is through a series of examples.

Example 1: Bound Breaks with Second Stopover

• January 1: Toronto–Lisbon
• January 5: Lisbon–Paris
• January 12: Paris–Toronto

This one’s pretty straightforward. None of the bound-breaking criteria are triggered upon reaching Lisbon. Upon reaching Paris, the logic recognizes that there is a second stopover (a stay of extended duration), so the bound breaks due to Criterion #1.

The second bound is simply the Paris–Toronto return segment.

This trip will be priced on the basis of two one-way bounds: Toronto–Lisbon–Paris and Paris–Toronto.

(The pricing of this sample trip, as well as all the sample trips below, is left as an exercise to the reader.)

Example 2: Bound Breaks with Open-Jaw

• February 1: Montreal–Frankfurt
• February 4: Munich–Istanbul
• February 9: Istanbul–Montreal

Upon flying into Frankfurt and flying out of Munich, the bound breaks due to Criterion #2.

The next bound starts at Munich and goes to Istanbul, where it doesn’t break. Upon reaching Montreal, the journey concludes. Munich–Istanbul–Montreal was not determined to be circuitous, as it’s only 50% above the direct distance between Munich and Montreal.

This trip will be priced on the basis of two one-way bounds: Montreal–Frankfurt and Munich–Istanbul–Montreal.

Example 3: Bound Breaks with Circuitous Routing

• March 1: Montreal–Frankfurt
• March 4: Munich–Abu Dhabi
• March 12: Abu Dhabi–New York
• March 12: New York–Montreal

Using the same logic as above, the first bound breaks at Frankfurt and the second bound begins from Munich to Abu Dhabi.

Upon adding the Abu Dhabi–New York flight, this routing now becomes “circuitous” due to Criterion #4, because Munich–Abu Dhabi–New York is 140.5% above the direct distance between Munich and New York.

The second bound therefore must break in Abu Dhabi, and the third bound goes from Abu Dhabi to New York (for a layover) and then to Montreal.

This trip will be priced on the basis of three one-way bounds: Montreal–Frankfurt, Munich–Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi–New York–Montreal. It’ll definitely be more expensive than if a trip priced with only two one-way bounds. 

Note that the “100% over the direct distance” rule for circuitous routings is only meant to be an illustrative rule of thumb.

Indeed, who’s played around with a few different city combinations on the search engine will probably have discovered that this rule of thumb can turn out to be very flexible.

Take, for example, Taipei–Paris–Abu Dhabi via EVA Air and Etihad Airways on a single one-way bound, even though it’s 125% over the direct distance, pricing according to the “Between Atlantic and Pacific zones” chart.

These examples are few and far between, but serve to illustrate that the “100% over the direct distance” circuitous routing rule is not necessarily hard-and-fast.

Example 4: Bound Breaks with 6-Segment Limit

• April 1: Vancouver–Tokyo
• April 2: Tokyo–Seoul
• April 3: Seoul–Beijing
• April 4: Beijing–Hong Kong
• April 10: Hong Kong–Bangkok
• April 11: Bangkok–Ho Chi Minh City
• April 12: Ho Chi Minh City–Singapore
• April 13: Singapore–Perth

This traveller wants to do a bunch of long layovers, plus one stopover in Hong Kong, on their way to Perth.

The logic doesn’t run into any trouble in Tokyo, Seoul, or Beijing. In Hong Kong, we have a stopover, but it’s only the first stopover of the bound, so we’re still good. Bangkok is fine, too.

But then we get to Ho Chi Minh City, and Criterion #5 is triggered: we’ve already had six segments on this one-way bound. The bound therefore breaks in Ho Chi Minh City, and the remaining flights via Singapore form the second bound.

This trip will be priced on the basis of two one-way bounds: Vancouver–Ho Chi Minh City and Ho Chi Minh City–Perth. Sorry folks, you won’t be able to do 16-segment one-way runs with 15 long layovers!

In addition to the “100% over the direct distance” rule for circuitous routings that we discussed above, let’s also look at how Aeroplan’s zonal restrictions work.

These restrictions specify the terms of which zones you can transit through, or have a stopover in, on your way from one location to another.

On this topic, Aeroplan’s Flight Reward Policy provides the following guidance:

To put these guidelines to the test, we’ve attempted to piece together various itineraries with the Aeroplan contact centre, with the following results.

North America to/from Europe: Must travel across the Atlantic Ocean

Proposed itinerary:

• Los Angeles–Tokyo (stopover), on ANA
• Tokyo–Frankfurt, on ANA

Not priced successfully. Some agents are able to put it on the same ticket as two separate one-way bounds, while others are not able to combine it on the same ticket at all.

North America to/from Middle East: Must travel across the Atlantic Ocean

• Los Angeles–Tokyo (layover), on ANA
• Tokyo–Abu Dhabi (stopover), on Etihad Airways
• Abu Dhabi–Johannesburg, on Etihad Airways

Not priced successfully as a single one-way bound.

Note that both of the above examples are under 100% of the direct distance flown, so they shouldn’t be struck out on the basis of being a circuitous routing.

Instead, it’s the zonal transit rules at play here that prevent the itineraries from being priced as a single one-way bound. 

North America to/from South America: Must travel wholly within the Western Hemisphere

• Toronto–Lisbon (stopover), on TAP Air Portugal
• Lisbon–São Paulo, on TAP Air Portugal

Not successfully priced as a single one-way bound or indeed a single ticket.

