Chase Aeroplan Card Review
Today Chase, the largest co-brand card issuer, and Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline and a Star Alliance founding member, launched the new Chase Aeroplan® World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card, with Mastercard as the exclusive payments network. The new card gives U.S. cardmembers the ability to earn Aeroplan points to unlock faster and better access to the world. It replaces the carrier’s previous US credit card, which was issued by TD Bank and discontinued in 2020.
The new Chase Aeroplan card, with an annual fee of $95, opens up many options for new cardholders and it offers tons of perks. This includes access to Chase’s Pay Yourself Back tool starting in early 2022. That means that cardholders can actually redeem Air Canada points for flights on any airline, plus hotel rooms and car rentals, at a great rate.
The points give you tons of options for travel around the world. Aeroplan is the industry’s most globally connected program with more than 45 partner airlines including United, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Singapore Airlines and newly added Oman Air. Choose flights to more than 200 destinations on Air Canada, and over 1,300 together with its partners. You can redeem for an economy flight reward within North America, starting at just 6,000 Aeroplan points.
Now let’s get into this Chase Aeroplan Card review, and see if this is a product that you should have in your wallet.
Update (Jan 27, 2023) – The signup bonus is back up to 100,000 points, but it requires a total spend of $20,000. Earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open, plus 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months your account is open. Direct link to offer.
Update (Jan 1, 2023) – New offer. Earn 70,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Update (Apr 22, 2022) – See the new welcome bonus here, for up to 101,000 points.
Signup Bonus
Let’s first look at the signup bonus for the new Chase Aeroplan Card. And this launch bonus is a bit unusual as far as credit card signup bonuses go.
- For a limited time new Aeroplan Credit Card cardmembers will receive two Welcome Flight Reward Certificates valid for up to 50,000 points each (up to 100,000 total points) after spending $4,000 on the card in the first three months.
- Annual Fee: $95
- DIRECT LINK TO OFFER
How Flight Reward Certificates Work
Each certificate can be used for any Aeroplan redemption. That includes travel on partner airlines. If your redemption is more than 50,000 points, you can redeem more points from your account on top of the 50,000 Flight Reward Certificate. So if your award flight costs 60,000 points, you can use one certificate and 10,000 points. But, if the certificate is redeemed for an award flight less than 50,000 points, the remainder of the certificate is forfeited.
The two certificates cannot be combined for a single redemption for one passenger. But they can be used together for two separate passengers on the same itinerary.
If you need more Aeroplan points, you can now transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Earning Points
The new Chase Aeroplan Card, a World Elite Mastercard, offers cardmembers:
- Opportunities to earn Aeroplan points on everyday categories:
- 3X points for every dollar spent on
- dining, takeout, and eligible delivery services
- grocery stores
- directly with Air Canada
- 1 point for each dollar spent on all other purchases
- Plus, 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent in a calendar month (up to a maximum of 1,500 points per calendar month)
- 3X points for every dollar spent on
Aeroplan Status
The Chase Aeroplan card also makes it easy to quickly earn elite status on Air Canada.
- Automatically receive Aeroplan 25K Elite Status for the remainder of the first calendar year, plus the following calendar year, allowing primary cardmembers to enjoy benefits such as priority check-in, early boarding, upgrades and more on Air Canada flights. Cardmembers can requalify as follows:
- Earn 25K Status through the next year after spending $15,000 in a calendar year
- Existing status holders earn a one-level status boost to 35K Status or higher for the next year after spending $50,000 in a calendar year
- Additional spend thresholds starting at $100,000 of spend in a calendar year will unlock unprecedented Aeroplan redemption benefits, including 50% off Priority Rewards and companion benefits
Those applying for the card before the end of 2021, this perk will extend all the way until Dec. 31, 2023, meaning you’ll get over two years of complimentary elite status just for having the card.
Other Perks
The new Chase Aeroplan Card is a great product to have in your wallet if you often fly Air Canada or are invested in the Aeroplan program. These are some of the benefits that you get as a cardmember.
- Free first checked bags on Air Canada flights: one free checked bag for the primary cardmember and up to eight other travelers on the same itinerary
- $100 credit toward Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS every four years (as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Protection benefits, including
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Trip Delay Reimbursement
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Roadside Assistance
World Elite Mastercard Benefits
The card gets all the World Elite Mastercard benefits, including:
-
- Complimentary 24/7 concierge service
- Access to Mastercard Priceless® Experiences
- Exclusive offers from popular brands for services like ride-sharing, food delivery and online shopping
Pay Yourself Back
The Chase Aeroplan Card gets a unique benefit that we see on Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards only. Chase Aeroplan Cardmembers will be able to apply their Aeroplan points toward travel purchases on any airline, including hotel, car rental. You can redeem points at a rate of USD 1.25 cents per point up to 50,000 points per year (US$625 of value). This Pay Yourself Back benefit is now live as of January 13, 2023, and unlimited through December 31, 2023.
Carbon Offsets
Aeroplan will purchase carbon offsets to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions associated with cardmember travel when they fly Air Canada using an Aeroplan flight reward. Applies to Chase Aeroplan primary cardmembers and travel companions on the same reservation for flight segments with Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge.
Guru’s Wrap-up
The new Chase Aeroplan Card is finally here and it is an exciting product. It comes with a great signup bonus, that is a bit quirky, but can still get you big value.
You also earn 3X on dining and groceries. And those points are useful even if you don’t specifically use Air Canada much or the Aeroplan program in general. You can use points to book flights on other airlines and use Chase’s Pay Yourself Back tool to get a value of 1.25 cents per point.
The card can earn you Aeroplan status and has several other benefits. One that stands out is the $100 credit toward Trusted Traveler Programs. Besides the usual Global Entry and TSA Precheck, it also covers NEXUS. You also get World Elite Mastercard benefits.
Let me know what you think about this new card!
DDG
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