The best Aeroplan credit cards in Canada for 2024

Aeroplan is Canada's largest airline loyalty program. Compare your credit card options to earn Aeroplan points faster on all your everyday purchases.

Compare now

Canada’s best Aeroplan credit cards

Aeroplan is Canada’s largest airline loyalty program—and one of its most lucrative. Owned by Air Canada, Aeroplan offers a ton of flexibility compared to other airline loyalty programs. You can earn and redeem Aeroplan points with more than 50 partner airlines and even transfer points to other programs. Whether you’re looking for a no-fee card to get you started earning Aeroplan points or a full-service travel card with all the bells and whistles, there’s an Aeroplan credit card for you.

Summary: Our picks for the best Aeroplan credit cards


Best co-branded Aeroplan credit card

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite card and the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite are almost identical. Both cards cost $139 annually, and both rebate that fee the first year. And they have the same earn rate, too. If you already bank with TD or CIBC, this may be an easy choice. If you don’t, we believe the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is marginally better.

What sets the TD card apart from the CIBC card is its impressive welcome bonus.

featured

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

  • Annual fee: $139
  • Earn rates: 1.5 Aeroplan points per $1 spent on gas, groceries and purchases made directly through Air Canada (including vacation packages), and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
  • Welcome bonus: You can earn a welcome bonus of 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first purchase with your new card; earn 20,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $6,000 within 180 days of Account opening. Conditions apply. Account must be approved by June 3, 2024. 
  • Anniversary bonus: Earn a one-time anniversary bonus of 20,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $10,000 within 12 months of opening the account. Conditions apply. Account must be approved by June 3, 2024.
  • Annual income requirement: Personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000
  • Point value: Aeroplan points are worth $0.02 on average
  • Recommended credit score for approval: 660 or higher
  • Interest rates: 20.99% on purchases, 22.99% on cash advances, 22.99% on balance transfers

With the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, you’ll also get your first bag checked for free for you and up to eight travel companions on the same reservation. This comes out to about $30 in savings per traveller when flying economy within Canada or to the U.S. A Nexus application fee rebate every 48 months will save you up to $100.


Best Aeroplan card for fast-tracking points

The Amex Cobalt earns an impressive 5 Membership Rewards (MR) points for every $1 spent on dining out, groceries and food delivery (along with 3 and 2 points per $1 spent on streaming and transit respectively). So, what does this have to do with Aeroplan points? Well, you can transfer your MR points to Aeroplan at 1:1 ratio. That means this card has an earn rate that surpasses many of the Aeroplan branded cards.

featured

American Express Cobalt

  • Annual fee: $156
  • Earn rate: 5 points per $1 spent on dining and groceries; 2 points per $1 spent on transit and gas; and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Welcome offer: You can earn 1,250 points for each month you spend $750, up to a maximum of 15,000 points.
  • Annual income requirement: None
  • Point value: 1 Amex Membership Rewards point = $0.01 when redeemed with the Flexible Points Travel Program, $0.015 on average with the Fixed Points Travel Program, and up to $0.02 with airline points transfers
  • Annual income requirement: None
  • Recommended credit score for approval: 660 or higher
  • Interest rates: 20.99% on purchases, 21.99% on cash advances


Best Aeroplan credit card for travellers

Unlike the virtually identical TD and CIBC cards, the American Express Aeroplan card takes the concept and tweaks it. The first notable difference is the annual fee which is the more conventional $120 with additional cards costing $50. The points structure is also a slight departure, offering 2 Aeroplan points per $1 on purchases at Air Canada, 1.5 points per $1 on dining and food delivery purchases, and 1 point per $1 spent on anything else. 

featured

American Express Aeroplan Card

  • Annual fee: $120
  • Rewards earn rate: 2 Aeroplan points per $1 on purchases at Air Canada Vacations, 1.5 points per $1 on dining and food delivery purchases and 1 point per $1 spent everywhere else
  • Welcome bonus: Earn 3,000 Aeroplan points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $1,000 in net purchases on your Card for the first 10 months of Cardmembership.
  • Point value: Aeroplan points are worth $0.02 on average
  • Recommended credit score for approval: 660 or higher
  • Additional perks: Travel insurance including travel accident, flight delay and delayed or lost baggage coverage
  • Interest rates: n/a (Note: The American Express Aeroplan card is a charge card, so you’re required to pay off the balance in full with this card every month)

New American Express Aeroplan cardholders get the same Aeroplan perks, such as a free checked bag and preferred pricing. The card has travel insurance, including $500,000 in travel accident, flight and baggage delay, and lost or stolen baggage, plus hotel burglary, car rental theft and damage.

Perhaps most notably, the American Express Aeroplan card is a charge card, so while you won’t be restricted by a credit limit, you will have to pay off the balance in full every month. 


Best Aeroplan credit card for luxury perks

While not an officially-branded Aeroplan card, this premium Amex card allows you to transfer your Membership Rewards points to Aeroplan— at one-to-one rate. It also comes with access to Priority Pass and Centurion Lounge, alongside a generous $200 annual travel credit (essentially reducing the value of your annual fee to $599), hotel upgrades and a sizeable points sign-up bonus.