• Cancún–Lisbon (stopover), on TAP Air Portugal
• Lisbon–Recife, on TAP Air Portugal

The first example here is only 67% over the direct distance, whereas the second example is 104% over.

The fact that neither can be booked as a one-way bound, nor even issued on the same ticket, indicates that travel between two points in the Americas needs to remain entirely within the Americas. 

North America to/from Asia: Can transit through Europe

After verifying the rules around which zones you can’t transit through, let’s now take a look at some zones that you  can  transit through from one place to another, which we’ve verified through further sample itineraries priced out via the Aeroplan website or contact centre.

As a general rule, transiting Europe on the way to Asia is perfectly fine, and this is indeed the basis of the “Atlantic/Pacific arbitrage” sweet spot .

• Toronto–Lisbon (layover), on TAP Air Portugal
• Lisbon–Rome (stopover), on TAP Air Portugal
• Rome–Istanbul (layover), on Turkish Airlines
• Istanbul–Bangkok (destination), on Turkish Airlines
• Bangkok–Seoul (stopover), on Thai Airways
• Seoul–New York (layover), on Asiana Airlines
• New York–Toronto, on Air Canada

Priced successfully: 185,000 Aeroplan points in business class (87,500 points each for the two one-way bounds to Bangkok, plus 10,000 points for the two stopovers)

Europe to/from Asia: Can transit through North America

This one is very interesting: whenever you’re flying from Asia to Europe, Asia to Africa, Australia to Europe, etc., then transiting through North America is possible!

And although stopovers in Canada or United States are not permitted, stopovers in Mexico are. Consider the following successfully-priced itinerary.

• Denpasar–Taipei (layover), on EVA Air
• Taipei–Los Angeles (layover), on EVA Air
• Los Angeles–Cancún (stopover), on United
• Cancún–Lisbon, on TAP Air Portugal

Priced successfully: 115,000 Aeroplan points in business class (110,000 points for a Pacific–Atlantic award of 7,001+ miles, plus 5,000 points for the stopover)

If you’d like to string together multiple premium redemptions over the course of a year and don’t mind popping down to Mexico a few times per year, then the Mexico stopover on an Atlantic–Pacific award could be a very creative way to schedule some extensive globetrotting while saving yourself a fair chunk of points.

Travel within the Atlantic or Pacific zones: Can transit each other

Unlike the North America and South America zones, the Atlantic and Pacific zones seem to be more flexible in terms of whether a one-way bound between two points in one zone can cross into the other.

The most interesting consequence of this can be seen in a search for Seoul–Sydney, which returns a very fun routing on Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi, even though it’s 127% over the direct distance!

Indeed, Aeroplan’s Flight Reward Policy states that transiting in a different zone on travel between two points in a single zone is generally not permitted, but also mentions that there will sometimes be exceptions to this rule.

So far, our analysis has focused on one-way or round-trip bookings (or, in Aeroplan’s language, bookings that consist of up to two one-way bounds).

Here’s the final layer of intrigue: Aeroplan actually allows you to have up to six “one-way bounds” or “directions” on the same ticket!

The format would be A–B–C–D–E–F–A, or Montreal–London–Istanbul–Bangkok–Sydney–Tokyo–Montreal, to take a nice round-the-world example.

And within each of these one-way bounds, you’re allowed to add a stopover for 5,000 Aeroplan points, meaning that your number of extended stops can technically reach a maximum of 11.

So let’s allow our imagination to run wild: Montreal–Newark–London; London–Athens–Istanbul; Istanbul–Dubai–Bangkok; Bangkok–Singapore–Sydney; Sydney–Beijing–Tokyo; Tokyo–Chicago–Montreal. You’re able to stop for an extended period in all of those places.

You can count these up to make sure that there are six one-way bounds, or directions of travel, in total.

We can even go one step further and add open-jaws into the mix.

Consider this itinerary: Montreal–Newark–London; Paris–Athens–Kos; Istanbul–Dubai–Bangkok; Bangkok–Singapore–Perth; Sydney–Beijing–Osaka; Tokyo–Chicago–Montreal.

With open-jaws between several of the one-way bounds, you’ll be able to visit an additional four cities on your epic round-the-world trip – all while “connecting the dots” between your quartet of open-jaws with the Eurostar, the ferry across the Aegean Sea, the Indian Pacific train across Australia, and the Shinkansen, respectively.

Of course, this all sounds a little too good to be true. So what’s the catch?

Well, the catch is that each of the six one-way bounds is priced individually , and the costs for the total journey will therefore add up very quickly.

Let’s run the numbers on our most extreme example above, assuming fixed partner prices and the lower end of the spectrum for Air Canada’s dynamic prices:

• Montreal–Newark–London: 35,000 points in economy class or 60,000 points in business class 
• Paris–Athens–Kos: 12,500 points in economy class or 25,000 points in business class 
• Istanbul–Dubai–Bangkok: 40,000 points in economy class or 60,000 points in business class 
• Bangkok–Singapore–Perth: 25,000 points in economy class or 45,000 points in business class 
• Sydney–Beijing–Osaka: 37,500 points in economy class or 60,000 points in business class 
• Tokyo–Chicago–Montreal: 50,000 points in economy class or 75,000 points in business class 

Adding it all up, the entire redemption would cost a staggering 200,000 Aeroplan points in economy or 325,000 Aeroplan points in business class.

