Why Blackstone Wants to Pay US$2 Billion for a Piece of Air Canada's Points Program

Blackstone Inc., one of the world's biggest investment firms, is close to buying a partial stake in Air Canada's Aeroplan loyalty program for about US$2 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg published August 10, 2026.

Aeroplan is Air Canada's travel rewards program. Members earn points — mostly through credit-card spending — and then trade those points in for flights and seat upgrades. Under the deal being discussed, Air Canada would keep full control of Aeroplan. Blackstone would get a financial share of the profits without running the program.

Because US$2 billion only buys a portion of Aeroplan, the total value of the program is well above that number. The exact percentage Blackstone would own has not been reported.

Think of a loyalty program like a gift card business. When you use a co-branded credit card, the bank pays the airline for the points you earn. The airline gets that money right away. But the actual cost of giving you a reward — a plane seat, say — only happens later, when you cash in your points. And that cost is often lower than what the airline was originally paid. The difference between what the airline received and what it costs to deliver the reward is where the profit comes from. On top of that, some points never get used at all, which is pure profit for the airline.

For Blackstone, the appeal is straightforward. Loyalty programs bring in steady, repeating income tied to everyday consumer spending — not to how many plane tickets get sold. That income is spread across millions of members, which makes it more stable. A partial stake lets Blackstone benefit from the points business without having to run an airline, which is expensive and unpredictable.

For Air Canada, the deal would turn some of Aeroplan's built-up value into cash. That money could be used to pay down debt, help finance new aircraft, or cover general business needs. Air Canada has made strategic moves with Aeroplan before — it bought back the full program in 2018 after previously spinning it off. Bringing in a minority partner now is about getting cash out of a mature, money-making asset rather than changing who controls it.

The broader context here is that big investors are willing to pay top dollar for income streams they can predict. Loyalty program values have been rising as investors get better at estimating how many points go unused, how members redeem rewards, and how point issuance grows as more people sign up for credit cards. A US$2 billion investment signals that Blackstone believes Aeroplan's growth and member economics are strong enough to justify a high price tag.

The deal has not closed. The parties are reportedly near an agreement, but terms, timing, and even the US$2 billion figure could change before anything is final. A near-deal is not a deal. Anyone watching Air Canada's finances should treat the number as a rough guide, not a settled fact.

What to watch if the deal moves forward: the exact ownership percentage Blackstone gets, which will reveal how much Aeroplan is really worth in total; any special rights that come with the stake; and how Air Canada plans to spend the money. Each of those details will tell us whether this is a simple cash-out or the start of something bigger.

For now, the fact on the table is that one of the world's largest investment firms is close to writing a very large check for a piece of Canada's biggest airline loyalty program. That alone tells you where big money sees lasting value.