Arguably the two most popular travel rewards currencies, each belonging their major Airline and Alliance, are some of the fastest ways for travel rewards enthusiasts to collect and redeem for flights, hotel stays, and experiences. Yes, the Flying Blue Program also has its own rewards currency – Flying Blue miles, but for those of us in Canada, the choice usually comes down to Aeroplan and Avios.

One would be mistaken if they chose Aeroplan over Avios simply given Canada’s home airline (Air Canada). An informed decision maker would rather choose Star Alliance (Aeroplan) over One World (Avios). That criteria would make more sense as the decision would come down to the alliance, its routes, and related airline offerings.

To help you declutter your mind and make the decision easier, I am providing some fundamental criteria for you to consider as you evaluate your preferred choice of rewards currency. In order to do so, it would be helpful to understand why reward currencies matter?

Why choose a reward currency?

The simple answer is because airlines have alliances. There are three major alliances in the world – Star Alliance (includes Air Canada – Aeroplan), One World (includes British Airways – Avios), and SkyTeam (includes Air France/KLM). I indicated these airlines because these are the most usual suspects providing transatlantic services from Canadian airports to Europe. For instance, earning Aeroplan Points enables you to redeem points for reward travel on Air Canada and United both for flights from North America to Europe. The One World option would be British Airways and American Airlines.

Do I need to stick to one reward currency?

Yes and No. This is one area where I strongly advocate sticking to one airline alliance – to help you maximize your rewards. If you fly multiple airlines across alliances, chances are that you have a bunch of points in Aeroplan and a few more in Avios. Since you cannot transfer points across airline alliances, you are not able to take the benefit of a combined reward value, which may have the potential to buy you that dream flight or vacation on your reward points. Therefore, it is always helpful to stick with one reward currency.

Okay – how do I choose?

Fret not! That’s where I come in as The Points Guru. And ofcourse, there is a library of material on the web from influencers advocating the benefits of one alliance over the other. I feel it is my role to provide you with the criteria and let you be the best judge of your situation to empower you to make the best decision for yourself. Let’s now review the top 3 criteria in my opinion that should factor into your decision.

1. Where do you typically fly?

While you may want to explore the world, there are some cities that are hubs for certain carriers and therefore have a lot of travel options within that carrier’s alliance. For instance, Toronto is a Star Alliance hub, given Air Canada’s massive presence at the airport. British Airways operates out of London Heathrow, making the airport a hub for One World airlines. If you fly frequently for leisure to multiple star alliance airports, chances are that you will benefit from Aeroplan over Avios since it will provide you with more options to redeem reward flights.

For instance, when flying out of Toronto Pearson or Billy Bishop where Air Canada is the dominant carrier, having Star Alliance status gives access to lounges when flying Air Canada at both airports. It would therefore be useful to accrue Aeroplan Points and status on a Star Alliance airline should you wish to access these perks. Alternatively, cards such as the American Express Platinum or Scotiabank Passport which provide lounge passes/access to lounges may be useful since cardholders of these cards are eligible to access lounges at these airports.

2. How do you want to use your rewards?

Both reward programs and currencies are not the same. Therefore, it would be unwise to equate 1 Aeroplan point to 1 Avios point. The reward redemption charts for both currencies and airlines differ, and depending on how you want to travel, you may want to take advantage of one over the other. For instance, Air Canada has a flexible pricing system for its reward availability on flights operated by AC, however has a specific pricing chart based on geo zones for flights operated by partner airlines. In this case, a flight from Toronto to Delhi on AC operated flights can be priced anywhere from 130K – 230K Aeroplan Points in business class. However, an Air India operated flight on the same route can be found for 90K Aeroplan Points. In my experience, British Airways Avios redemptions on the Toronto – India route in business class can range anywhere from 75K Avios to 130K Avios. Should you wish to increase longevity of your rewards and redeem in economy, that option is available too at a far cheaper points value. However, I hope you focus on the logic here rather than the eventual pricing.

Not just flights, Avios and Aeroplan points can also be used to book reward stays with their respective travel partner. Aeroplan currently has an offer where Aeroplan Credit Card holders stay for the 4th night free when booking hotels via its travel portal, equivalent to a 25% discount on hotels stays booked using Aeroplan Points.

3. Are there some products that you would prefer to fly? (Segway to solo carriers)

Not all airlines are equal. Presence in a global alliance is not by any means an indicator of superior quality. For instance, in my experience, I have found Air France and KLM economy and premium economy class products far underwhelming as compared to British Airways. BA has a better economy class product as compared to AC, and so on. You should refer to airline ratings, reviews, and your own personal experience and aspirations to determine the products you wish to fly. However, streamlining your wish list within one alliance will not only help you redeem rewards, but also collect rewards and tier points to maintain loyalty status much easier. This can come in handy when flying economy and requiring access to lounges or for priority boarding.

My preference: the big 3 in the Middle East

All that said, I have been amazed at how fast the middle eastern carriers (i.e., the big 3 – Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar) grew their services and increased the quality of their products (on ground and in the air) in the 2000s till now. It is interesting to note that, only Qatar Airlines is part of a major airline alliance with EK (Emirates) and EH (Etihad) choosing to remain unallied. Although there are airline partnerships of each airline, the benefits of an airline alliance benefit more people across the globe. Being part of One World, you can transfer Avios from you BA account to Qatar Airways to redeem for flights to and from Middle East. Qatar has gained much popularity for its most recent business class product – the Qsuite. Regardless of the product offering, the Middle Eastern carriers are top notch on product quality and overall service. The ability to earn Avios (BA’s reward currency) in Canada and retain the flexibility to transfer over to Qatar Airways to redeem for flights is my preferred option since I travel frequently from Europe to Asia.

In the coming posts, I will be providing an overview on travel strategies and credit cards you can tap into, to collect the welcome bonus and sustainably generate rewards from your daily spends to redeem at these airlines (focusing on BA). Stay tuned!