MONTREAL, April 2, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Aeroplan today announced that it will match all miles donated by members to each of its ten Beyond Miles charitable partners as part of the 2013 Aeroplan Match Days.  Miles will be matched on a 1 for 1 basis up to 500,000 Aeroplan Miles for each partner organization.  Each organization has chosen its own match day and Aeroplan will match miles on that day for a 24 hour period.

To donate miles, members simply visit www.aeroplan.com/donate where they can choose to donate to: The Air Canada Foundation, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders, Free The Children, Médecins Sans Frontières, MusiCounts, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders and War Child Canada.  Each of these ten Canadian organizations is committed to improving lives and enriching communities across Canada and abroad.

"In 2012, thanks to the generosity of our members, more than 8.5 million miles were donated to our partners during Miles Match Days," said Kevin O'Brien, Chief Commercial Officer, Aeroplan.  "These organizations are working on some of the most dynamic projects that truly have an impact in communities across the world.  Our partners use Aeroplan Mile donations to offset travel costs including flights, hotel accommodation and car rentals for projects they work on here in Canada and across the globe."

"Aeroplan Members have generously contributed millions of miles to the Stephen Lewis Foundation; support that has enabled powerful engagement and innovation - bringing African grandmothers and their orphaned teenage granddaughters to Canada to meet with Canadian grandmothers and the general public, and giving Africans at the frontlines of the AIDS pandemic in Africa the opportunity to be heard first-hand on the ways in which they're restoring lives and resurrecting hope," said Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, Executive Director, Stephen Lewis Foundation.  "It has made our work possible, for which we are profoundly and constantly grateful.  Kudos to Beyond Miles - a superlative partner in every way - and the compassionate Canadians who make it all work!"

Aeroplan's Mile Matching Days will be held on:

• Stephen Lewis Foundation - April 9^th
• Earth Day Canada - April 22^nd
• Free The Children- June 19^th
• MusiCounts - Sept. 13^th
• War Child Canada - Oct. 8^th
• Veterinarians Without Borders - Oct. 18^th
• Engineers Without Borders - Oct. 23^rd
• Médecins Sans Frontières - Nov. 7^th
• Schools Without Borders - Nov. 15^th
• The Air Canada Foundation - Dec. 4^th

Since the program was launched in 2006, more than 285 million Aeroplan Miles have been donated by members.   Beyond Miles partners use Aeroplan Miles to offset costs related to travel by air as well as hotel accommodations and car rentals.  Aeroplan offsets 100 per cent of all carbon emissions from flights taken by Beyond Miles partners using donated miles.  In 2013, Aeroplan donated 1 million miles to each of its partner organizations.  Aeroplan Members can also automatically donate two per cent of all miles accumulated to any Beyond Miles partner of the member's choice. Members interested in donating two per cent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the Beyond Miles partner they would like their miles to go to.  In addition, Aeroplan also has a Charitable Pooling program that allows members to use miles to support local grass roots charities in need.  More information is available at www.aeroplan.com/donate.

Aeroplan's Beyond Miles program and other community investment initiatives can now be found on Twitter.  Follow us at: http://twitter.com/BeyondMiles.

About Aeroplan
Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, is owned by Aimia Inc., a global leader in loyalty management.

Aeroplan's millions of members earn Aeroplan Miles with its growing network of over 75 world-class partners, representing more than 150 brands in the financial, retail, and travel sectors.

In 2012, approximately 2.3 million rewards were issued to members including more than 1.5 million flights on Air Canada and Star Alliance carriers which offer travel to more than 1,000 destinations worldwide. In addition to flights, members also have access to over 1,000 exciting specialty, merchandise, hotel, car rental and experiential rewards. 

For more information about Aeroplan, please visit www.aeroplan.com or www.aimia.com.

SOURCE: Aeroplan