The five award travel mistakes that cost people the most are transferring points before the seat is confirmed, letting miles expire in a program you rarely use, ignoring the cash you still owe on an award, assuming you can hold a seat while points move, and canceling late or without knowing the fee. None of them are a secret. Every one is written into a program's own rules, which is exactly why I want to show you the rule itself rather than a vague warning.

So for each mistake below, I've pulled the line from the program's page (all read on September 23, 2026), then the fix I actually use. Three programs cover all five: American Express Membership Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. The specific rules differ by program, but the shape of each mistake carries over to whichever program you use.

Mistake 1: Transferring points before you find the award

You can't take a transfer back. American Express says it plainly in its help center: "check availability and how many points are needed before completing the transfer, as all transfers are final."

The same page adds the part people skip: "once you transfer points to a partner program, they are subject to the terms and conditions of the partner's program." Your points stop being Amex points the moment you hit transfer. They now follow the airline's expiration rules, its change fees and its pricing, which is where mistakes 2 through 5 come from.

Here's how it goes wrong. Say you spot a business class seat, transfer 70,000 points, and by the time they land the seat is gone. You now hold 70,000 miles in one program with no plan for them, and Amex's own page calls every transfer final.

The fix: find the seat in the program you'll book with, on your exact date, cabin and number of travelers, before moving a single point. An award search tool like Seats.aero speeds up the hunt, but the booking program's own site is the final word. Then transfer only what the booking needs and book as soon as the points post. We go deeper on sequencing in our guide to why points transfers are one way, and if a bonus is tempting you to jump early, read when a transfer bonus is actually worth taking first.

Mistake 2: Can airline miles expire after you transfer them?

Yes, and this is the quiet cost of mistake 1. Once your points are airline miles, the airline's clock applies.

Aeroplan's US page states it directly: "You have 18 months before your Aeroplan points expire if there has been no activity in your account," which it defines as not having "earned, redeemed, donated, transferred or converted any points." It also says it will "notify you by email up to 60 days before your points expire."

There's a timing wrinkle right now. Aeroplan's Canadian news page says it has "paused the expiry of Aeroplan points until November 30, 2026," and that from that date "our normal expiration policy will apply." If you've got an orphan Aeroplan balance you haven't touched in a while, get some activity on it before November 30, since the page says points will expire from that date if an eligible transaction hasn't been completed.

If points do lapse, Aeroplan lists ways to get them back "within 6 months of expiry," including buying them back for a fee or flying Air Canada within that window. The same page lists the members whose points don't expire at all: primary TD Aeroplan cardholders, American Express Aeroplan cardmembers, CIBC Aeroplan cardholders, and anyone holding Aeroplan Elite Status.

The fix: earn or redeem at least one point in every airline program you hold, inside its window. Converting points in from another program counts, since "converted" is on Aeroplan's own list of activity. I keep a note of each program's inactivity date, which Aeroplan shows under the Activity tab of your account dashboard.

Mistake 3: Do award tickets still cost cash?

They do, and the points price is only half the bill. Virgin Atlantic is clear about it in its Flying Club terms. For reward seats on Virgin's own flights, "you will pay an amount in Virgin Points for the fare, and an amount in money for taxes, fees, charges and carrier imposed surcharges."

The reward seats page puts it even more simply: your points cover the flight price, "but taxes, fees and carrier charges are still payable and are shown before you book." The terms also say the amount "is subject to change," so a number you saw last month isn't a number you can count on today.

Carrier-imposed surcharges are the part that surprises people. Virgin's terms say the charges on a reward can be imposed by "any government authority, other authority or VAA," meaning the airline itself, so the cash line can include more than airport taxes. A seat that looks cheap in points can end up costing more than a pricier award with a small cash component.

The fix: before you transfer, get to the final payment screen and read the cash total as well as the points. If it's high, price the same flight through a different program and compare the totals. Our explainer on what a partner flight is covers why the same seat can carry different fees depending on whose miles you use, and how award flights work walks through reading the full price. If Virgin is your program, our guide to redeeming Virgin Atlantic points goes route by route.

Mistake 4: Counting on a hold while points transfer

Don't assume the program will hold a seat for you. Aeroplan's Flight Reward Policy is about as direct as it gets: "Flight Reward reservations must be ticketed immediately." It adds that "Waitlisting Flight Rewards is not permitted," and that points "will be deducted from the Aeroplan member's account at the time of Flight Reward reservation."

That changes the order of operations. With Aeroplan there's no parking the seat for a day while your points make their way over. The points have to be sitting in your account when you click book.

This is where mistakes 1 and 4 collide. The seat you found may not wait for the points to arrive.

The fix: check the booking program's policy on holds before you rely on one, on the program's own page, not a forum post from three years ago. If it says ticket immediately, as Aeroplan does, have the booking page open, transfer, refresh the balance and book in one sitting. If you already carry a small balance in that program, you only have to transfer the gap, which shortens the window where things can go wrong.

Mistake 5: Canceling late, or without knowing the fee

What canceling costs depends on the program, the fare you picked and when you cancel. Wait until the last minute and you can lose the whole ticket.

Aeroplan lets you cancel "at any time up to 2 hours prior to departure." Miss that and "the Flight Reward ticket will be forfeited," and forfeited tickets are "no longer valid for travel or Points reinstatement." The fee depends on the fare option. In economy, a Standard reward costs CAD 150 to cancel online at aircanada.com or CAD 175 by phone, a Flex reward costs CAD 75 online or CAD 125 by phone, and Latitude has no fee. In premium economy, business and first, the Lowest option carries the same CAD 150 online or CAD 175 by phone, and the Flexible option has no fee. Aeroplan notes that "All fees are charged by Air Canada in CAD" and that fees "may be waived for eligible Elite Status Members."

Virgin Atlantic's terms set the cancellation fee at US$100 for flights originating in the US and £70 for UK departures. The timing rule matters more than the fee. Cancel outside 24 hours of your outbound flight and "100% of the Virgin Points will be re-credited" along with the taxes and surcharges, less the fee. Cancel within 24 hours of departure and "there will be no refund of points or carrier imposed surcharges."

The fix: read the cancellation rules of your specific fare before you book, and if there's any chance your plans slip, pay attention to which fare option you're choosing on Aeroplan. Then set a calendar reminder a few days before departure. If you might not fly, cancel early, not at the gate.

What I'd actually do before my next award booking

Here's my order, every time. Find the seat in the program I'll book with. Read the cash total on the payment screen. Check the cancellation rules for that fare. Only then transfer the exact amount, and book the moment it posts. Afterward, I note the program's inactivity date so any leftover balance doesn't quietly expire.

If you're earning toward Aeroplan specifically, holding miles in the program itself changes the math on mistakes 1 and 4, and our Aeroplan credit card review covers who that fits. For the broader list of travel mistakes beyond award booking, including travel protections and foreign transaction fees, see our 13 travel mistakes that cost points and miles.

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Sources

  1. American Express: How do I transfer Membership Rewards points? (read 2026-09-23)
  2. Aeroplan: Keeping your Aeroplan account active, US page (read 2026-09-23)
  3. Aeroplan: Points expiry paused until November 30, 2026, Canadian page (read 2026-09-23)
  4. Aeroplan Flight Reward Policy (read 2026-09-23)
  5. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club terms and conditions, effective 30 October 2024 (read 2026-09-23)
  6. Virgin Atlantic: Reward seats (read 2026-09-23)

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