Earning Aeroplan Points Strategy 2025

Over the last year, Aeroplan has introduced some subtle changes to the program that will affect how you earn and redeem points. These changes close loopholes, making it harder for you to accumulate points quickly. In addition, flights are still much higher compared to 2023. Business class flights are still insanely high, and we’re seeing less reward space for partner airlines.

That said, if you adjust your strategy slightly, you can still travel for less. You just need to be more realistic about your goals and plan further ahead if you can.

Set your goal

Regarding reward travel, you need to set your goal first. You need to establish where you want to go and how many points it’ll take you there. Aeroplan uses a rewards chart, so in theory, you’ll have a rough idea of how many points it’ll take you to get to your destination. The problem is that Aeroplan also uses dynamic pricing, so the number of points required for a flight often exceeds what’s listed on the chart.

The good news is that the excessive number of points required typically only applies to premium economy and business class seats. You can still find flights in economy for a reasonable number of points. For example, a return flight from Toronto to many destinations in Europe is roughly 80,000 – 90,000 Aeroplan points. The cash value of those flights was over $1,500 $2,000, so you could easily get a cost per point (CPP) of over 1.5 – 2, which is good value.

Once you know roughly how many points you need for redemption, you can start figuring out which credit cards will help you reach your goal. The one issue now is that most credit card welcome bonuses use a monthly structure, so it’s hard to accumulate many points quickly. You need to plan ahead.

This is also an excellent time to review the details of Aeroplan, so you know how the program works and what tricks there are to earn and redeem your points.

Calculating the value of your Aeroplan redemptions

Generally, I value one Aeroplan point at 1.5 – 2 cents. This value is based on me doing hundreds of searches for flight redemptions. To calculate the value of your points, you’d use the following formula

(Cash fare – addition charges) X 100 / Number of points required = Cost per point (CPP)

Let’s use a practical example of a one-way flight from Toronto to Tokyo.

Based on the above information, the CPP for each class would be as follows:

  • Economy = 2.73 CPP
  • Premium economy = 1.98 CPP
  • Business = 1.46 CPP

The economy fare offers incredible value for this specific flight since you get a CPP of 2.73. Premium economy is also good at 1.98 CPP. However, business class is 1.46 CPP, which falls below the recommended value of 1.5 – 2 CPP. In this case, using points for economy or premium economy is a no-brainer. For business, you’d likely be better off paying cash.

Remember, since Air Canada uses dynamic pricing, the cost of flights and the value of your points can change at any given time.

Now, let’s use another example, but this time, it is with a partner airline. Here’s a cash fare on Turkish Airlines from Toronto to Istanbul compared to an Aeroplan redemption.

This specific flight gives you an incredible value of 4.91 CPP. That’s because Turkish Airlines is a partner airline, and partner flights use fixed pricing with Aeroplan. I searched for this flight about 10 months out and found it, but I also needed to search dozens of dates. If you have specific travel dates, finding a partner airline will be near impossible.

Understand the new rules of Aeroplan

Aeroplan introduced new terms and conditions regarding credit card welcome bonuses. This is in addition to new rules that were established previously. Generally, the main things you need to know are as follows:

  • You can typically only get two welcome bonuses from Aeroplan credit cards in one year.
  • You can only get one welcome bonus per card type per lifetime.

The good news is that there are five types of Aeroplan cards:

  • Basic
  • Core
  • Premium
  • Small business basic
  • Small business premium

Even though there are five types of Aeroplan cards, you would likely only receive the welcome bonus for one personal and one small business card in the same year. Additionally, Aeroplan recently started clawing back welcome bonuses from those breaking the rules. You don’t want to abuse the system if you value your Aeroplan points.

These rules aren’t technically new, but they’re now being enforced to stop people from constantly cancelling and applying for new cards to get multiple welcome bonuses in a year. Regular card activity likely won’t affect you.

It’s also worth mentioning that American Express Membership Rewards points transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. Since these cards aren’t formal Aeroplan credit cards, the rules from Aeroplan don’t apply. That said, American Express has its own rules to be aware of. The good news is that American Express has excellent daily-use cards that come with great benefits such as:

Choose a credit card for daily use

Regardless of your goals and timeline, earning as many Aeroplan points as possible should be your priority. To do this, you want a credit card that earns you Aeroplan points or an American Express card that earns you Membership Rewards points since you can transfer your points to Aeroplan.

Right now, the American Express Gold Rewards Card will give you the highest return.

American Express Gold Rewards Card

  • $250 annual fee
  • Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards points when spending $1,000 each month for 12 months (60,000 points total)
  • 10,000 additional points when using a referral link and spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • Earn 2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on grocery, gas, pharmacy, and travel purchases
  • Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • $100 Annual travel credit
  • Priority Pass Membership + 4 annual Plaza Premium passes
  • MESSAGE ME FOR A REFERRAL LINK

I recommend the American Express Gold Rewards Card if you want to earn decent points for a reasonable spend. For 12 months, you can earn 5,000 American Express Membership Rewards points when spending $1,000 each month, for a total of 60,000 points.

