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Just a little over a year ago, a new airline credit card arrived on the scene with the Chase Aeroplan® World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card, the issuer’s first-ever card tied exclusively to Air Canada. And if you’ve been holding out on applying for the card, now is the time to strongly consider pulling the trigger. While we’ve seen a few different offers appear in the past year, one of the best offers just popped up. Currently, new applicants can earn up to 100,000 bonus points — 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months, plus 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases within the first 12 months. While $20,000 is a lot of spending, this breaks down to $1,667 per month.
With an annual fee of $95 and a number of unique features, the Chase Aeroplan card is attractive even to US consumers who don’t typically find themselves visiting our neighbor to the north. This includes access to Chase’s Pay Yourself Back tool, allowing card holders to redeem Air Canada points for flights on virtually any airline, as well as hotel rooms and car rentals, at a rate of 1.25 cents per point, up to 50,000 points per year. And with the 100,000-point welcome offer, that means you’ll be able to redeem your points at a minimum of $1,250 towards travel.
Chase Aeroplan bonus categories and elite status
Airlines have made an effort in recent years to broaden the bonus categories on their credit cards, and the Chase Aeroplan card is no exception. It earns bonus points in several popular everyday categories, including:
- 3 points for every dollar spent on dining, takeout and eligible delivery services
- 3 points for every dollar spent at grocery stores
- 3 points for every dollar spent directly with Air Canada
- 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases
In addition, card holders earn 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent on the card in a calendar month, up to a maximum of 1,500 points per calendar month.
The Chase Aeroplan card also makes it easy to quickly earn elite status on Air Canada. New card holders automatically receive Aeroplan 25K elite status for the remainder of the first calendar year of having the card, plus the following calendar year. This basic-tier status provides benefits such as priority check-in, early boarding, upgrades and more on Air Canada flights. Apply for the card and your status will be valid all the way through Dec. 31, 2024.
In future years, Chase Aeroplan card holders will be able to requalify for 25K status by spending $15,000 on the card in a calendar year. And for high spenders, putting $50,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year will earn Aeroplan 35K elite status, which is the next level up from the basic status; 35K status provides access to Air Canada airport lounges in the US and internationally when flying on Air Canada or on partner carriers like United.
But frequent Air Canada flyers who already have status with the airline won’t be left out of the elite status party. That’s because if you already have Aeroplan elite status from flying, the same $50,000 in annual spending on the card will earn you a one-level status boost for the next year. And additional spending thresholds starting at $100,000 in a calendar year unlock additional Aeroplan redemption benefits, such as 50% off Priority Rewards and companion perks.
Chase Aeroplan card benefits
As is typical with airline credit cards in today’s market, the Chase Aeroplan card provides a free first checked bag on Air Canada flights for the primary card holder as well as up to eight other travelers on the same itinerary. In addition, card holders get a suite of travel protection perks, including trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement and auto rental collision damage coverage. The card also doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
Another feature of the card is a credit of up to $100 toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS membership every four years. While the first two options on that list are fairly common when it comes to travel credit cards, the addition of NEXUS — a program that allows prescreened travelers expedited processing when entering Canada — is unique and obviously appropriate for a card tied to a Canadian airline.
Of course, an airline credit card is only as strong as the frequent flyer program it’s attached to. Fortunately, Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is one of the better international options. It features partnerships with over 50 other airlines, including United, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Singapore Airlines and many others, providing abundant opportunities to redeem Air Canada points for flights from the US to a multitude of destinations around the world.
And for those concerned about the effect of air travel on the environment, Aeroplan will purchase carbon offsets for Chase Aeroplan card holders who fly on Air Canada using an Aeroplan flight reward to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions associated with your travel. This benefit applies not only to primary card holders but also to travel companions on the same reservation for flight segments with Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge.
A 100,000-point sign-up bonus
The welcome offer that comes with the Chase Aeroplan card allows you to earn up to a generous 100,000 points. With its two-tier bonus, you’ll earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months, plus an additional 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases within the first 12 months.
With a favorable award chart — especially when flying on a partner aircraft — these 100,000 points can go quite far. Additionally, with Chase’s “Pay Yourself Back” tool, these points are worth a fixed $1,250 towards any travel-related purchase. This means you don’t have to be pigeonholed with where you can redeem your points and can instead put them to good use towards a hotel, car rental, train or even another air carrier.
Should you get the Chase Aeroplan credit card?
In today’s highly competitive credit card market, issuers are thinking outside the box when it comes to designing new products that appeal to specific audiences. This is a pattern we’ve seen in the recent introductions of the Capital One Venture X and the Hyatt Business card, and it continues with the Chase Aeroplan card, with a set of perks that will strongly appeal to the airline’s customers.
For those who find the Aeroplan program attractive but don’t fly Air Canada regularly, Chase’s own Ultimate Rewards program — which is attached to popular cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® — can transfer points to Aeroplan and 13 other airline and hotel partners at a 1-to-1 ratio, meaning for every 1,000 points you transfer from an Ultimate Rewards credit card, you’ll get 1,000 Aeroplan points. This could be an easier path to Aeroplan redemptions than getting a card tied exclusively to the airline.
But the Chase Aeroplan card may still have some appeal to US-based customers, though it could require leveraging the carrier’s elite status for perks during partner travel, or using the card’s rewards to book flights on other airlines, either through the Aeroplan program or Chase’s Pay Yourself Back tool. But with attractive bonus categories and an easy path to elite status, the card is certainly worth a look.
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