The Best Points Sweet Spots Canadians Can Book Right Now + Three New Toronto Routes for 2026!

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately combing through route announcements, checking award calendars, and testing different transfer options — and the more I dig, the more excited I get about where things are heading for Canadian travellers.

Between three new international routes launching out of Toronto next year and several cross-country sweet spots that still feel shockingly underpriced, there’s a genuine window of opportunity here — especially if you’re collecting flexible currencies like Avion, Amex MR, or Aeroplan.

If you’ve ever wanted to try business class without paying business-class prices (or if you’re planning a bucket-list trip for next year), these updates might be exactly what you need to finally make it happen.

Let’s get into it.

By the way…

I made a video on this exact subject. If you’d prefer to watch the video instead of reading the blog, see below. Otherwise, continue onwards!

---

🇨🇦 Three New Airlines Flying From Toronto in 2026

All of these can be booked with points, and a couple offer downright outrageous value.

✈️ Toronto → Madrid (Iberia)

Starts June 13, 2026 • 5x weekly

This comeback is huge! Toronto will be getting direct flights to Madrid, Spain again, beginning next summer.

And the best news about this is Iberia is a part of the OneWorld Alliance, which means you can book flights with British Airways Avios points.

• Economy: 16,000 Avios + fees one-way
• Business Class: 40,500 Avios + fees one-way

With how easy Avios are to earn in Canada, this is going to be a fan favourite.

Transfer options:

• BEST OPTION: RBC Avion → Avios at 1:1 (especially competitive when there’s a 30% bonus!)
• American Express Membership Rewards → Avios at 1:1

This route alone, flown on their A321XLR, makes Avios collecting feel very worth the effort.

---

Toronto → Helsinki (Finnair)

Starts May 4, 2026 • 3x weekly

Finnair is one of those airlines that quietly does everything right — modern A350-900s, Scandinavian design, great food, and an all-around solid experience.

Finnair is also bookable using British Airway Avios, so use the same earning strategy as outlined above.

For flights, here are some typical Avios rates I found for this route:

• Economy: 30,000 Avios + fees one-way
• Premium Economy: 43,500 Avios + fees one-way
• Business: 62,500 Avios + fees one-way

The only catch?

Finnair tends to release just one advance business award seat…
But two or more seats often drop last-minute, which keeps this route very much in play.

---

Toronto → Belgrade (Air Serbia)

Starts May 23, 2026 • 2x weekly

This one caught me off guard — in the best way. It’s another return to Toronto as well!

Air Serbia partners with Aeroplan, making these redemptions incredibly accessible:

• Economy: 40,000 Aeroplan points + fees one-way
• Business: 70,000 Aeroplan points + fees one-way

If you have an Aeroplan credit card from TD, CIBC, or AMEX, you’re already in business for earning and redeeming Aeroplan points. Also, a reminder that you can transfer AMEX Membership Rewards to Aeroplan points at a 1:1 ratio.

As well, availability has been unreal so far — often two or more business class seats.

I’ll be honest though – Air Serbia’s business class on their Airbus A330-200 isn’t going to win any major awards for best business class in the world. That being said, for an inexpensive Aeroplan redemption for a transatlantic flight in a solid business class cabin, it’s a great way to explore the Balkans or beyond.

---

✈️ A Virgin Atlantic Redemption That’s Been Quietly Cooking

Before we move on to the rest of Canada, I need to call out a deal that has somehow been flying under the radar — and honestly, it might be one of the best-value redemptions available to Canadians right now.

It’s not a new route, but the pricing this season has been wild.

Virgin Atlantic has been offering some absolutely ridiculous winter and spring redemptions from Toronto → London Heathrow:

• Premium Economy: 10,500 Virgin Points + fees
• Business: 29,000 Virgin Points + fees

Yes, there are taxes and fees — but they’re nowhere near the eye-watering amounts British Airways charges on the same route.

To earn Virgin Points in Canada, you can either:

• Buy Virgin Points during their frequent bonus promos, or
• Use a U.S. Credit Card that earns Virgin Points if you have access to one

If you can buy/earn Virgin Points, this is hands-down one of the most accessible and best-value transatlantic redemptions Canadians can book right now.

---

🌍 Hidden Sweet Spots Across Canada

Some of the best award deals next year aren’t coming out of Toronto at all.

✈️ Montreal → Munich (Lufthansa)

Summer 2026 is already showing strong availability, and the pricing is chef’s kiss:

• Business: 60,000 Aeroplan points + fees one-way

And this isn’t the outdated Lufthansa 2-2-2 layout — this is the newer 1-2-1 layout on their Airbus A350. Clean, modern, and actually comfortable.

