Chase Increases Air Canada Aeroplan Card Annual Fee To $195 — Adds Automatic Elite Status And 15% Off Awards

Chase is doubling the annual fee on its U.S. Air Canada Aeroplan credit card from $95 to $195. I still think the card is one of the better airline cobrands, and a no-brainer for anyone going for status with Aeroplan. Beginning September 10, the renamed Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Card gives every primary cardmember automatic Aeroplan 25K status with no spending requirement, a fixed 15% discount on eligible Air Canada flight awards, 3 points per dollar on a broad travel category and up to $100 a year in Air Canada statement credits. The new benefits apply to existing cardmembers immediately. The higher annual fee begins applying to existing cardmembers at card renewals starting December 1. This is mostly a well-designed refresh. It’s useful for someone pursuing Aeroplan status. It’s a good card for travel spend. And the 15% off redemptions provides real value. But several existing benefits disappear, and the marketing claim that the card earns “up to 5x” on Air Canada purchases is a poor way to look at it that piece of the proposition. The Card Adds Real Benefits—And Removes Several The refreshed card offers: Automatic Aeroplan 25K status for the primary cardmember without an annual spending requirement. 15% off eligible Air Canada flight rewards. The discount applies to eligible award itineraries containing an Air Canada segment and can be combined with a Priority Reward that can offer a 50% discount. Up to $100 in annual Air Canada statement credits, split into one $50 credit during January through June and another during July through December. If you use them both the net cost of the card is arguably still $95. But you’re having to stay in Air Canada’s ecosystem twice a year to do it, not hard to do if you’re even redeeming points and Aeroplan partners broadly with transferrable currencies. 3 points per dollar on travel. This is Chase’s broad travel category, including airlines, hotels, rental cars, cruises, travel agencies, rideshare, trains, buses, taxis, tolls and parking. 2 points per dollar on dining, grocery stores and gas, and one point per dollar on other purchases. A fourth rental car day free beginning January 2027 when redeeming Aeroplan points for a four-day reservation. Aeroplan provides decent value on hotel and car redemptions, but redeeming for premium cabin flights especially on partners (or on Air Canada at 50% off) is generally still much better. Air Canada purchases continue to earn 3 points per dollar on the card. Chase advertises “up to 5x total,” but the other two points are just earning when crediting the flight to Aeroplan as a 25K member. You earn those points regardless of the card used to pay. 3x on all travel is strong. 3x on Aeroplan spend is mediocre. You’re better off buying Air Canada flights on numerous other cards, but earning 3x on cruises and Airbnb is great. There are also givebacks: Grocery and dining fall from 3 points per dollar to 2 (while gas improves from one point per dollar to 2). The monthly bonus of 500 points for each $2,000 spent, up to 1,500 points per month, goes away. That was worth as much as 18,000 points a year. The card’s 10% bonus on Ultimate Rewards transfers of at least 50,000 points ends December 31. Cardmembers can still stack it with Chase’s current 20% transfer bonus through September 30. Automatic 25K Makes Status And Spend Towards Higher Tiers Until now, new cardmembers received Aeroplan 25K status for the year they opened the card and the following year. Keeping it after that required $15,000 in calendar-year spending. The refreshed card simply gives primary cardmembers 25K status without spending. That includes priority check-in and Zone 2 boarding, preferred seats at check-in on eligible fares, Star Alliance Silver and five eUpgrade credits. The member also receives up to two checked bags on Air Canada, while the card’s separate first bag benefit continues to cover as many as eight companions on the same reservation. This is low-level status. It’s useful for a U.S. traveler flying Air Canada a handful of times a year. It also provides access to Aeroplan’s Milestone benefits and can open other elite partnerships, including the annual Hyatt status challenge. Automatic 25K status doesn’t provide 25,000 Status Qualifying Credits. However, the card generates: 5,000 Status Qualifying Credits each year simply for holding the card. Another 10,000 credits after $25,000 in calendar year card spending. Another 10,000 credits after $50,000 in calendar year spending. Automatic 35K status after $75,000 in calendar year spending. These credit thresholds were already part of Aeroplan’s 2026 elite status overhaul. The card can contribute no more than 25,000 Status Qualifying Credits per year. Those credits also unlock Milestones. At $25,000 of card spending, the member has received 15,000 credits and crossed the 10,000 credit Milestone, earning another 10 eUpgrade credits (15 total when combined with the five from 25K status). At $50,000, the card has supplied 25,000 credits and the member crosses the 20,000 credit Milestone. That provides a choice of a 50%-off Priority Reward, two Maple Leaf Lounge guest passes, another 10 eUpgrade credits, 5,000 Aeroplan points or another redemption benefit. The card also continues awarding Priority Rewards at $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 and $750,000 of annual spending, and a Global +1 benefit at $1 million. I wouldn’t move $75,000 of otherwise unbonused spending to the card solely for 35K status. The final $25,000 between the $50,000 and $75,000 thresholds generates no additional card-derived qualifying credits, and 35K still isn’t especially lucrative. But someone looking to hit 75,000 or Super Elite (with required minimum revenue) will find spending for status credits highly useful. 