Aeroplan Credit Card Review: Big Incentives for Big Spenders

If your travels often take you to the Great White North, then Air Canada’s co-branded card, the Aeroplan® Credit Card, might be able to make your journeys easier.

The card, issued by Chase, rewards holders for purchases made with the airline and for some common everyday categories as well. It also offers a lucrative sign-up bonus plus attractive benefits like automatic elite status, rewards discounts and the ability to redeem your points for a statement credit against travel purchases — even travel that doesn't include the airline.

However, earning and retaining many of the card’s richest Air Canada-specific perks requires a lot of spending that can be difficult for most to meet. If you’re not a loyal Air Canada customer, you might be better off with a more flexible general travel rewards credit card.

Aeroplan® Credit Card: Key Features

Card type: Airline.

Annual fee: $95.

Sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.

Rewards:

• 3 points per dollar spent on groceries.

• 3 points per dollar spent at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services).

• 3 points per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Air Canada.

• 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

• 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent in a month (up to a maximum of 1,500 points per month).

NerdWallet values Air Canada points at about 1.9 cents, although the value can vary based on redemption options. Points can be redeemed for flights with Air Canada or one its 45 airline partners, which include those across the Star Alliance network. Additional redemption options include car rentals, hotels, Air Canada vacation packages, upgrades, merchandise and more.

APR: The ongoing APR is 21.49%-28.49% Variable APR.

Foreign transaction fee: None.

Balance transfer fee: $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Other benefits:

• Automatic 25K status in the first year, which gives you perks like priority check-in, priority boarding and upgrades.

• Earn a one-level status boost to 35K Status or higher when you spend $50,000 or more on your card in one year.

• Receive exclusive redemption benefits including 50% reward discounts and companion benefits when you hit spending thresholds of $100,000 or more in a year.

• Pay Yourself Back: Redeem points for statement credit to cover any travel purchases made on the card.

• First checked bag is free on Air Canada flights for you and up to nine other passengers on the same reservation.

• $100 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS statement credit every four years.

• Travel protection benefits, including rental collision damage waiver, trip cancellation or interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement and roadside assistance.

• Carbon Offsets: Aeroplan will buy carbon offsets to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions when you pay for an Air Canada flight using an Aeroplan flight reward.

• World Elite Mastercard benefits, including complimentary 24/7 concierge service.

Generous sign-up bonus

On top of elite status for newcomers, the Aeroplan® Credit Card also features the following sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.

Rewards for other spending

While many airline cards typically reward you for brand-specific purchases only, the Aeroplan® Credit Card pays holders for more than just travel-related spending. In addition to earning bonus points for purchases made with Air Canada, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on groceries and at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services). Because your rewards-earning isn't tied to Air Canada or to travel-specific spending for that matter, you can rack up points with the card more easily.

In addition to these ongoing rewards, cardholders have the ability to pile on even more bonus points. You can earn an additional 500 points for every $2,000 that you spend each month, up to a maximum of 1,500 points. For most, maxing out this offer by spending $6,000 a month would be difficult to do, even if you exclusively use the Aeroplan® Credit Card.

Automatic elite status for new cardholders

New account openers will also automatically get Aeroplan 25K Elite Status, the entry-level tier in Air Canada’s loyalty program. You’ll have this status for the rest of the first calendar year of cardholding and for the consecutive year as well.

To maintain 25K status, you’ll have to spend at least $15,000 each calendar year. Not many airline cards allow holders the opportunity to spend toward status.

The 25K status comes with attractive perks on Air Canada flights, including early boarding, priority check-in and upgrades, 50% discount on preferred seats and more.

» SEE: Aeroplan's sweet spots

Boost status and benefits through credit card spending

In addition to the $15,000 yearly spend requirement to maintain Aeroplan 25K status, there are other lucrative benefits for meeting additional spending thresholds with your card:

• Earn a one-level status boost from your existing status for the next year, when you spend $50,000 in a calendar year.

