Air Canada Aeroplan: Earning Points and Redeeming Awards

What Is Aeroplan and How It Fits Into Star Alliance

Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program operates within Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance. This membership opens redemptions across a network of major hubs including Chicago’s O’Hare (ORD), Frankfurt (FRA), Istanbul (IST) and Tokyo’s Haneda (HND). Beyond Star Alliance carriers, Aeroplan has partnerships with airlines outside the alliance, including Cathay Pacific, Air China and others—though some partnerships are limited to specific routes or codeshare arrangements.

A Rare Hybrid Pricing Model

Most contemporary loyalty programs have shifted toward dynamic pricing where award costs fluctuate day to day. Aeroplan takes a different approach for the majority of its partner airlines, publishing a fixed award chart based on distance and region. Air Canada’s own flights, along with select partners like United, Emirates and Etihad, still use dynamic pricing. This combination creates predictability for planners seeking partner redemptions while allowing Air Canada to optimize pricing on its own inventory.

Modest Fees and Flexible Stopovers

Award bookings incur minimal costs. Air Canada imposes no booking fee when you book online but charges CA$39 (approximately $28.70) per partner airline ticket. Through the Aeroplan Contact Center, the fee is CA$30 per ticket. These modest charges, combined with the absence of fuel surcharges, make award travel accessible. The program also permits adding stopovers to one-way tickets for just 5,000 additional points, a feature that distinguishes Aeroplan from many competitors.

Accumulating Points Through Multiple Channels

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Members accumulate Aeroplan points across numerous earning streams, making the currency attainable even for those without frequent Air Canada flights.

Flying Air Canada and Partner Airlines

On Air Canada flights, point earning depends on elite status. Standard members earn 1 point per dollar spent (calculated on ticket price before taxes and fees), while elite members earn up to 6 points per dollar. When flying partner airlines, earning rates follow distance-based charts. For instance, a one-way domestic first-class ticket from Newark (EWR) to Chicago (ORD) on United, booked in D-fare, yields 150% of the miles flown. The 719-mile flight distance results in 1,079 Aeroplan points.

Credit Card Transfers and Welcome Bonuses

Aeroplan maintains 1:1 transfer relationships with most major transferable points programs, enabling everyday earning through credit cards. The Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Card, the only Aeroplan cobranded card available in the U.S., offers up to 115,000 bonus points to new applicants: 75,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus an additional 40,000 points after $20,000 in total spending during the first year. At TPG’s September 2026 valuation of 1.5 cents per point, this bonus is worth $1,725, though the card carries a $195 annual fee.

Shopping and Retail Partnerships

Aeroplan’s eStore allows members to earn points through everyday merchants like Apple and Uber Eats, with rates varying by retailer. A newer partnership with Club Avolta—which operates Hudson and Dufry retail brands—began on June 30, offering 1 point per CA$2 spent across more than 900 airport locations in North America. U.S. airports in the network include Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and Chicago’s O’Hare (ORD). Avolta plans to extend this earning to its HMSHost dining outlets before the end of 2026, bringing the total participating locations to nearly 1,900.

The Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Card

The card justifies its annual fee for frequent Air Canada travelers through multiple value streams beyond the welcome bonus.

Immediate and Ongoing Elite Status

All cardholders receive automatic Aeroplan 25K elite status, eliminating the need to earn it through flight activity. Those who spend $75,000 on the card within a calendar year upgrade to Aeroplan 35K status. Additionally, the card delivers up to 25,000 Status Qualifying Credits annually: a 5,000-point annual bonus, 10,000 SQCs after $25,000 in spending and another 10,000 SQCs after $50,000 in spending.

Earning and Statement Credits

Cardmembers earn elevated points on Air Canada flights—up to 5 points per dollar as a 25K elite member—and earn up to $100 in annual statement credits, delivered as two $50 semiannual credits. The card also provides a 15% discount when booking any itinerary that includes at least one Air Canada-operated flight.

Understanding Elite Status After the Qualification Change

Aeroplan recently restructured how members qualify for elite tiers, simplifying the process and creating new pathways for credit card holders.

The New Status Qualifying Credit System

Historically, qualifying for elite status required a combination of Status Qualifying Miles, Segments and Dollars. The airline now awards status solely on Status Qualifying Credits earned in a single calendar year. Members earn 1 SQC for every dollar spent on an Air Canada flight, 1 SQC for every 5 Aeroplan points earned with most partners (capped at 25,000 SQCs per year), and 1 Everyday Status Qualification point for every eligible Aeroplan point earned through Aeroplan partners including the eStore (this path requires 100,000 ESQ points to reach 25K status).

Milestone Benefits

After earning 10,000 SQCs, members unlock Milestone Benefits and can choose rewards including Maple Leaf Lounge passes, bonus points, status passes to share with friends and award ticket discounts. These benefits accumulate as members reach higher credit thresholds throughout the calendar year.

How Award Pricing Works

Aeroplan’s hybrid award structure requires understanding which airlines use fixed charts and which employ dynamic pricing.

Fixed Award Charts by Region and Distance

For non-dynamic partners like Brussels Airlines, award costs depend on the region pair and flight distance. A one-way business-class ticket from New York’s JFK to Brussels (BRU) covers 3,650 miles and costs 60,000 points plus taxes and applicable fees. Members can search Air Canada’s website to view award availability and pricing for most partner airlines.

Dynamic Pricing and Air Canada Flights

Flights operated by Air Canada, United, Emirates, Flydubai, Etihad, Canadian North, Calm Air and Bearskin Airlines use dynamic pricing where the award chart figures serve only as a floor. Actual pricing requires checking Air Canada’s website, and costs can vary significantly day to day, particularly for Air Canada’s own flights.

Pooling Points and Managing Expiration

Aeroplan offers practical features that maximize earning and flexibility for committed members.

Family Point Pooling

Up to eight verified family members—including spouses, partners, children, siblings, in-laws, parents and grandparents—can pool points into a single shared balance. The family lead, who must be 18 and have held an account for at least six months, manages the pool. When one member holds a primary Aeroplan credit card, the entire pool receives that cardholder’s preferred pricing on award flights, potentially saving thousands of points on a single booking. Any redemption draws proportionally from each member’s account rather than depleting one person’s balance.

Point Expiration and Protection

Points expire after 18 months of inactivity, though Air Canada suspended this policy during the pandemic and has extended the suspension through November 29, 2026. Any earning or redemption activity—even a single small transaction—resets the expiration clock on the entire balance, meaning a single action protects a 500,000-point account as effectively as a 5,000-point one. Elite members and primary cardholders of Aeroplan cobranded credit cards are permanently exempt from expiration.