CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card Review

**This post may contain affiliate links. I may be compensated if you use them.

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is an underrated Aeroplan card. It has no annual fee and comes with a welcome offer of 10,000 Aeroplan points after your first purchase. Anyone who wants to save on future travel while keeping their expenses down should consider this card.

That said, the earning rate of this card is relatively low, so it may take some time for you to accumulate enough points for a meaningful redemption. In addition, you don’t get any Air Canada benefits. Read my CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card review now for the full details. 

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card

  • No annual fee
  • 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first purchase
  • Earn 1 Aeorplan point per $1 spent on gas, groceries, and Air Canada
  • Earn 1 Aeroplan point per $1.50 spent on all other purchases

Welcome bonus and earn rate

The CIBC Aeroplan Card consistently comes with a welcome bonus of 10,000 Aeroplan points. While this may not seem like a lot, this is a no fee card, and to get the total bonus, you only need to make a single purchase. There’s simply no easier way to earn that many Aeroplan points.

The earning rate is 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on gas, electric vehicle charging, groceries, and Air Canada purchases (including Air Canada Vacations). All other purchases earn you 1 Aeroplan point per $1.50 spent. While the base earning rate isn’t very high, 1 Aeroplan point is typically worth 1.5 to 2 cents each. In other words, the earning rate is worth more than it first appears.

Benefits and perks

You’ll quickly realize that there aren’t many exciting benefits for me to talk about in my CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card review. The reality is that this is a no fee card, so getting perks are limited. You don’t get any Air Canada benefits at all.

Auto rental collision and loss damage insurance

When you charge the total cost of your car rental to your CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card, you get auto rental collision and loss damage insurance for up to 48 days for vehicles with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of up to $65,000. Note that this policy does not cover liability, and you must decline any insurance offered by the car rental agency for your policy to be valid.

Common carrier accident insurance 

Common carrier accident insurance provides a lump sum payout of up to $100,000 if you die or suffer a severe injury while travelling. This is not a travel medical insurance policy. You obviously never want to claim this type of insurance, but I suppose it’s nice to have.

Purchase security

Any purchases fully charged to your CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card are covered for 90 days from theft, loss, and damage. Although this insurance policy is rarely used, it’s an excellent thing to have if something happens shortly after your purchase.

Extended protection insurance

A slightly more helpful benefit that’s included is extended protection insurance. This is essentially an extended warranty that doubles your manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year. For this policy to be valid, you must charge the full purchase to your CIBC Aeroplan Card. If you ever need to make a claim, you’ll need a copy of the original receipt and the statement where you charged the purchase.

How to redeem your points

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card earns you Aeroplan points. That means you’re restricted to what the program offers. Fortunately, Aeroplan is one of the best travel programs available, and you can get incredible value.

With Aeroplan, you can use your points on any available Air Canada seat in any class, with no blackout dates. In addition, Aeroplan has 45+ partners where you can use your points, but they only release a limited number of seats. The number of points required for a redemption depends on where you’re flying from, where you’re flying to, and the miles flown.

One slight complication about Aeroplan is that they use dynamic pricing. That means the number of points will increase if there’s more demand. Conversely, the number of points decreases if there’s less demand. While this may sound negative, it’s no different from cash prices.

As mentioned, you can generally get a value of 1.5 to 2 cents per point when redeeming your points for an economy class ticket. If you’re booking in business, it’s not too hard to get double that value.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card eligibility 

  • You’re a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident
  • You’re at least the age of majority in the province or territory in which you reside
  • You have a minimum annual personal income of $15,000

Although there’s no formal credit score listed, you likely want yours to be at least 660 before applying. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s a student version of this card available. It’s exactly the same but has no minimum income or credit score requirement. To qualify for that card, you must be a student and apply in person at a CIBC branch.

How the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card compares

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa is the only no fee Aeroplan card in Canada, so there aren’t any direct comparables. That said, some cards are worth looking at if you’re looking for a travel credit card.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card vs. American Express Green Card

The American Express Green Card has no annual fee, and you can transfer your points to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. In other words, this is like an Aeroplan card. The earning rate is 2 points per dollar spent on hotel and car rentals booked through the Amex travel portal, and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. The overall earning rate is higher with the American Express Green Card, but to get the welcome bonus of 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards points, you must spend $1,000 in the first three months.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card vs.CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

Although the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card has an annual fee of $139 (usually waived for the first year), it’s still worth mentioning. With this card, the earning rate is 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on gas, groceries, and Air Canada purchases. All other purchases earn you 1 Aeroplan per dollar spent. In addition, you get your first checked bag free on Air Canada, discounts on Aeroplan redemptions, comprehensive travel insurance, and mobile device insurance. The benefits of this card are easily worth more than the annual fee, but there’s a minimum personal income requirement of $60,000 or a household income of $100,000 to qualify for this card. If you want to travel for less, this card may be a better choice.

Final thoughts

My CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card review is positive. It’s easily one of the best Aeroplan credit cards and is ideal for people in the following situations:

  • You don’t want to pay an annual fee – There’s no monthly or yearly fee to worry about with this card.
  • You want to earn Aeroplan points – You’ll earn Aeroplan points on all eligible purchases.
  • You don’t earn a high income – The minimum income requirement for this card is just $15,000.

For a no fee card, the welcome bonus is generous. You won’t be racking up the points with this card, but with the flexibility of Aeroplan, collecting points now is worth it since it’ll help you lower your travel costs later.

About Barry Choi

Barry Choi is a Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert who frequently makes media appearances. His blog Money We Have is one of Canada’s most trusted sources when it comes to money and travel. You can find him on Twitter:@barrychoi

Leave a Comment





Get a FREE copy of Travel Hacking for Lazy People

Subscribe now to get your FREE eBook and learn how to travel in luxury for less