Add another 30,000 points for adding six stopovers, and you’ll get a total of 230,000 Aeroplan points in economy or 355,000 Aeroplan points in business class.

Don’t get me wrong, 355,000 Aeroplan points is incredible value for a business class round-the-world trip that lets you visit 15 different places, but it’ll certainly take a fair bit of work to rack up those 355,000 points in the first place.

One final note: this is where the true power of Aeroplan Super Elites ’ Priority Rewards comes in to play.

If you’re a Super Elite who can redeem Priority Rewards on worldwide business class tickets, or if you can convince a Super Elite friend to spare you a Priority Reward voucher, then you’d be able to book this entire single award for a staggering 50% off: only 177,500 Aeroplan points!

That sounds like a killer deal all of a sudden, doesn’t it?

Complex multi-stop bookings, if you can pull them off, are one of the most outstanding sweet spots of the Aeroplan program.

For those of us who’d like to squeeze in even more flights and stops along our round-the-world trips, it’s important to familiarize ourselves with the “one-way bound logic” that underpins complex customized redemptions using Aeroplan points.

Sure, we might get a few migraines from trying to understand all the rules, but it’ll all be worthwhile when we’re sipping our Champagne on the journey to a maximum of 11 different extended stops or 15 different cites including open-jaws.

• Earn 80,000 MR points upon spending $15,000 in the first three months
• Plus, earn  40,000 MR points  upon making a purchase in months 14–17 as a cardholder
• And, earn 1.25x MR points on all purchases
• Also, receive a $200 annual travel credit
• Transfer MR points to Aeroplan and other frequent flyer programs for premium flights
• Unlimited airport lounge access for you and one guest at Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, Centurion, and other lounges
• Credits and rebates for business expenses throughout the year with Amex Offers
• Bonus MR points for referring family and friends
• Qualify for the card as a sole proprietor
• Annual fee: $799

105 Comments

Amazingly helpful post, so much detailed information and background accompanied by a thorough and responsive comments section! Thank you all. I am just wondering how I actually make these bookings – online using the Aeroplan site? Which section of the Aeroplan site?

Hi, I’m just double-checking if the “open-jaw counts as a segment rule” invalidates both of these rules or only #2:

1: 12 segments max on one ticket if there’s at least one AC flight 2: 16 segments max on one ticket if no AC flights.

e.g. is this allowed on a single ticket: YVR-YUL-ZRH-AMS-CPH-IST-SIN; (YVR-YUL on AC) SGN-BKK-HKG-PEK-ICN-HND-YVR;

If they allow routing like this it saves some fees vs 2 tickets. Isn’t the 16 max limit a star alliance booking system constraint, but the 12 segment rule appears arbitrary for the new aeroplan, so slight chance it’s only manually enforced?

Hi! Thank you for the content. I have a problem with my itinerary but I don’t what it is. I’m trying to book a crazy first/business one way. CKG-HND-FRA (stopover) FRA-GVA-AUH-IAD (final). They are only able to book it in 2 or 3 segments… I’m under the MPM, under the 6 flights and respect the transit zone… I really want to try “the suite”! Do you know my error please? 🙂

I believe the issue is the direct distance between CKG and AUH (rule 4 in the article). The “bounds” are analyzed segment by segment so CKG-HND-FRA-GVA-AUH is more than double the direct distance between CKG and AUH.

Hi! Thank you for the content. I have a problem with my itinerary but I don’t what it is. I’m trying to book a crazy first/business one way. CKG-HND-FRA (stopover) FRA-GVA-AUH-IAD (final). They are only able to book it in 2 or 3 segments… I’m under the MPM, under the 6 flights and respect the transit zone… Do you know my error please? 🙂

Do you think Aeroplan allows 2 stopovers and 1 open jaw on a reservation? For instance:

YUL-ZRH (stop) ZRH-IST (destination)

NAV( in Turkey)-ZRH (stop) ZRH-YUL

They currently do not.

Trying to figure out what the maximum for layovers is on a single one-way bound award redemption? Is it 15? Assuming only partner airlines?

Changed my final destination to KUL, 10,713 miles total. Booked for 85,000 + 5,000 business. Thanks

Glad it worked out!

Tried to book 2 tickets in Business YUL-CGK with a stopover in DEL.

Available info led me to believe that it would be ”North America to Pacific zones” distance 7,501-11,000 miles so 85,000 + 5,000 for stopover = 90,000 total p.p.

My routing was YUL-ZRH (12h) ZRH-IST (20h) IST-AUH (20h) AUH-DEL (stopover) DEL-BKK (3h) BKK-CGK final destination.

First agent quoted 110,000 p.p. explaining the distance on the new chart applies to the total of all flights 11,440 miles.

Second agent I called quoted 115,000 p.p.

Your routing is 11,378 miles in distance, so it’d be 105,000 points + 5,000 points for the stopover = 110,000 points in total.

Hello! I phoned aeroplan today to make a booking as follows: YYZ→FCO (stopover)→AUH→KUL (destination) (10,587 miles). The representative was insistent that I could do this booking on line, even as I tried to inform him that I would like to make the booking as a flight from YYZ-> KUL with a stopover in FCO (in economy: 60k +5k =65k), not as two single one way tickets (YYZ->FCO and FCO->KUL) (which in economy, prices out to 37.3k+50k=87.3k). Does anyone have experience/suggestions with the terminology/language that I should use with the aeroplan representative? Thanks in advance!

