Hey {{first name | reader}},
Happy Monday! Coffee's ready, and we're starting the week strong. Three quick things worth your attention today:
Singapore Airlines is bookable on Aeroplan again 🎉
A deal that's genuinely fun: MIAT business class to Seoul… with a Mongolia stopover option 🇲🇳➡️🇰🇷
Virgin Atlantic to London: great points prices… brutal fees (unless you do this) 🇬🇧
Singapore Airlines is bookable on Aeroplan again 🎉
If you've tried booking Singapore Airlines with Aeroplan recently and thought "wait… where did all the seats go?", you weren't imagining it.
Singapore awards are showing up on Aeroplan again after being a mess since late November. And you know for me, this is one of the best redemptions in the entire points world.
Singapore Airlines business class cabin
Why I love it:
Singapore's business class is consistently excellent (seat, service, food, vibes)
Aeroplan is one of the easiest programs to acquire points with.
It's one of the cleaner ways to book premium cabins without learning 17 airline websites
And yes — the hard product is a big part of why this is so good:
On many long-haul routes you'll find huge, wide seats with a ton of personal space (Singapore tends to prioritize "space and comfort" over tight little pods). The seat reclines into a very large sleeping surface, and even when it's not the most "private" suite-style layout, it's usually very comfortable.
On their newer premium-heavy aircraft, you'll often get the "feels like a boutique hotel" touches: excellent seat finishes, strong lighting, quiet cabins, and generally a very premium vibe.
How to use this right now:
Search directly on Air Canada Aeroplan first (don't waste time jumping between partners)
Be flexible by 1–3 days if you can
If you see space, book it. Singapore availability can disappear fast.
A deal that's genuinely fun: MIAT business class to Seoul… with a Mongolia stopover option 🇲🇳➡️🇰🇷
This one is for the travelers who like a trip that feels like a story.
There's a MIAT Mongolian Airlines business class deal from Frankfurt to Seoul for ~$1,720 RT, and the best part is the routing.
You can make a stopover for virtually nothing in Ulaanbaatar and turn it into a "two countries for the price of one" trip.
Why I'm into this:
I love adding an unexpected destination to the list
And the long-haul segment is on a 787 Dreamliner, with a proper business cabin, so for this price, I wouldn't complain!!!! You know, every avgeek has the urge to try random airlines from time to time…
A few notes before you jump on it:
MIAT isn't a flashy brand, but the hard product is legit on the 787
The value here is the adventure + routing, not "the world's best champagne at 38,000 feet"
If you can build in a stop, this becomes the kind of itinerary you'll remember forever
If you're tempted, I'd treat this as a "curiosity trip": Mongolia for a couple nights, then Seoul.
Virgin Atlantic to London: great points prices… brutal fees (unless you do this) 🇬🇧
Virgin Atlantic has had solid award availability from North America to London lately, and the mileage pricing can look amazing at first glance. But then you click through and… boom: the surcharges.
On many itineraries departing the U.S., Virgin can tack on roughly $900–$1,100+ in cash on top of the miles for Upper Class awards, depending on route/date. That's the part that makes an "incredible" redemption suddenly feel a lot less exciting.
The workaround that often helps: start your award in Canada when you can.
I'm not saying the fees disappear (they won't), but in a lot of cases they drop meaningfully versus ex-U.S. departures. You'll sometimes see examples around $400 CAD in taxes/fees for a one-way Upper Class seat (route/date dependent), which can be a totally different value equation than paying four figures in surcharges from the U.S.
A few practical notes if you want to try this:
Search one-way and compare the same London flight with different origins (ex: U.S. gateway vs Toronto).
Position smart: if you're already in the U.S., a cheap hop to Canada can still come out ahead if it saves you hundreds in fees.
Always check the cash component before you transfer/buy points. The taxes/fees are the whole game here.
Quick product nerd note (because it matters): Virgin's best onboard experience is on the Airbus A330neo or A350-1000 when you can snag it. Virgin specifically lists the A330neo flying selected routes to New York, Boston, Tampa, and Atlanta, and it's a genuinely strong Upper Class experience with features like the Retreat Suite up front and the social space known as "The Loft." And the good thing is some Canada departures from Toronto–London are on the A330neo.
Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class
If you’re looking at Virgin Atlantic awards and thinking “the miles price is great, but I don’t have Virgin points (and those fees are wild),” that’s the whole point of Points Master.
Inside the course, we break down:
How to find the “good” Virgin pricing (and avoid routes/dates that come with four-figure surcharges)
Why departing from Canada can dramatically reduce fees, and how to search it properly
How to get the points fast (which transferable currencies to use, what to move, and when)
And the simple math to compare award + fees vs cash, so you know when it’s actually a win
So if you want to book something like (29,000 Virgin Points + ~400 CAD) = 650 USD and end up in Upper Class for a fraction of the usual cash price, Points Master gives you the step-by-step system to do it — without guessing.
That's it for today. More deals and strategies coming your way on Wednesday.
Catch you in the clouds,
Tomi