However, if you sign up with a referral link, you get an extra 10,000 points when spending $4,000 in the first three months. When you factor in the minimum spending requirement and referral bonus, that’s a minimum of 82,000 points you’ll earn in the first year.

The card does have an annual fee of $250, but you get a yearly $100 travel credit, great travel insurance, and four airport lounge passes.

Although the American Express Cobalt Card has a higher daily earning rate, the welcome bonus with the Gold Card is four times better, and you only need to spend $250 more a month.

Since your points can be transferred to Aeroplan at a one-to-one ratio, this is easily one of the best welcome offers if you want Aeroplan points. The downside is that you don’t get any Air Canada benefits with these cards.

Some other Aeroplan cards worth considering at the TD and CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Cards.

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

  • $139 annual fee – first year free
  • 10,000 Aeroplan points after your first purchase
  • 15,000 additional Aeroplan points when you spend $7,500 in the first 180 days
  • 15,000 Aeroplan points on your anniversary when you spend $12,000 in the first 12 months
  • Earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per $1 spent on gas, groceries, and Air Canada purchases
  • Earn 1 Aeroplan point per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • First bag checked free on Air Canada flights

The CIBC and TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Cards are virtually identical, as they have the same earning rate. Some people prefer these cards because they give the primary cardholder and up to 8 travelling companions their first checked bag free. Aeroplan cardholders also get preferred pricing on Aeroplan flight redemptions. The travel insurance on the CIBC and TD cards is also better than that on the Cobalt card. While the Air Canada benefits are good with these cards, the welcome bonus has recently been lacking.

Now, let’s say you plan on doing a lot of travel in the upcoming year, and you have quite a few major expenses coming up; it may make sense to get a premium travel rewards card.

American Express Platinum Card

  • $799 annual fee
  • Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards points when using a referral link and spending $10,000 in the first 3 months
  • 30,000 additional points when making any purchase in months 14 – 17
  • Earn 2 points per $1 spent on dining and travel, and 1 point on all other purchases
  • $200 annual travel credit
  • $200 annual dining credit (per calendar year)
  • Unlimited airport lounge access
  • MESSAGE ME FOR A REFERRAL LINK

The American Express Platinum Card has an annual fee of $799, but you can reduce the fee to $399. You get a yearly $200 dining credit and an annual dining credit. The one downside is that the list of restaurants is limited.

The travel benefits included with the card are unlimited airport lounge access for you and a guest to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, hotel status upgrades, comprehensive travel insurance, and special perks at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

It’s also worth noting that the welcome bonus is typically worth between 70,000 and 100,000 Membership Rewards. If you transfer those points to Aeroplan and use my valuation of 1.5 – 2 CPP, that’s a real return of up to $2,000. That said, the minimum spend requirement is often quite high at $7,500 – $10,000, so only sign up for the card if you have a lot of natural spending coming up.

Be smart about your destination

Although I stated earlier it’s best to have a destination in mind and start accumulating points towards that goal, it’s often worth being flexible. For example, I toyed with the idea of going to Cancun last year, but the cost of flights was insane due to the demand. I instead pivoted to Florida.

Even though I visit Orlando regularly, the costs of flights were half the price compared to Cancun. I also felt there was more to do in Orlando. Cancun’s beaches are much better, but the value was better in Florida.

The same thing applied to a trip I planned to take to Europe later this year. My main goal is to fly to Amsterdam to visit family. Where I fly home from is less of a concern. I naturally considered Paris and London since they’re an easy ride. I found a decent business class flight home from London, but it still would have cost me 100,000 Amex points (I’d transfer them to FlyingBlue). Instead, I chose to fly home from London because economy seats were going for 40,000 points. Since this is a day flight, flying business is not a huge priority.

Many people look for business class flights or top-value flights, but I like to stretch my points so I can travel more.

Final thoughts

Whether you travel multiple times a year or only once with your family, earning Aeroplan points is worthwhile since it’ll allow you to save money on future travel. However, since welcome bonuses have become less lucrative with many personal credit cards, you need to adjust your strategy. Having one primary card that earns you points on all your daily spending is essential. However, applying for some business credit cards may be the way to go.

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

2 Comments

  1. Leah on January 17, 2024 at 1:35 AM

    I haven’t been very clear on the limits on cards and bonuses, so thanks for laying that out so clearly. So if I product switch an existing non-AP card to a lower tier of AP card and get that bonus, then applied for a new card in the next tier up, it sounds like I could still get the second bonus, although I would then hit the 2-bonus limit.

    • Barry Choi on January 17, 2024 at 8:58 AM

      Hi Leah,

      Yes, based on your scenario and how I read the terms and conditions, you should still get both bonuses. The 2-bonus limit is based on reports from Reddit. Keep in mind that American Express cards that earn you Membership REwards points don’t apply to this limit since you can transfer your points from American Express to Aeroplan at a 1:1 basis.

      Always go after the big bonuses where you can meet the minimumn spend requirement first.

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