I came across a link you had provided where the search engine would locate all flights between two cities as well as all the airlines that flew between them. Clicking on the dates of the flights would expand and show the arrival and departure times. Just can’t seem to remember the name of which blog post had it. Must remember to bookmark right away.

So glad to have found a Canadian based blogger and with all these sweet deals with Aeroplan 🙂

Thanks for the wonderful posting

Which site/ map did you used to do the mileage required from city to city as shown as posted in order to do a mini trip around the world

Great Circle Mapper: https://princeoftravel.com/blog/how-to-use-great-circle-mapper-like-a-pro/

Hi Matt Thanks a million for the email. Love the way you explain in detail how to use the MAP using your write-up Wishing you al the best for next year.

Thanks for this information, very helpful, as well as your Tweets. Question, I travelled to JNB last year, YVR-TPE-SIN-JNB and return via SIN on EVA, SIA and ANA. Looks like I have to call Aeroplan to do something similar next year. Before I call would I be able to do YVR-NRT-AUH-JNB and back via AUH and NRT? or would I have to return via Europe? I can find availability on all journey segments just wondering if routing is possible?

Thanks! Don

Hey Don, take a look at this post on complex routings now that the new program has launched: https://princeoftravel.com/blog/new-aeroplan-an-early-look-at-complex-routings/

Seems like routing through Asia en route to the Middle East / South Africa will not be possible on a single award.

Thank you Ricky, appreciate it, I’ll try Plan B. Keep up the good work!

Wow, just WOW Ricky. I read all the way to the 6 trips combined example and decided if you can arrange that in 2 to 4 hours for me I would be happy to the the $500 of so it would cost. Brilliant analysis, no need to bookmark since I know PoT is the only resource I need to refer to for Air Canada. Possibly your best work yet .

I am trying to recreate my mRTW I had to cancel

I want to take the Etihad First class apartments starting from YVR.

I had originally had to buy 2 separate award tickets. YVR-YUL (25,000 AP) and then YUL-ZHR-CDG(stop)-AUH-SYD(dest) (110,000 AP) = 135,000 AP (my trip back home was trans pacific) But it seems like now I can theoretically do the same for the same price on 1 ticket this time. However, YVR-SYD = 7,757 mi (15,514 mi) so I can’t make YVR-CDG-AUH-SYD (15,698 mi) work unless they are a bit flexible with the 100% rule.

So can I go SYD-AUH-CDG(stop)-YVR-YYC for 135,000 AP and just drop my last leg? Or would it not allow this since the shorter more direct route would be across the Pacific Ocean?

Some blogs have articles just for clicks and some blogs have articles that will serve as a resource for years to come. PoT is firmly in the second category.

Well that’s very kind of you. To be fair to all bloggers, though, the first category in reasonable quantities can be a good ingredient for growth too. 😉

Thanks for all the examples Ricky – informative as usual. Is YYZ-IST (short layover)-KIV going to cost 70k points in bus (falls into the 4000-6000 miles N. America-Atlantic)? Or the new system will break it into two separate tickets: YYZ-IST + IST-KIV (and thus charge me 70k points + 7.5k points = total 77.5k points)? If that rout uses more than one partner airline – will I be charged twice the $39 fee or only once? Also – am I correct to understand that there is NO circuitous routing here: cai-ist (short layover)-kiv (stopover)-waw (short layover)-lis (short layover)-yyz (destination); yyz-cai Thanks.

Hi Matt Thanks a million for the email. Love the way you explain in detail how to use the MAP using your write-up ok no Wishing you al the best for next year.

The former: 70k points in business. You’ll only pay one $39 partner fee per ticket.

Yes, looks correct to me.

So, to stretch it in a best way in the new Aeroplan – I will pay only 150k points+ $39 for this redemption in business? cai-ist (short layover)-kiv (stop)-waw (short layover)-lis (stop)-yyz (destination); yyz-cai (140000 points + 10000 points for two stops + $39 fee)? Thanks

You can’t have two stopovers on the one-way bound between Cairo and Toronto. If you do that, it’ll be priced as a Cairo–Lisbon one-way, followed by a Lisbon–Toronto one-way, followed by a Toronto–Cairo one-way.

Best to do the Moldova stopover in one direction and the Lisbon stopover in the other.

You are absolutely right – will have one stop on each leg (thus having two non-circuitous routings): cai-ist (short layover)-kiv (stop)-waw (short layover)-yyz (destination); yyz-lis (stop)-cai All that in business for 150000 Aeroplan points + $39 partner fee + taxes – it is a steal deal!! Thanks!

Hi Ricky, I am planning to book before Nov 8,2020 a MIni RTW trip for next year form Sep 16 to Oct 3. The below is the itinerary: YYZ – EWR EWR-IST IST-AMM AMM-CAI CAI-DXB DXB-BKK BKK-SIN SIN-SYD( stop over of 1 week to see New Zealand) SYD-SIN SIN-KUL KUL-IST IST-YYZ Can you please confirm that the route is valid and it is doable and within the allowable mileage.Any suggestion regarding the timing of booking would be appreciated, Thanks

I see one issue here. SYD is in Australia and not New Zealand.

