Air Transat Partners with Desjardins for New Rewards Program

Some big news has come out in the airline rewards space. On the heels of our first-ever Best Airline Credit Card in Canada award, Air Transat is throwing itself into the ring.

Air Transat, Desjardins, and Visa are teaming up to not only give Air Transat its own rewards program, but also a suite of Visa credit cards.

No details are really known yet, but we do know everything will launch in the second half of 2026.

What we know about Air Transat's new rewards program

We don't have many details to go on, but here's what we can glean from Air Transat and Desjardin's press release, which you can see for yourself here.

In summary:

• This new loyalty program will offer exclusive benefits and enhanced experiences for travellers.
• Air Transat is also set to launch a suite of credit cards issued by Desjardins on the Visa network.

Since the word "suite" was used, we assume that more than 1 card will be coming.

The biggest detail is that this new rewards program won't be launched until the second half of the year.

That's all we really know. Since Air Transat is a leisure airline, it will take quite a long time to earn enough points for a free flight simply by flying with them. This means we hope to see credit cards that will help you earn enough points to do something with them.

About Air Transat

Air Transat was founded in 1986 by François Legault, who you may know as the current premier of Quebec (although he is on his way out).

They only operate out of Eastern Canada, with headquarters in Montreal, a large hub in Toronto, and other seasonal flights out of various other airports in Eastern Canada.

They almost exclusively fly to Europe and sun destinations, with some flights within Canada during peak summer travel season.

A word for VIPorter members

There is a potential impact for VIPorter members. Even though Air Transat and Porter have a joint venture on flights, you can only redeem points on Air Transat flights.

While it's never been stated, we assume you can't earn VIPorter points on Air Transat flights, simply because they don't have a loyalty program.

With this news, we would assume you'll actually get to choose between earning points with Air Transat's new program or with VIPorter. But only time will tell.

More updates on Air Transat rewards

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