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Aeroplan Family Sharing: How It Works Canada 2026

Updated

Aeroplan Family Sharing is one of the most powerful and underused features of the Aeroplan program. It lets up to eight family members pool their points for a single booking — without permanently transferring points between accounts. If your household has been collecting points separately, Family Sharing can unlock redemptions that were previously out of reach.

What Is Aeroplan Family Sharing?

Aeroplan Family Sharing is a feature that allows a group of up to eight Aeroplan members to combine their points balances for award bookings. Points are not permanently merged — each member keeps their own account and separate balance. When a booking is made, the required points are drawn from all member accounts simultaneously.

This is a major improvement over older loyalty programs that required permanent point transfers (often with fees) to consolidate balances.

Aeroplan Family Sharing at a Glance

DetailInfo
Maximum group size8 members (including organiser)
Points transferred permanently?No — drawn from accounts at booking only
Eligible relationshipsAny (family, partner, close friends)
Works for Air Canada flights?Yes
Works for Star Alliance partner flights?Yes
Works for eUpgrade credits?No
Works for merchandise / gift cards?No
Cost to useFree
Cooling-off after leaving a group~90 days before joining another group
Affects Elite Status earning?No — Status is earned individually

Who Can Be in a Family Sharing Group?

Aeroplan defines eligible Family Sharing members broadly. You don’t need to be legally related — the group can include:

  • Spouses or domestic partners
  • Children (any age)
  • Siblings
  • Parents and grandparents
  • Close friends who share a household

Maximum group size: 8 members, including the group organiser.

Minimum age: All group members must have an active Aeroplan account. There’s no minimum age requirement, but minors may need a parent or guardian to manage their account.

How to Set Up Aeroplan Family Sharing

Setting up a Family Sharing group takes about 10–15 minutes online. Here’s the process:

Step 1: Log in to your Aeroplan account

Go to aircanada.com and sign in with your Aeroplan credentials. You’ll be the group organiser — responsible for managing invitations and the group.

Step 2: Navigate to Family Sharing

In your Aeroplan profile, look for the “Family Sharing” section. Click “Create a Family Sharing group.”

Step 3: Invite members

Enter the email address associated with each member’s Aeroplan account. They will receive an invitation email with a link to accept.

Step 4: Members accept invitations

Each invited member logs into their own Aeroplan account and accepts the invitation. Once accepted, their account is linked to the group.

Step 5: Start booking

Once members are linked, the group organiser (or any member) can make bookings that draw from multiple accounts. The booking tool will show available combined balances.

How Pooled Points Work for Bookings

When making an award booking using Family Sharing, Aeroplan draws points from member accounts in a specific order:

  1. The primary traveller’s account is charged first
  2. Remaining required points are drawn from other linked accounts, in the order chosen by the booking member

Important rules:

  • All travellers on the booking must be members of the same Family Sharing group
  • Points are drawn at the time of booking — they are not reserved in advance
  • Each member’s points are drawn proportionally or as directed during checkout

Example:

A Toronto → London business class round trip requires 130,000 Aeroplan points. The family group has:

  • Parent A: 70,000 points
  • Parent B: 50,000 points
  • Adult child: 30,000 points

Total: 150,000 points → Sufficient to cover the 130,000-point redemption. The remaining 20,000 points stay in the respective accounts.

What Can You Book With Family Sharing?

Family Sharing works for all standard Aeroplan award bookings:

  • Air Canada flights (economy, premium economy, business, first)
  • Star Alliance partner flights
  • Select non-alliance partner flights
  • Hotel and car rental awards

Family Sharing does not work for:

  • Upgrades using eUpgrade credits (these are tied to individual Elite Status accounts)
  • Point transfers to partner programs
  • Merchandise or gift card redemptions

Tips to Maximise Aeroplan Family Sharing

1. Combine everyone’s welcome bonuses

If multiple family members each earn a 50,000-point welcome bonus on an Aeroplan credit card, the combined balance of 100,000–200,000 points can unlock high-value business class redemptions without years of earning.

2. Focus one member as the “primary earner”

Rather than distributing spending across multiple Aeroplan cards evenly, consider having one member concentrate their spending on the highest-earning category card (e.g., the Amex Aeroplan Reserve for 3x on Air Canada, or the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite for 1.5x on grocery and gas). The other members contribute their balances for the combined booking.

3. Pool for business class redemptions

The biggest value unlock from Family Sharing is business class redemptions. A single member might not have the 110,000–150,000 points needed for a transatlantic business class ticket, but two or three members pooling balances can cover it comfortably.

4. Coordinate expiry management

Aeroplan points expire after 18 months of account inactivity. Within a Family Sharing group, each member must individually maintain their own account activity — sharing points for a booking counts as activity for the points-contributing member.

5. Keep members with small balances active

If a family member has a small Aeroplan balance (say, 5,000 points from an old flight), adding them to the group and contributing those points to a large booking is a good way to keep their account active while using otherwise idle points.

Leaving or Changing a Family Sharing Group

  • The group organiser can remove members at any time
  • Members can leave a group voluntarily
  • If the group organiser leaves, a new organiser must be designated or the group is dissolved
  • There’s a cooling off period before a removed or departing member can join a new group (typically 90 days — verify current terms at aircanada.com)

Aeroplan Family Sharing FAQ

Can I be in more than one Aeroplan Family Sharing group at the same time? No. Each Aeroplan account can belong to only one Family Sharing group at a time.

Do my points transfer permanently when I use Family Sharing? No. Points are drawn from your account only when a booking is completed. They are not pre-committed or reserved. If the booking is cancelled, points are returned to the original accounts (subject to cancellation terms).

Can I use Family Sharing to book a flight for someone who isn’t in the group? No. All travellers on the booking must be members of the same Family Sharing group.

What if I leave a Family Sharing group — do I lose my points? No. Your remaining Aeroplan points stay in your account. Only the points that were used in previous bookings have been spent.

Is there a fee to use Aeroplan Family Sharing? No. Family Sharing is a free feature available to all Aeroplan members.

Does Family Sharing affect Elite Status earning? No. Elite Status (SQM, SQS, SQD) is earned individually per Aeroplan account. Family Sharing only pools regular Aeroplan points for award bookings.

Aeroplan Family Sharing terms are subject to change. Always verify current rules at aircanada.com/aeroplan.