Canadian Couple Uses Aeroplan Rewards for Mini-World Tour Across Five Continents

Virginia and her husband, both doctoral students affiliated with Canadian and French universities respectively, embarked on a mini-world tour across five continents in August 2019. They had been accumulating Aeroplan Miles since January of that year, thanks to milesopedia, and used these rewards for their travel.

The couple's research focused on Latin America and South America, which aligned with their destinations: Europe (Paris) and South America (São Paulo). However, they were able to save 30,000 Aeroplan Miles each by changing the destination to Perth, Australia, which offered a higher number of miles. This allowed them to add a stop in Paris on the outbound journey and São Paulo for the return trip.

For their air travel, they paid $1,678, including card costs, taxes, and Aeroplan reservation fees. One of the benefits of using American Express Corporate Platinum Card was access to airport lounges, which saved them around $20-25 per flight by reducing unnecessary purchases like snacks or drinks.

The couple's accumulation of 180,000 Aeroplan Miles required $749 in card fees, with a total spending of $12,000 over six months. They used their student insurance and made payments through Plastiq to maximize their rewards earnings.