Best Ways to Book Air Canada Premium Economy Class with Points and Miles

Air Canada is the flag carrier of Canada and the country’s largest airline, operating over 1,000 daily flights with its state-of-the-art fleet of over 400 aircraft. The airline has also been expanding its international route network and operating increasingly more flights to Asia, Europe, South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. On these long-haul flights, Air Canada offers premium-economy service, which can make your travel experience much more comfortable with amenities such as a larger seat, extra legroom and priority services at the airport.

In fact, Air Canada was ranked as the 13th-best premium-economy airline in the world, according to a 2025 Skytrax ranking. However, Air Canada premium-economy tickets can have high cash prices compared to economy tickets. So, if you want to experience Air Canada’s premium-economy product without paying a high out-of-pocket cost, you should consider booking these flights with points and miles.

In this article, we look at what you can expect in Air Canada premium-economy class
and explain the best ways to book these tickets using points and miles.

What to Expect in Air Canada Premium-Economy Class

Air Canada offers premium-economy service on long-haul flights operated by several different aircraft types. The following table includes the premium-economy cabin specifications for each type of aircraft:

Every Air Canada premium-economy seat has its own seatback touch-screen in-flight entertainment system, which gives you access to hundreds of hours of top-rated on-demand entertainment. You’ll also be given a pair of earbuds that you can plug into your entertainment system. Each seat also has an AC power outlet and a USB port to charge your devices, ambient mood lighting and an individual reading light.

Meal and beverage options for Air Canada premium-economy passengers vary depending on the length of your flight:

To give you an idea of what you can expect, here is the menu that Air Canada was offering to premium-economy passengers on a recent flight between Toronto (YYZ) and Paris (CDG):

• Salad: Broccoli and carrot salad with pumpkin seeds and cranberries
• Main Course: Honey ginger sesame chicken (with Shandong flat noodles, carrots, bok choy and edamame) or traditional beef shepherd’s pie (garnished with toasted breadcrumbs)
• Dessert: Brownie deluxe
• Breakfast: Cranberry lemon loaf and yogurt

All Air Canada premium-economy passengers receive complimentary drinks throughout the duration of their flight, including champagne, sommelier-curated wines, beers, spirits, liqueurs, espresso drinks, coffee, tea, soft drinks and juices.

Passengers with dietary needs may also order special meals at any time up to 24 hours before the departure of their first flight.

On international flights, premium-economy passengers will receive an amenity kit containing travel essentials and self-care products, including a pair of socks, earplugs, an eye mask, a toothbrush and toothpaste. You should also receive a pillow and blanket to use throughout your flight. These amenities may not be available on flights within North America.

Your premium-economy experience will even begin before you board your flight. Passengers ticketed in Air Canada premium-economy class are allowed two free checked bags (with a maximum weight of up to 50 pounds each) and will receive priority boarding, check-in and baggage handling.

Best Programs Through Which You Can Book Air Canada Premium-Economy Class

Although Air Canada is a member of Star Alliance and its economy- and business-class awards can be booked through partner frequent flyer programs, the airline’s premium-economy awards cannot.

Air Canada Aeroplan

The only frequent flyer program through which you can book Air Canada award flights in premium-economy class is Air Canada’s own Aeroplan program. Luckily, the Air Canada Aeroplan program is a transfer partner of several major credit card rewards programs in the United States; there’s plenty of premium-economy award space available through this program and you can often get good value per point on these awards.

For example, we found a round-trip Air Canada premium-economy award itinerary between Toronto (YYZ) and Paris (CDG) for 85,900 Aeroplan points plus about 1,325 Canadian dollars (about $949) in taxes and fees.

If you were to book the same flights with cash instead of points through the Air Canada website, it would cost you about CA$4,775 (about $3,421).

So, factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 2.9 cents per point, which is good.

As mentioned above, Air Canada Aeroplan is a 1:1 transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Additionally, if you fly with Air Canada often, then you might want to consider applying for the Aeroplan® Credit Card. This card is available to U.S. consumers and allows you to earn Aeroplan points on everyday purchases, as well as earn a large welcome bonus.

Credit Card Travel Portals

If you don’t have Aeroplan points or a credit card that allows points transfers to the Aeroplan program, you can still book Air Canada premium-economy flights with points through your credit card’s travel booking portal. For example, Citi ThankYou Rewards doesn’t allow transfers to Air Canada Aeroplan. So, if you want to book an Air Canada premium-economy flight with Citi ThankYou points, your only option is to book through the Citi Travel portal.

We found a round-trip Air Canada premium-economy flight itinerary between Toronto (YYZ) and Frankfurt (FRA) through the Citi Travel portal for about $2,453. Since Citi ThankYou points are nearly always worth exactly 1 cent apiece through the Citi Travel portal, you could purchase this flight itinerary for about 245,300 Citi points.

Of course, this is a large sum of points and 1 cent per point is poor value compared to the Air Canada premium-economy awards you can get through the Aeroplan program. Nonetheless, if you don’t have any way to earn Aeroplan points, then using a credit card travel portal will be your only option for booking Air Canada premium-economy award flights.

The Bottom Line

Air Canada operates a fairly large route network within North America as well as across the Atlantic Ocean. On these long-haul flights, booking in premium economy can make your experience much more pleasant and enjoyable. The premium-economy cabin includes amenities such as complimentary food and beverage, more comfortable seats and amenity kits on certain routes.

As cash prices for premium-economy tickets can be considerably more expensive than economy fares, the wisest move for travelers on a budget may be to book these premium-economy flights with points and miles.

Unfortunately, Air Canada premium economy award tickets aren’t offered through any partner frequent flyer programs; you can only book these types of awards using Air Canada’s own Aeroplan program.

Fortunately, the Aeroplan program is a 1:1 transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs and tends to offer Air Canada premium-economy awards at favorable rates. If you don’t have any way to earn Aeroplan points, then you can also book these awards through your credit card’s travel booking portal, although this booking method nearly always yields a value of 1 cent per point.