American Express Platinum

Visit americanexpress.com for details
  • Annual fee: $799
  • Rewards: 2 points per $1 on dining and food delivery; 2 points per $1 on travel, plus 1 additional point on purchases booked through Amex Travel Online; 1 point per $1 on everything else.
  • Welcome bonus: You can earn up to 100,000 rewards points ($1,000 value). Conditions apply.
  • Annual income requirement: None
Visit americanexpress.com for details
  • Point value: 1 Amex Membership Rewards point = $0.01 when redeemed with the Flexible Points Travel Program, $0.015 on average with the Fixed Points Travel Program, and up to $0.02 with airline points transfers
  • Recommended credit score: 760 or higher
  • Interest rates: N/A (as a charge card, you’re required to pay off your balance in full every month)

The Platinum Card is a charge card, which means you’ll need to pay off the balance in full every month. While it is typically good practice to do that, the Aeroplan Visa cards on this list do not require you to like Amex does. While its earn rate is impressive, it does come with a hefty $799 annual fee, so do the math on how much you plan to spend on it, before you apply.


Best no-fee Aeroplan credit card

The appeal of CIBC’s Aeroplan Visa Card is its $0 annual fee. It’s a great way to step into the Aeroplan game and start racking up rewards through your credit card spending.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card for Students

Visit CIBC.com for more details
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Earn rates: 1 point per $1 spent on gas and EV charging, groceries and Air Canada purchases, and 1 point per $1.50 on everything else
  • Welcome offer: Earn 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first purchase ($200 value).
  • Interest rates: 20.99% on purchases and 22.99% on cash advances (21.99% in Quebec)
  • Annual income requirement: None
Visit CIBC.com for more details
  • Point value: Aeroplan points are worth $0.02 on average
  • Recommended credit score: None specified

Not surprisingly for a no-fee card, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card doesn’t give you access to the free checked baggage or comprehensive insurance perks the other co-branded Aeroplan credit cards covered earlier have. However, cardholders do get preferred pricing so they can often book flights using fewer points. The included insurance is lean with only common carrier accident coverage, car rental collision and loss damage protection and purchase protection.


How many Aeroplan points do you need for a flight?

According to the new Aeroplan redemption chart, how many points you need to redeem to book a flight depends on the distance between your city of departure and arrival, and which of the four “travel zones” you’re flying between.

At a minimum, you’ll need at least 6,000 points to redeem a one-way ticket within the North America travel zone to any destination within 500 miles of your departure (or 12,000 points for a round-trip). That includes trips like Toronto to Ottawa, or Vancouver to Calgary.

The number of points you need for redemption increases as you go further from your departure city or enter a new travel zone. For example, you’d need at least 70,000 Aeroplan points for a round trip to the Atlantic Zone travel zone within 4,000 miles of your city of departure.

Aeroplan has a handy points predictor tool to estimate how many points you need to redeem for a flight.

How much are Aeroplan points worth?

Unfortunately, Aeroplan points don’t have a fixed value. You can use the points predictor tool to see how it can vary. That said, you can get better value depending on the destination.

This formula can:

1 Aeroplan point = (price of ticket – Aeroplan fees) ÷ points needed to redeem

Generally, if the result of this equation is more than 1.2 to 1.5 cents per Aeroplan mile, you’re looking at a solid deal. For example, if you were to fly round-trip from Calgary to Halifax in January 2021, you’d need around 25,000 Aeroplan points, and you’d have to pay the taxes and fees. Since the total price of a ticket is currently around $770 and Aeroplan charges $80 in taxes and fees, in this scenario, the value of 1 point would be 2.76 cents, based on the above equation: ($770 – $80) ÷ 25,000. That’s according to Google Flights as of this article’s publication date.

Business class flights are also known to offer better value as their retail value is much higher, but you’ll need to rack up more points to redeem for those rewards.

What is Aeroplan’s stopover policy?

Aeroplan has introduced a new stopover policy that will help both casual and seasoned travellers stretch the value of their points.

When travelling almost anywhere (excluding Canada or the U.S.), you can add a stop over on each one-way flight for an incremental 5,000 points. By leveraging this stopover policy, you can strategically add stops on your routes, see more destinations, and maximize the value of your points.

How to earn Aeroplan points faster

Aeroplan has many retail and brand partners, offering the ability to earn twice. Once with the credit card, and another with your membership card. So a good tip is to scan your Aeroplan cards for points as well as for charging at the register. Plus, you can take advantage of Aeroplan’s online store to make purchases and earn additional bonus points from popular online retailers like Amazon.

Redeeming through Air Canada versus Star Alliance member airlines

New Aeroplan points can be redeemed for flights on Air Canada or any of the roughly two dozen Star Alliance member airlines, just like before. However, Aeroplan has introduced a few changes when it comes to its redemption rules.

When redeeming on Air Canada, Aeroplan has introduced “dynamic pricing,” which effectively means the number of points you need for a flight can vary within a range. For instance, a round-trip economy flight from Calgary to Halifax with Air Canada can require anywhere between 25,000 and 35,000 points. You may need more points within this range if you’re travelling to a popular destination or during a high-demand travel season.

When redeeming on Star Alliance member airlines, which include United and Lufthansa, dynamic pricing isn’t part of the picture. For instance, the same round-trip flight from Calgary to Halifax always requires 25,000 points at any point in time. The one caveat is you’ll have to pay an extra $39 booking fee per traveller when flying on a Star Alliance airline versus using Air Canada itself. 

When booking travel, you’ll want to compare between Air Canada and the other Star Alliance airlines to see which one offers the best return for your points. The answer will depend on your particular travel booking.


More of Canada’s best credit cards:

Advertisement

About Keph Senett

About Keph Senett

Keph Senett writes about personal finance through a community-building lens. She seeks to make clear and actionable knowledge available to everyone.