15% Award Discount The new benefit is 15% off eligible flight rewards containing an Air Canada segment. And it stacks with Aeroplan Priority Rewards, which discount eligible awards by 50%. Both discounts can therefore apply to the same eligible booking, subject to the Priority Reward’s geographic and cabin restrictions. Air Canada dynamically prices its own awards, so 15% off a bad price can still be a bad redemption. Aeroplan also raised award prices earlier this year. Still, a cardmember redeeming 100,000 points at undiscounted prices would save 15,000 points and that’s worth more than the increased in annual fee and can justify keeping the card even for someone who doesn’t put substantial spending on it. Card’s 15% Award Discount Stacks With Priority Rewards, Which The Card Helps You Earn Priority Rewards discount the points price by 50%. Their value depends on your Aeroplan status when you select the voucher. Aeroplan Status Status Requirement Eligible Geography Highest Eligible Cabin Relative Value 25K 25,000 Status Qualifying Credits Travel wholly within Canada and the United States, including Hawaii Economy Best for expensive transborder, transcontinental or Hawaii economy awards 35K 35,000 Status Qualifying Credits North America, including Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Hawaii Premium economy Adds more destinations and premium economy awards 50K 50,000 Status Qualifying Credits North America, including Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Hawaii Premium economy No Priority Reward improvement over 35K 75K 75,000 Status Qualifying Credits Worldwide Premium economy Potentially very valuable for long-haul premium economy awards Super Elite 125,000 Status Qualifying Credits Worldwide Business class The most valuable option: half-price international business class awards The voucher applies to Air Canada or partner awards, discounts the points price by 50% (but not taxes, fees or partner-booking charges), and covers one passenger on either a one-way or roundtrip booking. It requires every flight segment to satisfy its geographic and cabin restrictions and is fixed according to your status when you select it – earning a higher status later doesn’t improve the usefulness of an existing voucher. One Priority Reward is available as a selectable Milestone benefit every 20,000 status credits up to 1 million. Wait to select a Priority Reward as long as you can, especially if higher status is within reach. A 40,000 credit benefit selected at 50,000 status credits is limited to North American premium economy. If you wait to select it until you reach 75,000 status credits and it becomes valid worldwide for premium economy. Three Points Per Dollar On Travel Makes It A Good Card For Select Spend Aeroplan cardmembers can currently use Pay Yourself Back to redeem points against travel at 1.25 cents apiece, with travel redemptions limited to 200,000 points per year. At that redemption rate, 3 points per dollar on travel produces 3.75 cents in statement-credit value. I’d generally rather use Aeroplan points for premium cabin flght awards but 1.25 cents a point is the minimum you should get for your miles. And with Chase’s most premium rewards card no longer earning 3x on travel, this is a strong value. Two points per dollar on dining, gas and groceries isn’t exceptional, and one point per dollar on other spending is something you should only do if you place a high value on the status credits. The Aeroplan card is strongest when its earning combines with status credits, Milestones and discounted awards. Naturally existing benefits like free checked bag for the cardmember and up to eight companions, no foreign transaction fees, a $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS credit every four years, travel protections and a fourth hotel night free on eligible four-night Aeroplan point redemptions remain. 115,000 Point Initial Bonus Offer Requires Significant Spend New cardmembers can earn: 75,000 points after $4,000 in purchases during the first three months. Another 40,000 points after reaching $20,000 in total purchases during the first 12 months. Think of it as a 75,000 point initial bonus offer, then the additional 40,000 points with $16,000 incremental spend makes that spend rewarding enough to do for some. It’s effectively 2.5 additional bonus points per dollar, in addition to the card’s ordinary earning. That’s great if you’re spending in the 3x travel category. And it’s good if you’re using the card to spend towards status credits anyway. For someone who uses Aeroplan principally for partner awards and rarely spends with Air Canada, the $195 fee is harder to justify. The award discount requires an Air Canada segment. For an Air Canada traveler and especially one chasing status, this is a no-brainer and worth doing some spend on. Topics on this page