The new Aeroplan program brought plenty of changes last year, from a new way to book reward flights, to revamped credit cards, to the elimination of carrier surcharges (hurray!).
And one last change that was promised last year is now here.
Never miss an amazing deal again + get our bonus 250+ page eBook for FREE. Join 50,000 other Canadians who receive our weekly newsletter – learn more.
Earn Aeroplan Elite Status on spending
Yes, earn enough Aeroplan points through spending, and you’ll get Aeroplan 25K Prestige status.
This was one feature that they said was coming this year, and Air Canada has followed through.
What does this offer? Here are some of the benefits you’ll get when flying with Air Canada (the full list can be viewed here):
- priority check-in,
- 50% discount on preferred seats (with flex fares),
- 2 pieces of free checked baggage,
- priority boarding,
- 20 eUpgrade credits, and
- 2 one-time-use Maple Leaf lounge passes.
It also comes with Star Alliance Silver status, for expanded benefits on all Star Alliance carriers.
So that seems pretty good – you’ve never been able to earn Aeroplan Elite status through regular spending before.
How to earn Aeroplan Elite status
So how do you actually earn it?
You’ll need to accumulate 100,000 Aeroplan points in one year. With limited retail partners, that won’t be easy to do. You’ll definitely need an Aeroplan branded credit card to even think about getting it.
And there are several things that won’t count towards this threshold. These include:
- welcome bonuses earned from credit cards,
- points transferred in from other rewards programs (like Amex Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy), and
- points accumulated on flights other than Air Canada.
So how much do you actually need to spend? This will depend on the credit card, and how much you can spend at their partner retailers, but you can get up to 1.5 points per $1 spent, depending on the card and category.
First, here are the in-store partner retailers where you can earn Aeroplan points, and their earn rates (which is before tax):
- Home Hardware (1 point per $2 spent),
- The UPS Store (1 point per $1 spent), and
- Starbucks (up to 2 points per $1 spent).
That’s not a lot of retailers.
But there’s also the Aeroplan eStore, where you can earn points with over 100 online retailers. The typical earn rate is 1 point per $1 spent, but this can vary with the retailer, and there are also promo offers you can take advantage of during the year.
Let’s look at an example
So how can you get to 100,000 points? Here’s an example of how much you would have to spend, assuming you’re using an Aeroplan credit card on this spending as well.
| Retailer | Earn Rate | Annual Spend | Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Hardware | 3 points per $2 spent | $6,000 | 9,000 |
| Starbucks | 3 points per $1 spent | $2,000 | 6,000 |
| Aeroplan eStore | 2 points per $1 spent | $6,000 | 12,000 |
| Other retailers | 1.25 point per $1 spent | $58,400 | 73,000 |
| Total | $72,400 | 100,000 |
Using these partners, in this one scenario you would need to spend $72,400 per year ($6,033 monthly) to get your status. That’s a lot of spending.
It would be a little easier if Aeroplan had more retail partners to double dip on earning points, but that’s not the case at this time.
Aeroplan credit cards
If this still interests you, you’ll (almost certainly) need an Aeroplan branded credit card to make it happen.
Here are our top rated Aeroplan branded credit cards to consider.
Each of these credit cards has an earn rate of up to 1.5 points per $1 spent on everyday purchases.
If you want some of the benefits Prestige 25K status gets you (and in some cases a little bit more) take a look at the
It has a high annual fee of $599, but offers a list of Air Canada benefits, which include:
- priority airport check-in,
- priority boarding,
- priority baggage handling,
- unlimited access to Maple Leaf lounges, and
- first free checked bag.
Plus, it also comes with an annual companion voucher when you spend at least $25,000 in one year.
The final word
It’s a nice feature to have, but unless you’re a frequent flyer you’re probably not going to be able to get it.
There’s a lot of spending that needs to happen, on top of the restrictions as to what actually counts towards elite status.
What are your thoughts on Aeroplan’s latest perk?
Let us know in the comments below.
creditcardGenius is the only tool that compares 126+ features of 226 Canadian credit cards using math-based ratings and rankings that respond to your needs, instantly. Take our quiz and see which of Canada's 226 cards is for you.
GC: 
$100 GeniusCash + Transfer points to Aeroplan and 7 other travel partners with Canada's #1 credit card.*
Comments
Leave a comment
Required fields are marked with *. Your email address will not be published.
Showing 2 comments