This is not a joke. Canadians will be able to pay off their student loan debt with travel points.
TheStar.com, a Canadian outlet, reported that the plan is in place within the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. It may soon end up applying to the entire country. As it is explained:
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The company told federal officials that up to 820,000 student loan recipients who still owe the government money could end up paying off part of their debt with Aeroplan points. For instance, 35,000 Aeroplan points would repay $250 of debt.
The skepticism expressed by some has to do with how “there is little data available about how students are using Higher Ed Points for student loan repayment.”
To Suzanne Tyson, the founder of Higher Ed Points, translating their website into French is the only thing holding them back from a federal deal.
From there, a deal would have to be set-up with the incoming Liberal minister in charge to approve the agreement and make it official.
The idea is a creative one which may very well appeal to users, especially those with a lot of points. But, it almost sounds like too much of an easy way out. There’s also the question of how much of a correlation there really is between travel points and tangible money used to pay off a student debt towards one’s education.