Looks fine to me. You can actually add one more stopover somewhere, since SYD is just your destination.

Ricky, is PE bookable on partner airlines which offer it? I believe LH have PE and so does CX (now bookable online). Is it possible to book them in PE with or without an AC leg? I am Altitude 75k so my Priority Reward would work on those.

My understanding is that premium economy on partners isn’t bookable at the moment and won’t be bookable upon launch either (hence its absence from the award chart). I’ll follow up to see if there’s a view/timeline to make them bookable eventually.

Does the priority rewards voucher need to be redeemed through the super elite’s AC account to get the 50% off biz worldwide? or once I’m ‘gifted’ that priority rewards voucher, I can redeem it for 50% off biz worldwide through my account?

It would always be sitting in the Super Elite’s account and would need to be redeemed with the Super Elite member’s points. There’s no official way to “gift” vouchers as far as I know.

For those of us, who even a strong drink doesn’t help, can you please clarify “100% general rule” means? How are you adding an out-of-the-way stopover not as a destination? Can you clarify how Aeroplan calculates mileage and how that factors into all this? I am finally ready to jump inot the mind-numbing awards, or maybe not. 🙂

I see that you’ve made an update to state, “Each Aeroplan ticket can have a maximum of 12 segments if an Air Canada flight is included, and 16 segments if only partner flights are included.”

and then your example of:

Example 5: The Long Way to Perth -This is 13 segments that include Air Canada flights (YUL-CUN and GVA-YUL)

Advanced: Combining Up to Six One-Way Bounds you have 16 segments. -Within these 16 segments, you have Air Canada flights (YUL-YYT and YVR-YUL)

I’m assuming that these examples are no longer valid because they include an Air Canada flight and are more than 12 segments?

Richard, you are correct. I’ve tweaked the examples so that the itineraries with more than 12 segments can be pure-partner ones. Thanks for helping me along as we navigate the learning process together. 🙂

Ok…. after reading all these new Aeroplan updates, my brain started to hurt around the “very advanced” section of this article. What I am most interested in is finding out the best way to rebook the mini RTW I had to cancel. Originally booked under the 2 stop, my trip looked like this : YYZ-WAW-IST-MLE(stop)-SIN-DPS(stop)-TPE-YYZ My questions are these: 1) I plan to rebook this for next Sept. Would it be wise to do so before Nov 8? 2) If I waited til after, the “cheaper” (points-wise) way to do it would be 2 one-way itineraries that look like this?: (this is my ideal route) YYZ-IST-MLE (stop)-SIN (10972 mi & 85000+ 5000 AP) and SIN-DPS-TPE-YYZ (10916 mi & 85000+5000 AP) total of 180 000 AP (which is 25 000 more than originally)

Did you follow my advice and have a strong drink in hand? 😉

You’re correct about #2. The interesting thing about the new Atlantic/Pacific charts is that an Atlantic stopover + a Pacific destination is often cheaper than the Atlantic destination on its own. 180,000 Aeroplan points is generally the “baseline” for the “new” Aeroplan Mini-RTW so you’re doing well to stick to it. However, as Alice said, if you can find the space before November 8 and are content with having two stops instead of three, I’d recommend booking before to save 25,000 miles/points.

Would this NA-Pacific 3rd band under 11000 ‘sweet spot’ primarily for east coast residents? any example for something just under 11k from YVR? It seems like only Australia would be a suitable destination just under 11k?

YVR-LHR-IST-BKK works, but only just.

Satisfyingly close! Nice find

Hard to find any other routes though

If you are able to find the routes and flights you want before November 8, I see no reason why you shouldn’t book it. Only if you make any voluntary changes after November 8 will you be subject to the new rules. So you could save 25k if you don’t plan to make any changes.

Update for folks. I’ve made some corrections and additions to this article:

– Aeroplan tickets are limited to 12 segments if an Air Canada flight is involved and 16 segments on partner-only itineraries. – Even on round-trips, a one-way bound is limited to 6 segments. My initial understanding that round-trips can have one-way bounds with more than 6 segments was incorrect. This means that any partner-only ticket with more than 12 segments is automatically treated as a minimum of 3 bounds. This also means that my “Example #6” under Aeroplan Mini-RTWs gets significantly more expensive. – In addition to the “100% general rule”, there are some restrictions on logical allowable transit regions, which prohibit one-way bounds such as YYZ-LIS-GRU and LAX-NRT-FRA. I’m working on getting additional clarity on these allowable transit rules.

Any update on logical routing rules? Is it related to crossing certain IATA zones etc..

Thanks for following up Ricky! On the LAX-NRT-FRA, if it was a round trip, would that routing be allowed then?

No, because the bound would still break due to circuitous routing in both directions (as the transit zone isn’t deemed logical). It’d be four bounds.

LAX-NRT-FRA is 11,286 miles, just under 100% (94.4%) more miles than LAX-FRA direct. Shouldn’t this be allowed?

No, see the above-mentioned restrictions on allowable logical transit zones.

Ricky, based on your understanding on the “6 one way bound” per reward, in theory could you book 3 return trips on one reward from the same city example YYZ-LAX-YYZ-SFO-YYZ-YVR-YYZ (understanding it would be 6X whatever fare class you choose). This could make the 50% vouchers very valuable, especially for J.

Responded to your comment below, Adam.

