The Aeroplan program is Air Canada’s frequent-flyer plan. The loyalty program was started in 1984 and relaunched in 2020 with a new membership system and services. Since then, it has grown to become one of the largest airline loyalty services in Canada.

As the official website says, Aeroplan is « Canada’s leading travel loyalty program, chosen by more than 9 million active members worldwide”

Thanks to the partnership through the Star Alliance, Aeroplan also grants members benefits with 45 airlines, serving over 1,300 destinations around the globe. Now, the question is: how can you make the most of a loyalty plan with Air Canada?

Membership features

Let’s go over the baseline first. What do you get with an Aeroplan membership? The Aeroplan loyalty program includes these services as its core features:

• Earning points: Members can earn points flying on Air Canada, other Star Alliance member carriers, and even everyday spending with any of the 250+ affiliated businesses, including Uber and Starbucks.
• Redeeming points: Points are redeemable for flights, hotel stays, car rentals, or even merchandise purchases. Air Canada flight rewards have no additional cash surcharges, meaning you only pay taxes and fees when you book with points.
• Family sharing: Aeroplan has a family sharing feature that allows up to eight family members to pool their rewards together. Once your account has been active for six months and verified, households can accumulate points and redeem them sooner.
• Credit Cards: Aeroplan offers US and Canadian co-branded credit cards that can earn points and special perks. These cards can even come with an automatic 25K status for some first-year card holders.
• Elite Status Program: Frequent flyers can qualify for Aeroplan Elite Status tiers that breakdown as: 25K, 50K, 75K, and, finally, Super Elite. As you move up the tiers, benefits increase, including services like priority check-in, lounge access, and bonus points.

Strategies to maximize rewards

The key to maximizing your Aeroplan points is to concentrate your spending and flying habits within the ecosystem of Air Canada partner programs. Step one is to book all of your air travel through Star Alliance if you can’t find the right deal on an Air Canada flight.

A Business Insider review described Aeroplan as “one of the world’s most versatile airline loyalty programs” that can yield “thousands of dollars in value.”

Another key element is the way you redeem your points; be sure to target Aeroplan’s perks with the highest return on value. You can use points for business class or long-haul partner flights that will be worth far more than other options.

One of the most unique Aeroplan rewards incentives is to use stopovers on award tickets. This is where members elect to add a stopover on their itinerary or an extended layover of 24 hours in a connecting hub for 5,000 points per one-way flight. This allows travelers to add destinations along the way of their route on flights booked through redeemed points.

Always keep an eye on promotions and limited-time offers because Aeroplan runs periodic campaigns that will add extra value for members. Things like point sale bonuses or discounts on points redemption rates can significantly boost the value of large point redemptions when timed correctly.

Air Canada will regularly introduce special offers throughout the year for Aeroplan members to earn additional points and maximize their benefits. One common promotion is the buy-points bonus events. A recent deal allowed members to get an 80% bonus when buying points:

The current points-buy promotion runs until March 13, 2025; you can go to this link to take advantage of the limited-time offer.

Conversion bonuses also allow frequent flyers to use their loyalty perks at hotels. In an ongoing promotion that is available today, Air Canada offers 20% bonuses when converting points to Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors among other franchises.

On the current promotion webpage, you will find offers like this one:

“Join IHG One Rewards from now until November 30, 2022, and earn 1000 bonus Aeroplan points with your stay of 2 nights or more before Jan. 31, 2023.”

Credit card points

Thanks to Aeroplan’s industry-leading points transferability, there are a number of credit cards that can reward Air Canada frequent flyers for their loyalty. These cards feature options to transfer points between accounts to give customers flexibility while rewarding them for their spending with partner companies.

One of the best credit card pairings is American Express Membership Rewards. You can transfer Membership Rewards to your Aeroplan account at a 1:1 ratio in 1,000-point increments, without transfer fees, and most transfers are immediate.

Personal and business Capital One travel credit cards allow you to transfer Capital One miles to Aeroplan at a ratio of 1 Capital One mile to 1 Aeroplan point.

Air Canada Aeroplan is also a Chase Travel partner with points transfer on a 1:1 basis. Eligible credit cards to transfer points to Aeroplan include Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Chase Ink Business Preferred.

Diners Club credit cards also transfer miles to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio with 1,000-point minimums, but they can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks to transfer.

And there is of course, the Aeroplan credit card itself which has “3x points for each dollar spent on grocery stores, dining at restaurants, and Air Canada directly.” The Johnny Jet travel rewards website has more details on transfer options as well as the Aeroplan card sign-up promotion:

• 70,000 points for new Aeroplan Credit Card cardholders.
• 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 10,000 bonus points after your $95 annual fee renewal payment is paid in full.

Aeroplan elite tiers

Aeroplan’s Elite Status program is separated into five primary Elite Status tiers: 25K, 35K, 50K, 75K, and Super Elite (100K). The names of the tiers directly correspond to the Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) required. For example, Aeroplan 50K requires 50,000 SQM in a year, along with some other criteria.

To qualify for any tier at all, members must meet a combination of a minimum number of miles flown and a spend requirement (Status Qualifying Dollars, or SQD). To make it easier for travelers to reach their goal, this can be satisfied with purchases made with Air Canada or its partner airlines and other business partners.

For instance, Aeroplan 25K status can be achieved by flying 25,000 miles (or 25 segments) and spending a specified dollar amount (C$3,000) on eligible flights in one calendar year.

Partner airlines

One of the strengths of Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program is its broad reach made possible by a long list of partner carriers and affiliated businesses. Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance, which is the largest air carrier network in the world.

The following airlines are non-alliance Aeroplan partners that will provide perks and benefits to elite members (some require Air Canada flight numbers to recognize benefits):

• Aer Lingus (codeshare only)
• Air Creebec
• Air Dolomiti
• Air Mauritius
• Air Serbia
• Azul Brazilian Airlines
• Bamboo Airways
• Calm Air
• Canadian North
• Cathay Pacific
• Central Mountain Air (codeshare only)
• Discover Airlines
• Edelweiss Air (codeshare only)
• Emirates
• Etihad Airways
• Eurowings
• Flydubai
• Gol Airlines
• Gulf Air
• Juneyao Air (Star Alliance connecting partner)
• Lufthansa City Airlines
• Middle East Airlines (codeshare only)
• Olympic Airlines
• Oman Air
• PAL Airlines
• SriLankan Airlines (codeshare only)
• SunExpress
• Virgin Australia

Star Alliance was the first international aviation alliance, formed in 1997 by five airlines from the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Sustained commitment to improving international travel and passenger experience has been a hallmark of the aviation network from the outset.

As of right now, Star Alliance has 25 member airlines, including Lufthansa, SWISS, United Airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA), and even Singapore Airlines. Each of these exceptional air carriers has its own unique culture and service approach.

Alliance members overlap at more than 50 global hubs to provide seamless connections over a top-tier flying network that makes it not only easy but enjoyable to fly with any member carrier.

Innovation in digital infrastructure, frequent flyer services and rewards, as well as airport co-location, cooperative business lounge projects, and many other services all come together to enhance the travel experience.

Thanks to this global partnership, Aeroplan elite members can enjoy the same quality of services they do on Air Canada with any member airline in the Star Alliance. You can circle the planet in comfort and even hop between carriers on legs with lounge access and quality service wherever you go.