Esso and Aeroplan Parting Ways

Effective May 31, 2018, Esso stations will no longer issue Aeroplan miles. The current earning options are as follows:

  • Earn 1 Aeroplan Mile for every $3 spent on purchases of Esso Regular Grade gasoline, car washes or convenience store items
  • Earn 1 Aeroplan Mile for every $3 spent on Esso Diesel fuel
  • Earn 2 Aeroplan Miles for every $3 spent on Esso Extra Grade gasoline
  • Earn 3 Aeroplan Miles for every $3 spent on Esso Supreme Grade gasoline
  • Earn 4 Aeroplan Miles for every $3 spent on Esso Supreme+ Grade gasoline (in the Greater Toronto Area only)

Just this move alone, is probably not a huge deal to both companies. For Esso, they still have their Esso Extra program, which they will probably put more emphasis on instead. For Aeroplan, Esso may not have been one of their larger partners, but this can be a concerning trend.

As the Air Canada / Aeroplan breakup draws closer (June 30, 2020), the question remains what is Aeroplan going to do. I doubt Aeroplan even knows what is going to happen. The best they can do is be hopeful that there will be some sort of breakthrough. For now, losing partnerships is probably not going to help.

In the meantime, I have been going with the earn and burn approach with Aeroplan. Once I reach the number of miles that I need for a specific reward redemption, I move ahead. I am not currently trying to hoard my miles until I hear some more positive news.

18 Comments

  1. I only go to esso because of the aero points, I guess I will stick with shell for their air miles now.

      1. And I’m sure Esso will notice the drop the sales. And that may influence a return to the program. They won’t see me there again until they do!

  2. My concern is as Aeroplan shrinks in partnerships and revenue it could be reasonably assumed that they will be making adjustments to the value of their points. So a $25 gift card that was 3,000 pts will be bumped up to 3,200 for example, and I think that a case like this would be a best-case scenario.

    There has only been bad news for Aimia (who stock has lost 90% of its value since 2015), and something has to give. My advice if you have a decent amount of Aeroplan points, CASH OUT NOW! Forget your dreams of travel with this arrangement and get as many gift cards that you can (ex. Esso gift cards if you drive). At least this way you can put aside the cash you save and sock it in your vacation fund.

    I don’t mean to be a pessimist, but the way it’s looking one could reasonably fear “going concern” issues with Aeroplan.

    And to get super nerdy on this subject, if Aimia was to go bankrupt, where on the payout pecking order are the points holders? In general accounting, loyalty points are an unearned revenue on the balance sheet that is a liability until the performance obligation is satisfied, so are point holders a type of creditor that get paid before shareholders? If anyone knows how this works and can comment it would be appreciated.

    Furthermore, it would be an exciting article/public service to know where points holders stand in the event of the loyalty administrator going bankrupt. I think that many people would want to read that article before committing to a loyalty program.

    1. This is good news for me. I stopped collecting Aeroplan Miles at Esso in favor of the Esso Extra Points reward program which provides 1 point per litre which equates to a typical return of 0.57% with a gas price of $1.25/L (where 1400 points can be redeemed for a $10 PRICE PRIVILEGES Card).

      I will start collecting PC Optimum points on June 1st since this provides 10 points per litre which equates to a typical return of 0.8% with a gas price of $1.25/L (where 10,000 points = $10 at Loblaw Companies).

      Per the press release:
      PC Optimum members will earn 10 points per litre on fuel, and 10 points per dollar on eligible convenience store or car wash services at Esso stations. Registered members may also receive targeted offers. Additionally, customers using a President’s Choice Financial Mastercard® at Esso and Mobil stations will continue to have the ability to accelerate their earnings potential as they do today.

      https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/pc-optimum-members-will-soon-be-able-to-fill-up-on-points-at-esso-stations-676642783.html

  3. I had the CIBC and liquidated all my points in 2014 when I switched to the RBC world elite mastercard…At that time you could easily find a roundtrip flight from Canada to USA for 25k aeroplan with a good itinerary.

    After that it went belly up with double the points needed with overnights and a gazillion connections at odd hours with 3 seats available per week…PC OPTIMUM is getting stronger…grocery chain,pharmacie and gas station..looks like the futur is bright for them while Aeroplan is struggling to stay afloat..
    Now what can I have with my 20 aeroplan miles is the question…lol

  4. I already link my save on more points with my petro points for my alternative gas choice.

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