Re: Criteria 5 (restated below) and your example 4). So any return trip is not bound by the six segments rule?

Reaching a maximum of six segments * Exception: On round-trip or multi-city itineraries (of the formats A–B–A, A–B–C–A, etc.), bounds will break at points of turnaround (B, C, etc.) regardless of the number of segments

Yes, it’s my understanding that a return-trip can have 8 segments in one bound and another 8 in another bound.

In the first Example 6, souldn’t the Melbourne–Singapore segment be identified as (destination) instead of (stopover) ?

Yes, it should. Thanks for catching that.

Just trying to extend/incorporate your example #3 and #6. Would you be charged 100k or 85k if the routing was this:

YYZ – IST – MLE (stop) – SIN – SGN (destination)

Allowable for 1 way?

85k. One of the few “creative” methods around. 😉

YYZ-IST: 5,091 mi IST-MLE: 3,764 mi MLE-SIN: 2,113 mi SIN-SGN: 675 mi Total: 11,644 mi

This costs 105k and the stopover is 5k so I thought 110k. No?

Actually, yes. I missed the SGN endpoint at first – if this ended in SIN, it’d be 85k and a 5k savings compared to ending in MLE.

Thanks for the correction! Stopping in SIN just falls below 11,000. Sweet! This is interesting! In the past, it would be difficult to make this kind of routing. Paying more, but at least it is allowable.

It’s unfortunate, but complex mTRW that truly stretch the limits, which were previously possible, are now more expensive (20%+, and reasonable to expect a 40% markup). Sure, no YQ, but in some cases, the YQ fees were negligible, or even worth the cost given the complex itinerary, and the return on points (10%+ in certain cases)

I personally got a lot of value out of the no/low YQ partner airlines and MPM limits; certainly a lot more value than the current program would afford. I suppose good things simply don’t last forever, sadly.

Now, to find a Super Elite who is not looking to use their vouchers…

Also, you’ve mixed up Munich and Frankfurt in this paragraph:

“This trip will be priced on the basis of three one-way bounds: Montreal–Munich, Frankfurt–Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi–New York–Montreal. It’ll definitely be more expensive than if a trip priced with only two one-way bounds.”

If were able to book 6 one way bounds (essentially 3 returns) on one reward, should be lots of SE who have left over vouchers (I will be one)

going from Tokyo to Sao Paulo, can I have a stopover in Canada/US? i.e. HND-YVR (stopover)-EWR-GRU

No stopovers are permitted in Canada and the US.

The bounds approach seems interesting for maximizing 50% J redemption as SE, currently I am booking CMB-AUH-YYZ (100K) could I tag on YYZ-LHR at future date for another (70K) as its not a stop but another “bound” ?

Yes, I believe this would be possible. Combining multiple bounds on the same ticket to use 1 Priority Rewards voucher will be a great way to maximize for those who are willing to put in the effort.

In theory could you book 3 return trips (6 bounds) example YYZ-LAX-YYZ-SFO-YYZ-YVR-YYZ as an example using 1 50% off voucher but paying 6 “one way bounds” if the logic is correct on how this will work

I have followed up on this. Unfortunately, when an itinerary returns to point of origin, additional bounds may not be added to the same reward. This makes sense, to be honest.

However, I suppose this opens the door to stuff like YYZ-SFO-YUL-LAX-EWR-SFO-YYZ. I’m gonna suggest we give this a go ourselves when the time comes. 🙂

Now you have me thinking YYZ-CDG-YUL-FRA-YOW-LHR-YYZ (may still get some pretty great value out of those 50% J redemption’s or 50% Y and burn those ecredits that are always expiring !! I am actually a big fan of the new program, 50% vouchers and ablility to book into upgradeable fares in economy are great changes for myself.

Thanks for the response, completely makes sense ! Wishful thinking. Amazing recaps BTW

Also may be something if your you book on homebound portion if its just point of origin (example YYZ) HKG-YYZ-LHR-YYZ-CDG-YYZ, suspect there would be some sort of rule against this as well though.

Great job, Ricky!!!

Under this section – Advanced: Combining Up to Six One-Way Bounds

You have mistakenly added Istanbul 3 times:

“So let’s allow our imagination to run wild: Montreal–St. John’s–London; London–Athens–Istanbul; Istanbul–Dubai–Bangkok; Istanbul–Singapore–Sydney;”

The 3rd “Istanbul” should be “Bangkok”.

looking to get a one way from eastern canada to tokyo. YYZ-YVR-NRT on a single ticket would be (6758 miles) 75,000 pts

But if i get two one way tickets, it would be: YYZ-YVR (2085 miles) 12,500 pts YVR-NRT (4674 miles) 55,000 pts for a total of 67,500 pts, an economy of 7,500 pts. Am I right?

Only if you’re happy flying the YYZ-YVR in economy (for 12,500 points). If you want it in business, it’d be 25,000 points, negating the overall savings.

For any one-way bound consisting of mixed cabins, there may be possibilities to split the booking and pay less. We’ll explore “creative stuff” like this in a future post (maybe next week).

Oops you’re right, thats thr economy pts…

*cracks knuckles* Time to experiment. This isn’t actually that bad – I think the 100% rule is SIMPLER than MPM in some ways…

Ricky, one of the ways to book old mRTWs was booking the wanted flights (even if in economy), then upgrading the class of service if/when seats became available. That incurred no change fees, since it wasn’t a change to the itinerary.

