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Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything to know about earning and redeeming points

December 18, 2024

Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything to know about earning and redeeming points

Editors note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information

Air Canada’s Aeroplan program flies under the radar, but it is one of the most valuable and rewarding Star Alliance airline programs.

The Aeroplan program is the loyalty program offered by Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada. It allows travelers to earn and redeem points for various travel-related rewards.

Aeroplan still uses published award charts for partner flights — a rarity in a loyalty world increasingly driven by dynamic pricing.

Even if you never plan to visit Canada, this program is worth knowing about because it is easy to earn and redeem Aeroplan points, especially on partner airlines like United Airlines.

Here is everything you need to know about Air Canada Aeroplan.

Air Canada Aeroplan partners

Air Canada is a Star Alliance member, so you can earn and redeem Aeroplan points with any participating carrier. More than two dozen airlines worldwide are full members, giving you massive geographical coverage.

Some of the largest Star Alliance hubs include Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Istanbul Airport (IST) and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND).

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The following airlines are part of Star Alliance:

Aegean Airlines
Air Canada
Air China
Air India
Air New Zealand
All Nippon Airways
Asiana Airlines
Austrian Airlines
Avianca
Brussels Airlines
Copa Airlines
Croatia Airlines
Egyptair
Ethiopian Airlines
EVA Airways
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
Shenzhen Airlines
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Swiss
TAP Air Portugal
Thai Airways
Turkish Airlines
United Airlines

However, Aeroplan also has relationships with many carriers outside of Star Alliance. In fact, Air Canada has leaned heavily into these partnerships in recent years, even winning a TPG Award for this investment in 2021.

The following airlines are nonalliance Aeroplan partners — though some benefits only apply when booking a flight with an Air Canada flight number:

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

Be sure to review the information on Air Canada’s airline partner page to understand the full scope of each carrier’s partnership.

Air Canada Aeroplan elite status

Air Canada Aeroplan rewards frequent Air Canada and Star Alliance flyers with valuable perks like seat upgrades, free checked bags and other benefits across five different status tiers.

To qualify, you’ll need to earn a set number of status-qualifying miles or status-qualifying segments in addition to accruing a minimum amount of status-qualifying dollars. Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) are calculated based on your flight distance, Status Qualifying Segments (SQSs) are based on how many flights you credit to Aeroplan and Status Qualifying Dollars (SQDs) are based on how much you spend on tickets. Note that SQDs are based on Canadian dollars.

Here’s a look at the requirements for each status tier:

Aeroplan 25K: 25,000 SQMs or 25 SQSs, plus 3,000 SQDs
Aeroplan 35K: 35,000 SQMs or 35 SQSs, plus 4,000 SQDs
Aeroplan 50K: 50,000 SQMs or 50 SQSs, plus 6,000 SQDs
Aeroplan 75K: 75,000 SQMs or 75 SQSs, plus 9,000 SQDs
Aeroplan Super Elite: 100,000 SQMs or 100 SQSs, plus 20,000 SQDs

The higher your status, the more benefits you can enjoy when flying with Air Canada and its partner airlines. Benefits include:

Aeroplan 25K: Complimentary preferred seats at check-in for all destinations with the purchase of a Standard of Flex fare, priority airport standby, two checked bags, priority boarding, two one-time Maple Leaf guest lounge passes, 5 additional eUpgrade credits, Avis Preferred Plus status, Star Alliance Silver status, 3 bonus points per Canadian dollar spent on hotel stays and car rental booking as well as 2 bonus points per Canadian dollar spent at the Aeroplan eStore and more
Aeroplan 35K: All benefits of 25K plus three checked bags total, priority security and baggage handling, 15 eUpgrade credits and more
Aeroplan 50K: All benefits of 35K plus complimentary seat selection, preferred seats at the time of booking with a Standard of Flex fare for travel within Canada or between Canada and the United States, Maple Leaf lounge access, an additional one-time Maple Leaf guest lounge pass, Star Alliance Gold status including lounge access, Air Canada Cafe access, 20 eUpgrade credits, 5,000 SQMs and 5 SQSs and more
Aeroplan 75K: All benefits of 50K plus preferred seats at the time of booking with a Standard of Flex fare for all itineraries, 35 eUpgrade credits, gift 35K status to a friend, Avis President’s Club status and more
Aeroplan Super Elite: All benefits of 75K plus complimentary preferred seats on all bookings, concierge service, an additional one-time Maple Leaf guest lounge pass, arrivals lounge access at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), 50 eUpgrade credits, share your eUpgrade benefit with a nominee, gift 50K status to a friend, complimentary changes and cancelations to Aeroplan flight rewards and more

How to earn Air Canada Aeroplan points

It’s surprisingly easy to earn Air Canada Aeroplan points, even if you’re not flying Air Canada.

Flying with Air Canada

Unlike most U.S. carriers, Air Canada has continued to award points based on flight distance. You also need to factor your fare class into your calculations. Some fares earn as little as 10% of miles flown, while business-class fares earn 150% of miles flown.

Here’s a look at how much each fare earns:

Flying with Star Alliance and nonalliance partners

You’ll earn points the same way when flying with an Air Canada partner, but the number of points you’ll earn per mile flown varies by airline. Your partner’s earning chart is on Air Canada’s airline partner page. Just find your partner on the list and click on it.

Earn points with the Air Canada Aeroplan credit card

New Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card applicants can earn up to 100,000 bonus points: 75,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening, plus an additional 25,000 points after spending $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months of account opening.

