Air Canada made waves when it revamped its Aeroplan loyalty program in the early days of the pandemic. It’s one of the few loyalty programs that actually made changes for the better by adding new partners, introducing low-cost stopovers on one-way awards and even reducing award prices on some award tickets.
And even if you’re not based in Canada, it’s a program worth knowing about. The airline is part of Star Alliance, so it has partnerships with United Airlines, Lufthansa and other major airlines with connections to and from the US. It also has non-alliance partnerships with Etihad, Emirates and others.
Aeroplan points are straightforward to earn for US-based travelers, too. Let’s take a closer look at Air Canada Aeroplan and how to earn and redeem points with the program for US-based travelers.
Air Canada launched the Aeroplan loyalty program in 1984 and later spun the loyalty program off in the early 2000s. Fast forward to the early 2020s, and the airline brought the loyalty program back in-house and made sweeping changes to the program, making improvements to earning and redeeming points.
Now, it’s a favorite among American and Canadian travelers thanks to its credit card partnerships, points redemptions and vast partnerships with airlines, retailers and other travel companies. You can transfer in points from all the major transferable points programs, and Chase even issues a US cobranded credit card.
It has various elite tiers that benefit travelers on Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners, including lounge access on all Star Alliance flights at the Aeroplan 50K level and above.
As mentioned, Aeroplan has dozens of airline partners both inside and outside Star Alliance. You can earn Aeroplan points on these airlines so long as you’re flying an eligible route and fare class. You may also earn bonus points if you have Aeroplan elite status (don’t worry, we’ll discuss this in the next section).
Air Canada’s Star Alliance partners include:
Meanwhile, its non-alliance partnerships include:
This huge partner network means you can redeem Aeroplan points to fly just about anywhere in the world, even if Air Canada doesn’t fly there itself. This is especially important in the Middle East and Asia, where Air Canada has limited connectivity.
Air Canada Aeroplan has five elite tiers, each with varying benefits. You earn status by meeting a Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) or Status Qualifying Segments (SQS) requirement— these are how many flight miles you take and how many flights you fly, respectively — and a Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD) requirement. SQDs are calculated based on how much you spend in Canadian dollars.
Here are the requirements for each status tier:
You’ll enjoy various benefits that improve with each status tier. Each tier includes a certain amount of eUpgrade Credits that you can redeem for space-available upgrades on Air Canada flights and are valid for 12 months from the day they’re earned. You’ll also get priority seating, priority check-in, lounge access and even in-flight Wi-Fi, depending on your status tier.
As a Star Alliance member, Air Canada offers elite members reciprocal benefits on partner airlines, such as United. Take advantage of these benefits by adding your Aeroplan number to your partner ticket.
Aeroplan 25K and 35K members have Star Alliance Silver benefits, which are minimal at best:
Meanwhile, Aeroplan 50K members have Star Alliance Gold benefits, including:
Earning Air Canada Aeroplan points is easy, even if you live in the US. In fact, you don’t even have to set foot on an Air Canada jet to rack up some serious rewards. Here are a few of the best ways US-based travelers can earn.
As you might expect, you can earn Aeroplan points when you fly with Air Canada and its partner airlines. When you fly with Air Canada, all fare classes — including Basic — are eligible to earn points. You earn points based on your fare and the length of your flight:
For example, you can fly a standard fare between Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Miami International Airport (MIA). This flight is 1,404 miles long and the Standard fare earns 50% points and SQM. As a result, you’d earn 702 points and SQMs on this one-way ticket.
Meanwhile, partner flights are earned by a percentage of miles flown, but each airline partner has its own earn chart and not all fare classes are eligible to earn points. You can view each airline’s earning chart on Air Canada’s partner airlines page.
As a quick example, United business class flights in eligible fare classes (J, C, D, Z, and P) earn 150% points and SQM based on miles flown. A flight between Newark (EWR) and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is 3,649 miles long, meaning you’d earn 5,473 points and SQMs.
Aeroplan elite members earn bonus points on Air Canada and select partner flights, too. Elite members are eligible for the following points earning bonuses on eligible Air Canada, Air Canada Express, Air Canada Rouge, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss and United flights credited to Aeroplan:
So for that same Newark to Paris business class flight above, a Super Elite member would earn 7,298 points.
Air Canada has a US credit card issued by Chase dubbed the Aeroplan® Card. While we don’t often recommend cobranded credit cards at Milesopedia US, this is a notable exception since it has various rewarding benefits.
The first major selling point is its welcome bonus. Right now, you can earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
The card is rewarding for everyday spending, too. It earns 3 points per dollar at grocery stores, restaurants and Air Canada. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar. You’ll also earn 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent on the card per month, up to 1,500 points per month.
