The Aeroplan credit card just boosted its welcome offer by 10k points, and it’s worth a look even if you don’t fly Air Canada (2024)

If you want to see more of the world, the Aeroplan® Credit Card offers perks that can help make it happen. As our best international airline card, the Aeroplan card offers a wide range of benefits for globetrotters, including 3x points for booking flights directly with Air Canada and the ability to redeem points for flights on a network of more than 45 airlines.

Now, Chase is sweetening the deal with a new welcome bonus offer that can help you score an extra 10,000 miles for your next trip: 70,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Regular Air Canada flyers may find this offer worthwhile, but travel rewards enthusiasts who rarely fly the airline can also get a lot out of the $95-annual fee card.

New Aeroplan Card offer

Starting today, new Aeroplan card holders can earn 70,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

That’s a 10,000-point increase from the card’s previous 60,000-point offer, which had the same spending requirement. The welcome bonus spending threshold is also a little lower than it is on some other powerful travel cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*The information for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , which both require $4,000 of spending in the first three months to score 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points or Capital One miles, respectively.

According to travel site The Points Guy, 1 Aeroplan point is worth 1.5 cents, giving the new welcome bonus a value of approximately $1,050. You can refer to Air Canada’s 2024 award chart or use Air Canada’s Points Finder tool to get a glimpse of some of the places you can go with those welcome bonus points.

How to earn points with the Aeroplan Credit Card

Beyond the welcome bonus, the Aeroplan Credit Card earns points for spending in a wide range of categories:

• 3x points for spending at grocery stores (which helps make it one of the best credit cards for groceries, too)
• 3x points for spending on dining (including takeout and some delivery)
• 3x points for direct bookings with Air Canada
• 1x point for all other spending
• 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent each calendar month, with a maximum of 1,500 bonus points per month

How to redeem Aeroplan points

When you’re ready to cash in your points, you can redeem them for flights on more than 45 airlines, ranging from massive carriers like United and Emirates to smaller names like Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines.

On Air Canada flights, you can also use points to bid for upgrades or pay for Wi-Fi. Plus, you can getbetter deals on reward flights than standard Aeroplan members.

You’ll typically get the best value from your points when you redeem for flights. But you can also use your rewards for hotel stays, car rentals, Air Canada travel packages and gift cards. Using Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature, points are worth 1.25 cents each toward travel purchases made with the card or to cover the card’s $95 annual fee.

Aeroplan’s award chart tells you the number of points you’ll need to book a reward flight depending on your destination and class of ticket. You can fly economy from New York to San Francisco on Air Canada’s partner, United Airlines for as little as 12,500 points, for example. You could also get from New York to Lisbon, Portugal on an economy ticket for between 35,000 and 60,000 points on Air Canada, or 35,000 points on a partner airline.

Which Aeroplan credit card is best?

If you want to compare the Chase Aeroplan card with other co-branded Aeroplan cards, there’s a catch: US residents only have access to the Chase Aeroplan card. Canadian residents can choose from numerous personal and business Aeroplan cards from TD Bank, CIBC and American Express.

However, if you can’t claim north-of-the-border resident status, rest assured that the Chase option is the best mix of a low annual fee with a high welcome bonus and strong rewards rates. For example, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, a mid-tier Canadian card, offers lower rewards rates in bonus categories, has a higher annual fee (139 Canadian dollars) and offers a lower welcome bonus (up to 50,000 points if you meet spending requirements).

Is it worth getting the Chase Aeroplan card?

The Chase Aeroplan card is a no-brainer if you regularly fly Air Canada. You’ll get automatic Aeroplan 25K status for the remainder of the year you open the card and all of the next year, which can score you upgrades to premium cabins, among other perks.

After that, you’ll get 25K status if you spend $15,000 on your card in a calendar year.Plus, you’ll get your first checked bag free on Air Canada flights.

Even if you don’t fly Air Canada, this card can still be a great match. The flexibility to redeem points with more than 45 airlines — including all the airlines in the Star Alliance network — gives you a wide range of options for flights to more than 1,300 destinations around the world. You can also use the card to pay the application fee for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or NEXUS once every four years and get reimbursed, regardless of whether you fly Air Canada.

Since the card earns extra points on groceries and dining out, it’s a solid pick for accumulating points on your everyday spending that you can eventually cash in for a big vacation. And if you want to add more places to your itinerary, the 10,000-point bump to the welcome bonus can make a difference: Aeroplan members can add a stopover city on international trips for 5,000 points.

No matter where you travel, you won’t pay foreign transaction fees with this card. Travel protections include coverage for rental cars (secondary in the US) and reimbursem*nt for some expenses with an eligible travel delay, cancellation or interruption.

Alternatives to the Chase Aeroplan card

If you’re thinking about the Aeroplan Credit Card, you may also want to consider other travel rewards cards, such as:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: If you’re newer to travel rewards and want to prioritize flexibility, this card is a better choice at the same price point. The Sapphire Preferred rewards rates include 3x points on online groceries (no in-store bonus points, however) and 3x points on dining. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are valuable, and with the Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer them to more than a dozen travel partners.
• Other airline cards, such as the United℠ Explorer Card: The Aeroplan Credit Card isn’t the only option to get rewards you can use with Star Alliance airlines. If you fly United more regularly than Air Canada, a United credit card such as the United Explorer Card could be a better choice, since you’ll get airline-specific perks including a free checked bag for you and a plus one on your United reservation. The United Explorer Card is priced similarly, with a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.