Do you know if booking prior to Nov 8, then upping the class after Nov 8, would trigger a recalculation using the new rules?

Response from AC: A change to class of service on a Legacy reward will involve a repricing under the new Flight Rewards construct.

Hypothetically speaking could you stopover in europe on your one way to South America for 60k in J?

Something like YVR – LIS (stop)- EZE(dest)? Get a discounted trans Atlantic + a flight to South America?

No. This breaks the underlying IATA zone rules.

The zones make things complicated for mRTW from the West Coast. The N America – Pacific chart has the more generous categories but the western Pacific cities like BKK are a LONG way from YVR. As a result you need to take VERY direct routing via the Atlantic zone to stay in the 11,000 mile category. BKK-IST-YVR works but anything other than *really* direct through Europe is difficult to stay under 11k miles with a mRTW with Pacific zone destination. I’m thinking of using eastern Atlantic zone destinations and just going with the 8k+ category – the top category in Atlantic costs 5k less than the top Pacific one.. It’s 15k more each way that Pacific zone <11k but then you can be much freer in your routing. I'm looking at YVR-TPE-BKK-DPS(stop)-SIN-DAC(destination) then DAC-IST-ATH(stop)-CAI-FRA-YVR which I believe should be 105k for each way. Lots to think on!

Just trying to get my head around the circuitous rule. As an example: The distance between SGN-YVR is 7317 So would something like SGN-NRT-SIN-TPE-YVR (14014) be acceptable as its about 96% of the total?)

And I’m guessing 105K points?

As per my understanding, no.

A bound will break if it is circuitous at any point in the journey. In your example, SGN-NRT-SIN is obviously circuitous, so the bound would break at NRT. For the same reason, it should break at SIN too (because NRT-SIN-TPE would be circuitous). This would be three one-way bounds.

Superb article.

What about the One-and-half trick?(May 2nd 2017 post) Will it still be valid? Will this be considered a 2 bound travel?

Stopovers are no longer permitted in Canada/US, even if the overall itinerary is outside of Canada/US, so the trick is essentially dead unless you live outside of Canada/US.

So not only the north american redemptions do not include a stopover in Canada/US, all of the redemptions cannot have a stopover in Canada/US (or North America region)? Then nested trips are gone….

Canada/US only. Stopovers are still allowed in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

So DPS-TPE-LAX-CUN(stop)-LIS(destination) presumably works for 105k (Pacific-Atlantic)? At no point it exceeds 100%

Ricky, in the last scenario, I think you meant Ho Chi Minh, not Hanoi, but we get it 😉

If I understand the new rules correctly:

yyz-waw-ist-sez(stop)-add-sin-dps(dest), can be changed to this: yyz-add-sez(stop)-ist-dps(dest).

I do like the flexibility of within 200% of distance. Open up so many routings.

My confusion over Vietnamese cities should be all fixed now. 🙂

I don’t think YYZ-ADD-SEZ-IST-DPS will count as a single one-way bound – the logic works iteratively with every segment, so when logic reaches YYZ-ADD-SEZ-IST, the bound will break at SEZ, as this is a circuitous routing that’s 140% the direct distance (YYZ-IST 5,091, YYZ-ADD-SEZ-IST 12,227).

That’s how I understand it.

Oh, they won’t calculate the origin-destination as YYZ-DPS (9866) because yyz-add-sez-ist-dps is 89.1%. Is it because I am stopping/routing through Atlantic region to get to the Pacific region? Hmm, there are going to be a lot of drawing boards.

You’re free to stop in Atlantic on your way to Pacific – it’s because of the circuitous routing that causes the bound to break.

For example, YYZ-IST-SEZ-ADD-SIN-DPS would be a valid one-way bound, because at no point in the middle does the routing become circuitous.

Using your example above (SGN-NRT-SIN-TPE-YVR),

IST-ADD is 2307mi and IST-SEZ-ADD is 5072mi (120% more) – wouldn’t this break the bound in SEZ, resulting in 2 one-way bounds? i.e., YYZ-IST-SEZ and SEZ-ADD-SIN-DPS?

You should be using YYZ, not IST to calculate. So it is, YYZ-IST, then YYZ-IST-SEZ against YYZ-SEZ, then YYZ-IST-SEZ-ADD against YYZ-ADD, then YYZ-IST-SEZ-ADD-SIN against YYZ-SIN, and finally the entire journey against YYZ-DPS.

This is exactly my understanding. The logic checks each segment one-by-one to see if the bound breaks. If the routing from the bound’s beginning becomes circuitous at any point, the bound breaks at the previous stop.

What if the routing from the middle of the bound becomes circuitous? For example, take A-B-C-D: A-B-C must be less than double the mileage of A-C, and A-B-C-D likewise for A-D. But does B-C-D need to pass the test for B-D?

No. The journey only calculates from the bound beginning, so always A only.

Thank you Ricky! I get it now! It is not just calculating A-C, you need to continuous confirm that A-B1-B2-B3-C continues to be circuitous. Wow, this is advance stuff.

Has it been confirmed that the 50% offs will work with partner itineraries.

Hopefully it will only be with AC itineraries and leave availability on the good airlines for the rest of us!

The 50% off Priority Rewards can be redeemed on any award, including partners.

