The Air Canada Aeroplan program was recently refreshed, and it has some fantastic sweet spots. I love the ability to redeem on Star Alliance airlines with no fuel surcharges, and to have a stopover on a one-way award for just 5,000 extra miles.
For those of us in the US, there are some exciting updates about the ease with which we can earn Aeroplan miles, thanks to a new partnership with Chase that’s coming in 2021.
Aeroplan joining Chase Ultimate Rewards
Starting in late 2021, the Air Canada Aeroplan program will become a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. Points will transfer at a 1:1 ratio, so this will be a fantastic addition to the program.
For some context:
Aeroplan currently partners with Amex Membership Rewards and Capital One, so Chase Ultimate Rewards will be its third US transferable points partner
Chase Ultimate Rewards currently has 13 transfer partners, including 10 airline partners and three hotel partners
This is a lovely addition to the value of Ultimate Rewards. While I love Ultimate Rewards points, I’d say their value has decreased ever since Korean Air SkyPass was lost as a partner a couple of years back.
The only unique transfer partners (compared to other programs) that Chase has are United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt. There are few cases where you’ll find the value through United MileagePlus is competitive, while I love World of Hyatt as a transfer partner, and that’s where most of my Chase points go.
Aeroplan, Chase, and Mastercard, launching US credit card
In late 2021, Air Canada Aeroplan will launch a US credit card, in partnership with Chase and Mastercard. We’ll have to stay tuned for the details on the card, though Chase has several other co-branded airline cards, so I think we have a general sense of the type of benefits we can expect.
The leadership at Aeroplan is brilliant and good at engaging with members, so I hope that we see some creativity in terms of benefits for cardmembers.
From Chase’s perspective, I think these cards may follow a similar framework in terms of benefits to other cards issued for foreign carriers, like Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia.
I think some sort of travel benefits when flying Air Canada are a given. Personally what I’d most like to see is the ability to earn Priority Reward vouchers. These offer 50% off an award ticket for one passenger (including on partner airlines).
If you could earn one of those for spending a certain amount, that could potentially be a great deal, since it could get you a significantly discounted Air Canada or partner Star Alliance award redemption.
Bottom line
Air Canada Aeroplan and Chase will launch a partnership in late 2021, with which we’ll see Aeroplan become an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, and we’ll also see Aeroplan launch a US credit card. I look forward to learning more details.
S: One mile at a time