More students could repay loans with travel points

Students across Canada could soon be repaying loans with travel reward points if a new program gets the go-ahead at the federal level.

The Canadian Press reported that a country-wide rollout of the Higher Ed Points program, originally proposed to the former federal government in February, is currently under consideration by Employment and Social Development Canada.

A government representative was quoted in the article as saying the agency is currently “exploring options” with the program, which is currently in place in Ontario and Alberta and allows post-secondary students to use points from travel reward programs like Aeroplan toward reducing their debts with the Canada Student Loans program; for example, 35,000 Aeroplan points could relieve $250 worth of debt, the report said.