I don’t think Asiana flies ICN-ORD anymore, they axed that route last year…

In example 4, isn’t SGN Ho Chi Minh? Hanoi is a different city in the north I think

Both good catches, thank you. Corrected it to ICN-JFK. Hanoi is indeed a different city, so that’s corrected too.

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Air Show Report : MAKS 2005 Moscow International Aviation & Space Salon

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Everything to know about the 2024 total solar eclipse

North America is on the verge of another masking of the sun.

Monday's total solar eclipse will make landfall along Mexico's Pacific coast and cross into Texas and 14 other U.S. states, before exiting over Canada.

It will last almost twice as long, with an even wider audience, than the total solar eclipse that stretched coast-to-coast in the U.S. in 2017.

The moon will shroud the sun for up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds, a spectacle normally unfolding in remote corners of the globe but this time passing over major cities like Dallas, Indianapolis and Cleveland and Buffalo. An estimated 44 million people live within the path of totality, with another couple hundred million within 200 miles, guaranteeing the continent's biggest eclipse crowd ever.

EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2024 SOLAR ECLIPSE

Free glasses, best viewing locations across tri-state to see total solar eclipse.

New York City public libraries are offering eclipse glasses while supplies last and there are plans for New York City Parks to host viewing events in all five boroughs.

Check out a full list of where to view the eclipse as well as other places to get your free eclipse glasses.

How to find the best solar eclipse viewing spot near you

As excitement builds for the total solar eclipse on Monday, the Tri-State area may have some of the more favorable viewing spots in the country.

And the New York City area, though 10% shy of totality, will enjoy a great shot of taking in the celestial spectacle, with darkening skies, dropping temperatures and wild animals reacting to the sudden dimming.

Upstate New York could offer a sweet spot for viewing. Places like Syracuse are right on the edge of the path of totality and where cloud cover will be lowest.

How the solar eclipse will impact plants and animals

Scientists will be studying how the solar eclipse phenomenon will affect plant and animal activity on Earth . The eclipse may last just mere minutes for those in the path of totality, but the effect it has on the natural world will be profound, researchers told ABC News.

Researchers expect breeding birds to quiet down, crickets to start to vocalize and bees to stop buzzing.

LaVerne Biser, 105, to witness his 13th solar eclipse

LaVerne Biser will soon witness his 13th solar eclipse on April 8. The 105-year-old, born in Ohio, would travel the world with his wife, Marion Biser, and schedule their vacations around the eclipse.

Biser is an amateur astronomer who has a large collection of images and photos of the solar eclipses they've witnessed. By trade, he was a mechanical engineer, whose team performed stress tests for large-scale planes.

State of emergency declared as 1 million people expected to visit Niagara Falls

Ontario's Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency as it prepares to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse in early April. The total solar eclipse will be the first to touch the province since 1979, and Niagara Falls was declared by National Geographic to be one of the best places to see it.

The city is in the path of totality, where the moon will entirely block the sun's rays for a few minutes. Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said earlier in March that he expects the most visitors his city has ever seen in a single day.

New York City public libraries to give away free solar eclipse shades for safe viewing

If you still need to pick up shades for the total solar eclipse, New York City libraries have you covered. All three of the city's public library systems will be distributing free solar eclipse glasses .

Glasses will be available while quantities last on a first-come, first-serve basis at all Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library, and New York Public Library locations.

New York inmates are suing to watch solar eclipse after state orders prisons locked down

Inmates in New York are suing the state corrections department over the decision to lock down prisons during next Monday's total solar eclipse.

The suit filed Friday in federal court in upstate New York argues that the April 8 lockdown violates inmates' constitutional rights to practice their faiths by preventing them from taking part in a religiously significant event.

Fake eclipse glasses are hitting the market. Here's how to tell if you have a pair

As the total solar eclipse, occurring across Mexico, the United States and Canada on April 8, draws near, experts are reminding spectators to grab a pair of eclipse glasses to view the celestial event safely - and to make sure they aren't fake .

Whether you're using a fancy camera or a smartphone, here's how to take photos of the solar eclipse

The upcoming April 8 total eclipse will likely be the one of the most photographed events of the year, with almost 32 million people in the United States alone living in the path of totality.

Weather permitting, it is an incredible opportunity for photographers of any skill level. Whether you're working with a high-end DSLR camera or a smartphone, an experienced astrophotographer has some tips on how to make the moment last through images.

Total solar eclipse could cause air travel delays: FAA

A total solar eclipse set to deliver a stunning display in the sky on April 8 could be trouble for some air travelers and pilots due to possible flight delays, the Federal Aviation Administration warned.

The eclipse -- which will pass over Mexico, the United States and Canada -- is expected to impact air traffic and airports along the eclipse's path from April 7 until April 10, the FAA said in a notice about special air traffic procedures. This could mean delays for air travelers, too -- especially as the eclipse overlaps with spring break travel, the agency said Wednesday.

The FAA estimated that any air travel impacts from the eclipse would be felt from April 7 at 6 a.m. until April 10 at midnight.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Chief Meteorologist Lee Goldberg will cover the eclipse from Syracuse, New York, while meteorologist Brittany Bell will be reporting from Niagara Falls. Plus, we invite you to watch

ABC News and National Geographic's "Eclipse Across America" live on April 8 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT on ABC, ABC News Live, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+ and Hulu.

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