When Aeroplan moved the four of us from Lufthansa business class to United economy, I knew we should receive some points back. I didn’t know the refund would eventually total 168,000 Aeroplan points.
Our original award cost 70,000 points per person. After our Lufthansa flight was canceled, we accepted economy seats on United because they were the best way to keep the trip from falling apart.
Aeroplan told me the points difference couldn’t be calculated until after we completed the flight. I would need to save our boarding passes, submit proof that we had flown in economy and wait as long as two months for the adjustment.
Two months later, nothing had happened.
That led to another call to Aeroplan, a 75-minute conversation and a consultation with its internal pricing department.
That was 168,000 Aeroplan points in total.
Even more surprising, the refund left us paying only 28,000 points per person for the flight—less than I expected an economy award on United between Washington Dulles and Frankfurt to cost.
Accepting The Downgrade
Keeping Washington Dulles as our departure airport was important. Sharon and I were flying there from Orlando on separate positioning tickets, while our friends were arriving from Atlanta. Moving the international departure to another city would have meant rearranging four additional flights in the middle of an already complicated disruption.
Before Aeroplan could change the reservation, I confirmed several times that all four of us could be rebooked on the United flight. Because our friends were on a separate reservation, the agent also needed their approval. We eventually got everyone on a conference call so they could confirm that they were willing to give up the Lufthansa business-class seats and fly to Frankfurt in economy.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but there wasn’t much reason to wait for something better. We had hotel and train reservations waiting in Germany, and there was no guarantee that four business-class seats would suddenly appear on another flight.
At that point, getting to Europe mattered more than preserving the cabin we had originally booked.
The Points Refund Would Have To Wait
While Aeroplan was processing the change, I asked what would happen to the difference in points.
The United economy flight was less expensive than the Lufthansa business-class award, but the agent said Aeroplan couldn’t calculate or issue the refund immediately. We would need to complete the flight first and request an adjustment afterward.
I was specifically told to keep our boarding passes and tickets showing that we had flown in economy. After the trip, I would need to send those documents to Air Canada as proof of the downgrade.
Even after submitting everything, the refund wouldn’t be immediate. The agent warned me that it could take several weeks, possibly as long as two months, for the points to return.
Still, the alternative was risking the rest of the trip while waiting for four premium-cabin seats that might never appear.
We took the economy flight.
Submitting The Refund Request
After returning home, I followed the instructions Aeroplan had given me.
I emailed Air Canada all of the documents showing that our canceled Lufthansa business-class itinerary had been replaced with economy seats on United. I saved the boarding passes, screenshots and updated ticket information as instructed.
Then I waited.
Since I had been told the process could take up to two months, I didn’t immediately start calling to ask about the points.
But after two months had passed, there was still no refund.
A 75-Minute Call To Aeroplan
Once the two-month mark passed, I set aside some time and called Aeroplan.
The estimated wait time to speak with an agent was about an hour, so I took the option to receive a callback instead of remaining on hold. It took about an hour before my phone rang.
While reaching an Aeroplan representative can require some patience, I’ve generally found its agents to be friendly and knowledgeable. This call was no exception.
After I explained that our Lufthansa business-class flight had been canceled, that we had accepted economy seats on United and that I had been promised a refund of the points difference, the agent began reviewing the reservation. Having the original ticket numbers made the process much easier.
She eventually told me that she needed to speak with Aeroplan’s internal pricing department to determine the adjustment amount.
This time, she was the one stuck waiting on hold.
There was some back-and-forth while the pricing department requested more information about the original itinerary and replacement flight. Eventually, the agent returned with an answer.
Aeroplan would refund 42,000 points per passenger, and the points should be deposited as soon as possible.
The entire call lasted about 75 minutes.
Fortunately, “as soon as possible” really did mean soon. The points were back in my account that evening.
Aeroplan Refunded 42,000 Points Per Person
The adjustment reduced the final cost of the flight to 28,000 Aeroplan points per person:
70,000 points originally charged
– 42,000 points refunded
= 28,000 points for the economy flight
Across four passengers, Aeroplan returned 168,000 points to our accounts.
That was a significant refund and more than half of the points we had originally redeemed.
Aeroplan didn’t simply give us a small goodwill credit for the inconvenience. Its internal pricing department reviewed the replacement itinerary and determined that we were owed 42,000 points per person.
We still lost the Lufthansa A380 business-class experience we had planned, and no points refund could replace that. However, at least we weren’t left paying 70,000 points for an economy seat.
The Final Price Was Surprisingly Low
What surprised me was that our final cost of 28,000 points was lower than the amount Aeroplan normally quotes for many United economy awards between North America and Europe.
I don’t know exactly how Aeroplan’s internal pricing department calculated the adjustment.
It’s possible that Aeroplan calculates involuntary downgrade adjustments differently than it does for standard award reservations. It may have based the refund on an internal value assigned to the replacement ticket rather than the price someone would have seen while searching for the flight online.
That’s only speculation. The agent didn’t explain the formula, and I wasn’t going to argue with the result.
We received 42,000 points back for each ticket, resulting in a very reasonable final price for the economy flight we actually took.
Keep Everything Until The Refund Arrives
The biggest lesson from this experience is that solving the immediate travel problem may only be the first step.
Aeroplan told me in advance that the refund would have to be handled after the flight. Had I misplaced the boarding passes or failed to save the original and updated ticket information, proving that we had flown in economy could have been more difficult.
When accepting a downgrade, ask exactly how the fare or mileage difference will be handled. Find out whether the adjustment will happen automatically, whether you need to submit a request and which documents you’ll need afterward.
Then keep everything until the refund is complete.
In our case, even following the instructions wasn’t enough to make the adjustment happen on its own. After waiting the full two months, I still had to call Aeroplan and spend 75 minutes working through the issue.
But once the right person reviewed the reservation, the outcome was fair. Aeroplan refunded 42,000 of the 70,000 points we had paid for each ticket, and the miles appeared in my account that same evening.
When a trip goes off the rails before it starts, the first goal is getting it moving again. Sometimes the financial details have to be sorted out later.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
