#2 Among Airlines
Point Value
1.40 ¢
Hobby Score
7.7
If you live in the United States, Air Canada is a complicated alternative to United Airlines, though better value can be found.
Air Canada Aeroplan associated alliance is Star Alliance
Visit Star Alliance
As with most airline loyalty programs, the quickest way to earn Aeroplan points is to fly on Air Canada (or one of its many partner airlines) or to open a co-branded credit card. Note that how you earn points (and status credits) changed in January 2026, when the program moved to a revenue-based system.
Aeroplan moved to a revenue-based earning system in 2026. You will earn points based on how much you spend on paid flights, and your earnings will scale with your status level.
Air Canada offers one co-branded credit card to U.S. customers, the Chase Aeroplan card. It has a solid signup bonus and useful benefits. If you fly Air Canada even once per year, the perks should outweigh the $95 annual fee.
Air Canada partners with four transferable points programs — American Express, Chase, Bilt, and Capital One. This makes it easy to top up your balance or book flights with Air Canada or one of its many partners.
Air Canada belongs to Star Alliance and also has a variety of non–Star Alliance partners. You can earn Aeroplan points when flying these partners, but how much you earn differs by airline and fare class. Check out all their partners here to see how many points you’ll earn with each one.
There are several spend-related bonuses on this card, but we don’t recommend putting extra spend on the card solely to earn them. If you earn them through organic spending, that’s fine, but you shouldn’t aim for them intentionally.
Special Offers Related to Air Canada Aeroplan. Click the arrow to see more.
- JetBlue added 6 more transfer partners effective October 7, 2021: Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM, British Airways, Emirates Skywards, Singapore & Turkish Airlines.
- JetBlue and Capital One are breaking up, starting October 24, 2021 you will no longer be able to transfer your Capital One points to TrueBlue.
- Get ready for AAdvantage Program simplifying their loyalty program, beginning 2022 no more EQ's, just loyalty points.
- Marriott Bonvoy extends Elite status once again for all of us, this time until February 2023.
- Don't forget to activate your Chase Freedom Q4 2021 Category.
- Delta Airlines is extending Medallion status & other benefits into 2023.
- Ultimate Rewards welcomes Aeroplan as their newest transfer partner with a 1:1 transfer.
- Hyatt adds more than 30 new smaller luxury hotels throughout the world for you to use your points on.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Cards are getting a face-lift with new improved benefits & earning rates.
Air Canada has around 50 airline partners, so redeeming your miles for a flight is your best option. Searching is simple on Air Canada’s website or app. Click “Book with Aeroplan points” when searching to see what’s available. You can view results by the week and easily sort by airline. Nearly all partners are included in the award search, which makes the process straightforward.
Air Canada has award charts, kind of. It uses a blend of traditional, distance-based charts with some dynamic pricing, so it’s not fully fixed. The prices shown are “starting at” amounts, and there is usually a range depending on the zones you’re flying between. You can view the award charts here.
One of the best ways to maximize Aeroplan points is to use their stopover program. A stopover is a layover of more than 24 hours, and with Aeroplan you can stay between 24 hours and up to 45 days.
You can book stopovers online by selecting the “Multi-city/Stopover” option when searching for flights:
Stopover example
In many cases you’d have a layover in one of these cities anyway, so extending the stay can break up long flights and add extra destinations for a low cost. With smart planning, you can even build a round-the-world style trip by adding stopovers between segments for only 5000 points each time.
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
Air Canada has the largest collection of partners to book award flights with, and best of all, they don’t add carrier-imposed surcharges to the price, so you can fly on an airline like Lufthansa or Swiss and not have to pay their absurd surcharges
The stopover feature is a unique tool that can provide a ton of value on a longer, international trip. The possibilities are really endless, and you can design a very cool trip utilizing these stopovers at 5000 miles per stop
Aeroplan allows you to book mixed cabin tickets to lessen the price of a redemption. Take advantage of this option to fly economy on a shorter flight and a premium cabin on a longer flight
Aeroplan is best for those who have been in the hobby for a while and who feel comfortable analyzing award charts and more complicated redemption options. It’s a strong program with plenty of sweet spots, especially with more than 50 airline partners to redeem with, spanning both Star Alliance and non-alliance partners. But it can be complicated and time consuming to figure out how to maximize your miles, particularly for beginners.
Its award charts blend dynamic and distance-based pricing, and they can be excellent for premium cabin redemptions. Using stopovers on more complex itineraries can significantly boost value, but this requires knowledge of airline geography and the flexibility to take longer trips. For hobbyists who enjoy building creative itineraries and squeezing maximum value from their miles, Aeroplan offers a tremendous amount of potential.
Aeroplan overhauled its elite status program in 2026, introducing a spend-based system instead of miles or segments flown. Aeroplan members now must earn SQCs, or Status Qualifying Credits, to earn elite status with the airline.
Here is how you earn SQCs:
Aeroplan offers five elite status levels, and status is based on the calendar year. If you meet the requirements in 2026, you’ll keep that status for the rest of 2026 and through 2027.
Here are the current requirements and benefits of each level (as of 2025):
Aeroplan introduced Milestone Rewards in 2026, starting at 10,000 SQCs and every 10k SQCs up to 200k. Then every 20k SQCs after that up to 1 million. At each milestone, members receive 10 or 20 eUpgrade credits automatically, then choose one of the following benefits below:
Aeroplan miles expire after 18 months of inactivity. If you cancel your Chase Aeroplan credit card, your miles remain safe for at least that long. But remember this is the only Aeroplan co-branded card available in the United States, and it follows Chase’s 24 From Bonus rule. If you cancel, you won’t be eligible for another signup bonus until 24 months have passed since you received the first one.