In our December 2024 valuations, TPG values Aeroplan at 1.5 cents each, making this sign-up bonus worth $1,500. Despite such a valuable welcome bonus, the Chase Aeroplan card has an annual fee of just $95.

With triple points in multiple categories, monthly bonus points, statement credits, Aeroplan elite status and discounted award pricing, this card is incredibly valuable, especially if you ever fly Air Canada.

Transferring credit card points to Aeroplan

You can transfer the following credit card rewards to Aeroplan at a 1:1 transfer ratio:

The following cards all currently offer strong welcome bonuses with points and miles that you can transfer to your Aeroplan account:

You’ll sometimes even find limited-time transfer bonuses with these currencies. In addition, holders of the Aeroplan Credit Card can receive a 10% bonus when they transfer at least 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan (up to 25,000 bonus points every year).

Earning with retail partners

Air Canada has an online shopping portal that lets you earn Aeroplan points with third-party vendors, such as Apple, Uber Eats and other popular merchants. You can click through the merchant’s link on the Air Canada eStore before you make a purchase, and you’ll earn a set number of points per dollar spent on your purchase. This can be a great way to earn bonus points on everyday purchases.

Note: Not all Air Canada retail partners are valid for points-earning purchases in the U.S. and Canada. Some are Canada-only, so double-check on the partner page before purchasing.

Air Canada for Business

Air Canada has a business rewards program dubbed Air Canada for Business.

Businesses can use this program to earn additional Aeroplan points for every trip flown, enjoy up to a 5% discount on all Flex fares and higher for business travel bookings, and for a limited time, for every $50,000 in flown travel spend, employees earn double Aeroplan points and the company will receive 10,000 bonus SQMs.

How to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points

You can use your Aeroplan points to fly worldwide; Air Canada offers a huge route network by itself, but its long list of alliance and nonalliance partners expands this list even further.

Unlike many U.S. carriers, Air Canada has kept a standard award chart with fixed flights operated by partner airlines and flights operated by Air Canada priced dynamically (within a range of the award chart). This means you can book award flights at predictable prices, especially if you are flying with partners. It also removed fuel surcharges, so you’ll only pay minimal taxes plus a 39 Canadian dollar (about $27.60) partner booking fee (if applicable).

Aeroplan’s award chart

Aeroplan employs a hybrid distance- and region-based award chart. You’ll pay based on your flight length, but pricing varies based on the region you fly to and from. You’ll notice that each is very broadly defined.

To find the cost of an award, determine the regions you’re flying from and to. Then calculate the distance between your origin and destination using a tool like Great Circle Mapper. Next, find the award chart for your region pair in the Air Canada award chart to determine the cost of your flight.

Here is the chart for travel within North America:

Air Canada flights with Standard award space will be priced at the lower end of the spectrum, while flights without this will be priced higher.

The best ways to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points

The Aeroplan award chart is full of interesting sweet spots and great deals. Here are some of the best ways to maximize the award chart and the program’s interesting features, such as stopovers on one-way award tickets.

Fly Air Canada off-peak

Aeroplan’s system of dynamically pricing flights operated by Air Canada yet still within the confines of an award chart can lead to some unique pricing. On peak dates, such as summer flights to Europe, the prices can be unreasonably high and not a great redemption option.

However, if you are willing to travel off-peak, great deals can be had. Try seasonal flights in the first and last month of the season (you can use Air Canada’s Wikipedia page to check which destinations are seasonal) for attractive pricing on low-demand dates, with long-haul business-class flights as low as 60,000 Aeroplan points or even cheaper if you have the Aeroplan credit card.

Book a mini round-the-world trip with stopovers

For 5,000 points apiece, you can add one stopover to one-way tickets and two stopovers to round-trip tickets. These stopovers can be anywhere worldwide, and Aeroplan lets you get creative with your routing.

The only major restriction to remember is that your connecting flight cannot require more than double the mileage cost of a nonstop flight to your final destination. This opens up a lot of interesting bookings. For example, you can book a mini round-the-world trip that takes advantage of a stopover, two round-trip tickets and multiple 24-hour layovers. Even better, you can now book stopover tickets online, but you may need to call in to book more complex itineraries with additional layovers.

Fly domestically on United from 6,000 points

You can book economy flights on United Airlines within the continental U.S. and Canada from just 6,000 Aeroplan points for flights up to 500 miles in length, such as from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to many Northeastern destinations. Saver availability is limited, but if you’re flexible on your travel dates, this can be a fantastic value.

Fly partner airlines from the East Coast to Europe

Many flights from the East Coast to Europe fall into the zero to 4,000 miles tier on the North America-to-Atlantic award chart, and there are plenty of partner airlines flying across the Atlantic who regularly release seats to Aeroplan, including Lufthansa, United, Swiss, LOT Polish and Austrian Airlines.

These flights cost just 60,000 points in business class and 90,000 points in first class, so they’re a great way to hop across the Atlantic. And even if your routing is longer, the business-class award rate is just 70,000 points for up to 6,000 miles flown.

These options are cheaper than what other Star Alliance programs, such as Avianca LifeMiles and United MileagePlus, charge for the same flights, especially since LifeMiles increased their rates for Lufthansa first class to Europe.

Fly business class to India for 90,000 points

You can book Star Alliance partners like United, Air India and Turkish Airlines between the U.S. and India for just 90,000 points each way in business class or 55,000 points in economy class. Best of all, there are no fuel surcharges.