This is the cheapest it gets for an Aeroplan redemption in Business Class from Canada to Europe.

---

✈️ Calgary → Munich or Frankfurt (Discover Airlines)

Discover Airlines is easy to ignore (Lufthansa’s leisure subsidiary), but the value is absolutely there.

• Business: 70,000 Aeroplan points + fees one-way

Yes, it’s a 2-2-2 cabin layout — not the most ideal — but if you’re travelling with someone else, not having direct aisle access in the window seat is manageable.

Otherwise, if you’re flying solo, I’d suggest you book one of the two middle seats that have direct aisle access.

---

✈️ Halifax → Frankfurt (Discover Airlines)

This is one of Atlantic Canada’s hidden gateways.

• Business: 60,000 Aeroplan points + fees one-way

Halifax is often overlooked when people are searching for reward flights, so availability tends to be much better here than in other major Canadian cities.

It’s the same business class layout as mentioned in the above section (2-2-2 cabin layout), so follow the same advice that I shared.

For anyone east of Quebec, this is one of the easiest and least expensive premium entries into Europe.

---

✈️ Vancouver → Taipei (China Airlines via Flying Blue)

This is one of the most underrated redemption in the entire Canadian points game.

• Business: 62,000 Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles + fees one-way

China Airlines has an excellent product — beautiful cabins, great food, and extremely comfortable seats. And availability? Surprisingly good, with two or more business award seats popping up often.

What’s the catch? Earning Flying Blue miles in Canada can be a bit tricky.

The best way to earn points is to transfer American Express Membership Rewards at a 1:0.75 ratio. This means you’ll need to transfer 83,000 Amex Membership Reward points to have 62,000 Flying Blue miles.

But compared to other alternatives, the reliability of this sweet spot makes it one of the strongest Pacific redemptions right now.

---

💳 How Canadians Can Actually Earn These Points

The real unlock is choosing flexible points currencies. They open up all the best deals.

For Aeroplan points, these cards are your best bet:

• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite
• American Express Aeroplan Reserve
• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege

For British Airways Avios, you should look into either of these cards:

• RBC Avion Visa Platinum
• RBC Ion+

Reminder that these cards transfer to British Airways Avios at a 1:1 rate (and there are 30% bonus events at times!)

For accumulating American Express Membership Rewards to transfer to various airline points programs, I’d recommend:

• American Express Gold
• American Express Platinum
• American Express Cobalt

These cards can transfer to British Airways Avios and Aeroplan points at a 1:1 ratio, while for Flying Blue miles it’s a 1:0.75 ratio.

---

🧭 How to Actually Book These Sweet Spots

Finding a great redemption is one thing — actually securing it is another. Award space disappears fast, especially when new routes launch or when an airline quietly drops a batch of business-class seats.

Here’s the booking strategy I use every time:

1. Start with a rough travel window

You don’t need exact dates yet. Just knowing “Summer 2026” or “next winter” gives you a realistic starting point. This helps you narrow down availability without getting overwhelmed by too many possibilities.

2. Search across multiple days (flexibility is everything)

Award seats come and go quickly. Sometimes they vanish within minutes — and sometimes they pop back up hours later.

If you can shift your dates by even a day or two, your chances of finding premium cabin award space skyrocket. Be flexible, zoom out, and scan the whole week.

3. Book the moment you see availability

Especially for the new routes: Iberia, Finnair, and Air Serbia.

Everyone is going to be hunting these seats for the first few months, so if you see business or premium availability that fits your window… grab it.

Remember:

• Aeroplan gives you 24 hours of free cancellation
• Most programs have very reasonable cancellation fees

So there’s very little risk in grabbing space early.

4. Always have a backup option

Maybe your first choice is Finnair to Helsinki. But what if the space dries up? Would you be open to Iberia to Madrid instead? Or Air Serbia to Belgrade with a separate connection onward?

Having options keeps you flexible and prevents you from either overpaying in cash or getting stuck with nothing at all.

---

✨ Final Thoughts

2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for Canadian travelers — but the real magic is already available today.

Between Iberia’s return, Finnair’s launch, the Virgin Atlantic sweet spot, and the wildly underrated routes from Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, and Vancouver… there has literally never been a better time to start learning the points game.

If you’re looking to fly business class to Europe or Asia for extremely low point redemptions?

This is your moment.

---

The referral links mentioned in this blog post help support Canadian Jetsetter at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!