New cardmembers are eligible for complimentary Aeroplan 25K status for the remainder of the calendar year and the entirety of the following calendar year. You can keep this status past the first year by spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year and upgrade to Aeroplan 35K status by spending $50,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Other benefits include a free checked bag on Air Canada flights, no foreign transaction fees and access to Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature. Pay Yourself Back lets you redeem Aeroplan points at 1.25 cents apiece toward any travel purchase. So if you book a $1,000 hotel stay with your Aeroplan Card, you can redeem 80,000 Aeroplan points for a statement credit to cover the purchase.
Finally, American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One and Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. These transfers generally process within minutes and make it easy to top-up your Aeroplan balance with points you might already have.It might be worth using a credit card that earns these rewards over the Aeroplan Card if it better aligns with your spending habits. For example, consider using a credit card that earns more bonus points on dining, like the American Express® Gold Card.Here are a few cards to consider to earn Aeroplan points:
You can also earn Aeroplan points when you book hotels, rental cars and vacation packages through Air Canada. This isn’t always the best deal — for example, you can’t usually earn hotel points when renting through a third party. Do the math and see if it makes sense for you before booking.Air Canada has a handful of retail partners too, but most are exclusive to Canada. Unfortunately, its Uber and Starbucks partnerships are only valid in Canada so you cannot earn points with these partners in the US.
From flights to hotel stays, there’s no shortage of ways to redeem Aeroplan points. Flights are almost always the best — and in our opinion, the most exciting — way to redeem points. Here’s an overview of your options.
Unlike Delta SkyMiles and various other loyalty programs, Aeroplan has kept a mostly fixed award chart for award flights. You’ll pay a set amount based on the regions you’re flying to and from and the distance of said flight. However, Air Canada flights — but not partner flights — are priced within bands, so the price varies based on demand.Air Canada has four regions: North America, South America, Atlantic and Pacific. Each region pair has its own award chart. For example, there’s an intra-North America award chart, North America to Atlantic award chart, and so on.You can view the full Aeroplan award chart on Air Canada’s website (warning: PDF link), but let’s price out an example. The North America to Atlantic award chart covers flights from the US to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Based on this award chart, a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) would cost 35,000 points in economy or 60,000 points in business class. This is because the flight is 3,465 miles long.But there’s more. Aeroplan lets you add a stopover to most one-way award tickets for 5,000 extra miles. So if you wanted to fly from Newark to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) with a three-day stopover in London, you’d pay 40,000 in economy or 65,000 in business class. The price of stopover tickets is based on the total length of the itinerary plus 5,000 points for the stopover.
You can make some really interesting itineraries when you leverage Aeroplan’s stopover program. This example itinerary from Newark to London to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) leverages the stopover program, letting you book the entire itinerary for 65,000 points in economy or 92,500 in business class. It’s priced based on the North America to Pacific award chart, plus 5,000 points for the stopover.
You can book award flights, including those with a stopover, on Air Canada’s website. Just make sure the “Book with Aeroplan points” button is checked before you search for a flight.
You can also redeem Aeroplan points for upgrades and other flight extras like Wi-Fi and checked bags. If you’ve already paid for an Air Canada flight, you can use the “AC Bid Upgrade” feature to bid on upgrades. Like the name suggests, you will be upgraded if your bid is the winning bid.You can also redeem Aeroplan points for Wi-Fi passes on Air Canada flights. The number of points required varies by flight. Simply log onto the in-flight Wi-Fi network and the login page will show you how many points are required for a pass.
Air Canada recently introduced a new program called HotelSavers, which lets you redeem hotel points at preferred rates. It’s typically not as good of a value as redeeming for flights, but it can be a good option if you want a free hotel stay in a pinch.Prices are based on Air Canada’s award chart, which runs from Category 1 to 8.
This program frequently runs promotions that offer points rebates at select properties or hotel chains, which could make using it a better deal. Check the HotelSavers page for the current list of promotions.
Aeroplan points expire after 18 months of no activity in your account. To avoid this, simply earn or redeem points within this period. This can be as simple as redeeming for an award flight or transferring 1,000 points from a credit card transfer partner. Having the Aeroplan Card also prevents your points from expiring if your account is open and in good standing.
And that’s everything you need to know about Air Canada Aeroplan. Whether you’re a Canadian living in the US or a frequent traveler who just wants free flights, it’s a program worth knowing. It has excellent award rates and its stopover program means you can stretch your points even further.
Aeroplan points are among the easiest to earn, too. Armed with the right credit card — be it the Aeroplan Card or a card that earns points that transfer to Aeroplan — you can build your points balance with your everyday expenses.
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