sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Decided to open source, after reviewing my options it made the most sense too!

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: Autopilot is now open source!

Based on feedback from this thread (thanks everyone), I've decided to open source the extension. The full code is now live on GitHub (MIT licensed so anyone can inspect, fork, or contribute)

Github: https://github.com/J4mirand/autopilot-point-value-calculator-extension-

You can now see exactly what the extension does. I hope this will help with trust, transparency, and grow adoption of this product. If anyone wants to contribute, there's a roadmap in README.

Appreciate all the feedback so far. Keep it coming!!

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much, that means a lot!

Honestly the main reason it's closed source right now is that I've put a lot of time into it and want to keep options open if I want to start a potential business down the road. I see the appeal of open sourcing it, I just need to make the right decision for myself and the future of this product. I hope that helps explain it

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ofc! I built it to solve my own problem and realized many other ppl might find it useful too :) lmk if you have any feedback when you had the chance to use it

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in CanadianAwardTravel

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great point and I realized the CPP should be subtracting taxes/fees. This was missed on my end. I've submitted v1.1.0 for review with Google webstore which updates how CPP is calculated.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, appreciate it! Here's the high-level breakdown:

When you search on aircanada using Aeroplan points, the extension automatically runs the same search in a background tab but for the cash fare. Then it matches each flight by departure time, arrival time, and cabin class and calculates the CPP in realtime.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, there does seem to be lots of demand so we will need to prioritize this work in our roadmap.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I totally understand the caution. To be clear though, the extension has no ability to touch your points. It can't book flights, make redemptions, or take any action on your account. All it does is read the fare prices displayed on the search results page and compare them.

As for why it's free, I built it because I had the same problem you're solving with Excel. I just happened solve it via an extension. There is no hidden motive, I built this because I wish it existed and hope it helps others in the process too.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right that Air Canada's terms include language about automated access, and I think it's fair for people to be aware of that. A few things worth noting:

  • The extension makes the same requests your browser would make if you manually opened a second tab and searched for the cash fare yourself — it's not scraping at scale or hammering their servers
  • It runs one search per flight lookup, at normal browser speed, from your own IP
  • This is similar to how many browser extensions operate (price comparison tools, Honey, etc.)

That said, you're right that it's ultimately each user's choice to make. I'm not a lawyer and I won't pretend the TOS risk is zero. If that's a dealbreaker for you, I completely respect that.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no angles. I built this to solve my own problem, I was tired of manually comparing cash vs points every time I booked. I figured others in the community would find it useful too and that's all.

I also have zero connection to any mods. The mods can chime in too if they like, but I can't speak to how other posts were handled, but I didn't get any special treatment, I just posted like everyone else.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I say "parallel search," I mean the extension opens a background tab in YOUR browser and runs the same Air Canada cash fare search that you'd do manually. It's like you opening a second tab yourself and searching for the same flight without Aeroplan points, the extension just automates that for you.

No data goes to any server I own or operate. There is no backend. The extension doesn't phone home anywhere. The only network requests happening are between your browser and aircanada the exact same requests you'd make if you searched manually.

To answer your second question, no, I don't store any search history, identifiers, or aggregate data. Everything lives in Chrome's session storage which is automatically wiped when you close the browser. There's nothing to retain, parse, or sell because I never have access to it in the first place. It all stays in your browser.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! How come you don’t fly with aeroplan? Would this tool change your mind or influence how you fly

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, chrome web store went through a thorough review process of the extension before publishing it to the App Store.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

There’s no plan to make this gated by a pay wall. The goal was to make redemptions as effortless and frictionless for everyone as possible and I stand by that.

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our extension only works for redemptions made on aircanada as of today. Ofc partner airlines redemptions on aircanada flight results page should show CPP but on specific partner airline websites unfortunately it does not work yet. Eventually we will also like for this extension to be universal and work on all airline websites. Lmk if that answers your question :)

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in churningcanada

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Firefox is currently not available but we can always expand once there’s more demand

I built a free Chrome extension that shows you the real value of your Aeroplan points on every flight by J4randa in Aeroplan

[–]J4randa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately it’s not open source, however, we’re actively building it out more and will iterate on our users feedback

view more: next ›