Aeroplan has unveiled a new Fourth Night Free feature for hotel bookings made on its platform, which is similar to what many major hotel loyalty programs offer for award bookings.
Between now and December 31, 2024, cardholders of any of Aeroplan’s Canadian- or US-issued co-branded credit cards can enjoy an unlimited Fourth Night Free benefit for all hotel redemptions booked with Aeroplan points.
Aeroplan Introduces Fourth Night Free Benefit for Hotel Bookings
Aeroplan has introduced a new feature to its hotel booking platform, whereby anyone with an Aeroplan co-branded credit card can enjoy a Fourth Night Free benefit when redeeming points for hotel stays.
The benefit is available for bookings made between September 13, 2023, and December 31, 2024, although the actual dates of your stay can extend beyond that.
For every four-night consecutive stay booked at the same property, eligible cardholders will enjoy one of those nights at no cost in Aeroplan points.
For example, if a hotel stay costs 15,000 points per night, a four-night stay will only cost the member 45,000 points with the Fourth Night Free benefit.
It’s important to note that to benefit from the Fourth Night Free offer, the nights must be on a single booking at the same property. Therefore, if you were to make two separate bookings for two nights each, you won’t benefit from a free night.
The Fourth Night Free benefit also applies to longer stays, which means that for every eight consecutive nights booked at the same property, you’ll only pay for six with points.
There are no blackout dates imposed on the Fourth Night Free benefit, nor are there caps as to how many free nights you can earn.
HotelSavers rates are eligible for the Fourth Night Free benefit, too. As a reminder, HotelSavers offers discounted rates at select hotels available through the Aeroplan platform.
If the cost of your booking fluctuates throughout the stay, you’ll receive a free night based on the average cost throughout the stay.
For example, if two nights cost 20,000 Aeroplan points, and another two nights cost 30,000 Aeroplan points, you’ll be charged a total of 75,000 points for the stay, or an average of 25,000 points for three nights.
It’s worth noting that the Fourth Night Free benefit doesn’t apply to Cash + Points bookings, or bookings made with cash only through the Aeroplan hotel booking platform.
As long as you have an eligible Aeroplan co-branded credit card, the Fourth Night Free benefit will automatically apply to eligible bookings.
| Credit Card | Best Offer | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
Up to 100,000 Aeroplan points† $599 annual fee |
Up to 100,000 Aeroplan points† | $1,068 |
Apply Now |
Up to 50,000 Aeroplan points† $139 annual fee |
Up to 50,000 Aeroplan points† | $840 |
Apply Now |
95,000 Aeroplan points $599 annual fee |
95,000 Aeroplan points | $819 |
Apply Now |
Up to 100,000 Aeroplan points $599 annual fee |
Up to 100,000 Aeroplan points | $819 |
Apply Now |
45,000 Aeroplan points $120 annual fee |
45,000 Aeroplan points | $720 |
Apply Now |
60,000 Aeroplan points First Year Free |
60,000 Aeroplan points | $714 |
Apply Now |
45,000 Aeroplan points First Year Free |
45,000 Aeroplan points | $714 |
Apply Now |
90,000 Aeroplan points $599 annual fee |
90,000 Aeroplan points | $611 |
Apply Now |
Up to 20,000 Aeroplan points† First Year Free |
Up to 20,000 Aeroplan points† | $434 |
Apply Now |
10,000 Aeroplan points $0 annual fee |
10,000 Aeroplan points | $210 |
Apply Now |
The addition of the Fourth Night Free benefit gives eligible Aeroplan members more flexibility for redeeming their points, since not everybody uses Aeroplan points exclusively for flights.
Is Aeroplan’s Fourth Night Free Feature a Good Deal?
Generally speaking, we recommend using Aeroplan points to book flights, since it tends to offer the best value. However, some members may wish to redeem their points for hotel stays, car rentals, or merchandise, if they don’t otherwise have a use for them.
We currently value Aeroplan points at 2.1 cents per point (CAD), and we use this metric as a target baseline value for redemptions.
Since the cost of hotels fluctuates on a nightly basis, it’s difficult to pin an exact value for hotel stays booked with Aeroplan points.
By and large, the best value for using Aeroplan points to book hotels comes with HotelSavers redemptions, which were launched in 2022.
As a reminder, HotelSavers has eight categories of hotels, with a range of points expected with each category.
For example, a four-night stay at lower-end Category 2 property such as the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Brampton costs 54,000 Aeroplan points with the Fourth Night Free benefit, or an average of 13,500 points per night.
When compared to the cash rate for the hotel, which prices out at $791 (CAD) on the same dates, the redemption would yield a value of around 1.46 cents per point (CAD), which is below our target value.
It’s worth noting that without the Fourth Night Free benefit available, that same four-night redemption would have cost 72,000 Aeroplan points. Therefore, if you were going to book a four-night stay with Aeroplan points, you’ll now wind up getting a better deal.
However, the value you can get when using Aeroplan points for hotel bookings can also be higher.
For example, the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa is a Category 8 HotelSavers property.
A four-night stay here might cost 565,900 Aeroplan points, with the Fourth Night Free benefit included. This works out to an average of 141,475 points per night, which is outside of the range published on the HotelSavers chart in this example.
The same stay prices out at $11,762 (CAD), which yields a value of 2.28 cents per point (CAD) – above our target value of 2.1 cents per point (CAD).
Without the Fourth Night Free benefit, this same stay would cost a total of 754,550 Aeroplan points, yielding a lower value of 1.56 cents per point (CAD).
Our previous analyses of HotelSavers bookings suggest an average value of around 1.7–1.8 cents per point (CAD), although it’s worth noting that you can also get more or less value, as demonstrated above.
On the other hand, if you were to redeem Aeroplan points for, say, a transatlantic business class flight, you might end up squeezing more value out of your points.
For example, a one-way business class flight with Swiss from Toronto to Zurich costs 70,000 Aeroplan points plus $105 (CAD) in taxes and fees.
That same flight might cost around $3,500 (CAD) when booked as part of a round-trip booking.
With the taxes and fees taken into consideration, you’d wind up with a redemption value of 4.85 cents per point (CAD).
It goes to show that in general, redeeming Aeroplan points for flights tends to offer more value for your points.
On the other hand, if you plan on using your Aeroplan points to make a hotel booking, you’ll likely get the best value by leveraging the Fourth Night Free benefit alongside a HotelSavers booking.
Conclusion
Aeroplan has debuted a new feature for booking hotels on its platform, through which all Aeroplan co-branded credit cardholders can enjoy a Fourth Night Free benefit. The feature lasts from now until December 31, 2024, although bookings can be made for beyond that date.
With the Fourth Night Free benefit, members will be charged the average cost of three nights for a four-night stay. The feature also applies to longer bookings, such that you’ll only pay for six nights with points on an eight-night stay, and so on.
It’s worth noting that you tend to get better value from Aeroplan points by booking flights instead of hotel stays. However, if you tend to use your points for hotels instead of flights, this new feature will likely be of benefit to you.
