There appears to be another devaluation of Latitude reward tickets on Air Canada. I cannot speak how widespread this devaluation is, however, I first noticed it on a flight between Vancouver and Toronto, which I track very closely.
I do want to add a disclaimer, there are other transcontinental flights I do not track, and I cannot speak to those routes, such as Vancouver to Halifax. However, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa have priced quite similarly, and all three destinations from Vancouver are impacted by this devaluation.
What is a Latitude Fare?
Air Canada has three categories of award tickets for Economy Class; Standard, Flex, and Latitude.
The differences between the three fare buckets were:
- Refundability
- Changes
- Same Day Airport Change
- Same Day Airport Standby
- Priority Check-in service
- Priority Baggage
- Maple Leaf Lounge access fee
- Seat Selection
Latitude award tickets are completely refundable. Flex and Latitude award tickets have no change fee. In Economy class, Latitude award tickets also allow complimentary preferred seating on Air Canada.
One stark difference over Economy Latitude and Economy Flex is the amount of E-Upgrade credits required to upgrade into Domestic or Signature Business Class on Air Canada. Economy Flex award tickets typically require 10 E-Upgrade credits on a flight from Vancouver to Toronto. Economy Latitude only requires 4 E-Upgrade credits.
For award tickets on Premium Economy and Business class, Air Canada only has two different categories: Lowest and Flex. The main difference is the cost of changing or refunding an award ticket. Flex tickets are always free. Lowest tickets typically incur a charge of $100 to $150, for a change or cancellation respectively.
What was the old difference between the different award buckets?
I only ever look at pricing of Economy Standard and Economy Latitude. Economy Standard is what comes up on search results. Economy Latitude is the fare category I use to explore instant upgrades, subject to availability, at time of booking. I cannot speak about the pricing for Economy Flex, and if there has been any devaluation on those award tickets.
When booking more than one week in advance, despite dynamic award pricing, the pricing is relatively consistent. As long as there is inventory on X (Economy Class) or I (Business Class), you will find award tickets generally priced at around 12,500 or 25,000 Aeroplan points for a one-way ticket between Vancouver and Toronto in Economy Standard and Business Low respectively. I am not sure what the award bucket for Premium Economy is, however, the lowest fare is typically around 18,000 to 19,000 Aeroplan points, around mid-way between Economy and Business Class. This excludes any small discount awarded to elite status members and Aeroplan credit card holders.
Historically Economy Latitude tickets have commanded an 18,000 mile premium from Standard for flights between Vancouver and Toronto. If the award ticket was 12,500 points, you could redeem Economy Latitude award tickets for around 30,000 Aeroplan points on the same flight. This has been constant for quite a while.
What is the new pricing of Economy Latitude?
Today, I saw the price that I would ordinarily expect a Latitude award pricing to be 30,000 Aeroplan points, increase to 39,500 Aeroplan points. That would be an increase of 27,000 Aeroplan points. This pricing is where I am logged in as an Air Canada 50K and an American Express Aeroplan Reserve credit card holder.
Does it impact Premium Economy or Business Class?
Premium Economy award pricing has not changed. It has always been about 12,000 Aeroplan points to upgrade from Premium Economy Low to Premium Economy Flex. The screenshot below shows 18,500 Aeroplan points from Ottawa to Vancouver in Premium Economy Low and 30,500 Aeroplan points for Premium Economy Flex.
Business award pricing has not changed. It has always been about 14,000 Aeroplan points to upgrade from Business Low to Business Flex. The screenshot shows 24,400 Aeroplan points on Business Class Low from Vancouver to Toronto and 38,400 Aeroplan points in Business Class Flex.
Who does it impact?
I do not know many people who voluntarily purchase a Latitude fare, without knowing the use of E-Upgrade credits. For most people, this devaluation has very little impact. They will continue on redeeming for Economy Standard award ticket. For those who understand E-Upgrade, and want to travel in Business Class on points, they will be impacted the most. The price premium for a Latitude award ticket is over 25,000 Aeroplan points, the same number of points that you could redeem a Business Class award ticket instead. You could also use a Same Day Change to move your flights around to your preferred flight departure.
The other segment of travelers who it impacts are elite status holders who want to use their priority rewards. Since this change only impacts Economy Class, most of the impact will be felt by Aeroplan 25K status holders. Those who have 35K or 50K will not be impacted as much, since they can book directly in Premium Economy. If you are 75K or Super Elite, you must use your priority rewards for international flights rather than domestic flights.
Conclusion
Ultimately, this change is a devaluation of about 10,000 Aeroplan points, per direction, for anyone who wants to upgrade to Business Class from Economy Class. For a round-trip ticket, that is 20,000 Aeroplan points, per person.
The most optimal use of rewards on domestic flights within Canada is now finding Premium Economy Low or Business Low award tickets. However, finding those tickets are much more complicated than Economy Standard tickets.
Economy Flex does not have free refunds. It does have free changes.
Thank you for pointing out my error. I wrote Flex thinking Premium Economy or Business but that is not what was ultimately written. I have corrected the article.