[stratagemmer]

I have accumulated 80, 000 Aeroplan points over the last few years and have been trying, unsuccessfully, to redeem them for travel over the last year. I tried to book a flight from Calgary to Las Vegas 3 months in advance and was told there was no availability. I tried to book a flight to Maui 4 months in advance and was quoted 180, 000 miles round trip for a terrible flight that was 20 hours due to connections. I would not ever purchase a flight with that type of terrible connection. This week I tried to book a flight to St. Loius in May, off season, leaving on a Wednesday and was asked if I could leave on the Tuesday as there was no availability for my requested dates! I can't fathom this type of mediocre program with such a limited availability. The manager at Aeroplan said their hands were tied because they share seats with other partner programs such as United, and that the airlines decide how many seats they allocate to points flyers. He suggested I book even further in advance so I just attempted to book a holiday in DECEMBER and guess what? NO AVAILIBILITY for my dates, and the alternate dates were horrible 20 hour flights again, and the points cost was 180, 000![/font]
[FONT='Georgia','serif']When I tried to complain to CIBC VIsa and to Aeroplan, there was no formal complaint process and I was told to use my points on gift cards.THEY SHOULD BE SUED! BIGGEST SCAM IN CANADA!