• Receive exclusive redemption benefits including 50% reward discounts and companion benefits when you hit spending thresholds of $100,000 or more in a year.

Earning these benefits requires a hefty amount of spending that can be difficult for most to meet. But the perks that come with hitting the spending thresholds can be particularly valuable for loyal Air Canada customers. Plus, because you’ll earn bonus rewards for more than just Air Canada purchases, it can be easier to rack up your spending with the card.

Free checked bags

When you use your card to pay for an Air Canada flight, you’ll get one free checked bag for you and up to eight additional people in your reservation. This is one of the more generous free-baggage policies among airline cards that offer it and can provide generous savings — particularly if you’re traveling with a large party. Air Canada typically charges $30 Canadian dollars (about $23 in U.S. dollars as of December 2021) for a first checked bag for economy class travel.

Redeem points for statement credit to cover any kind of travel

Have a pile of Aeroplan points but you're not flying anytime soon? The card's unique Pay Yourself Back® feature allows you to redeem those points for a statement credit to cover travel purchases made with your card, including hotels, car rentals, rideshare, cruises, flights on any airline and more.

Each point is worth 1.25 cents when redeemed against an eligible travel purchase. That's notable, because while it's lower than NerdWallet's value of an Aeroplan point (currently 1.9 cents), it's still a good value. Generally, if other branded travel credit cards offer the ability to use points for things other than travel with that brand, their value is greatly diminished.

You can redeem your points for statement credit for up to 90 days after your purchase. There's no cap on the number of points you can redeem this way through the end of 2023, but according to Chase, that may change beginning in 2024.

Other cards can offer more flexibility

Points earned from the Aeroplan® Credit Card can be redeemed for flights across multiple airlines, including those in the Star Alliance network. But United Airlines is the only domestic airline in the Alliance; all other airlines are internationally based. And while you’ll be able to also redeem your Aeroplan rewards for any travel purchase with Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature, the number of points you can redeem per year is capped at 50,000.

Additionally, most of the card’s benefits like elite status, a free checked bag and reward discounts are tied to Air Canada.

A general travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, for example, that isn’t tied to one airline or network can offer greater redemptions and benefits flexibility. Rewards earned with the card can be redeemed for a variety of options including for travel booked through Chase at the rate of 1.25 cents per point. You can also transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to a number of domestic and international airline and hotel travel partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan. The card charges an annual fee of $95.

Aeroplan also partners with American Express. You can transfer Membership Rewards earned from several cards, like the American Express® Gold Card and the The Platinum Card® from American Express, to Aeroplan at a 1:1 rate.

Keep in mind, though, that such general travel cards typically don't come with airline-specific perks. For more options, check out NerdWallet's list of best credit card offers.

High spending requirements for companion benefits

If it’s a free ride for a companion that you’re after, you’ll have to spend at least $100,000 per year on the Aeroplan® Credit Card. Other airline credit cards offer companion benefits for far less.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card for instance, offers an annual companion certificate, which you’ll get every year when you renew your card and which doesn’t come with any spending requirements. (Note, however, that the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card does charge a more premium annual fee of $250.) Terms apply (see rates and fees).

The Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card has an annual fee of $95 and comes with an annual companion benefit, after you spend $6,000 the previous 12 months. You’ll pay $99, plus taxes and fees starting at $23, for a companion to fly with you (no matter how much your fare costs) once per year that you hold the card.

The Aeroplan® Credit Card stands apart from most other airline cards by offering rewards for everyday purchases, which not many other similar cards do. It is also the only airline credit card that lets you redeem airline points for a statement credit against any travel purchases. But its richest benefits are tied to Air Canada and require a great deal of spending. To this end, the card is ideal for Air Canada loyalists who can spend enough to take advantage of the card’s brand-specific perks. Not sure this card is for you? See our picks for best credit cards here.