Chase refreshed today the Aeroplan card, as expected. The new card increases the signup bonus to 115,000 points (from 100,000), increases the annual fee to $195 (from $95), maintains the Pay Yourself Back benefit, adds $100 in Air Canada credits and automatic Air Canada Aeroplan 25K elite status and 15% award discount.
Also notable: existing cardholders get the new benefits starting today with some existing benefits going away after 12/31/26 (details below).
The Offer
- The refreshed Chase Aeroplan card is offering a signup bonus of up to 115,000 points. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- Earn 75,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
- Plus 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months your account is open.
Points Earnings
Card earns at the following rates:
- 3x points on Travel purchases and on Air Canada purchases (Air Canada purchases will also get an additional 2X points from Air Canada on eligible flights when traveling as an Aeroplan 25K Member)
- 2x points on Gas Stations, Dining, and Grocery purchases (until 12/31/26 you’ll get 3x on Grocery and Dining)
- 1x on all other purchases
Card Details
- Annual fee of $195
- Pay Yourself Back On Travel Purchases; currently, 1.25¢ Per Point through 12/31/26; unknown what this will look like in terms of categories or rate in 2027. Pay Yourself Back to offset the Annual Fee is at 2 cents per point.
- Automatic Aeroplan 25K Status (no spend required) which includes Priority Check-In and Priority Boarding (Zone 2), and 5 eUpgrade Credits every year
- $100 Air Canada credit: two $50 credits for direct Air Canada purchases, one from Jan-June and one from Jul-Dec.
- Cardholders get 15% discount on eligible Air Canada flight award bookings. (FLY15OFF)
- Free 1st checked bag with up to 8 companions on Air Canada.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Fee Credit (up to $120 every four years)
Benefits ending on 12/31/26 for existing cardholders (not relevant for those signing up now):
- 500 point bonus every 2k spend up to 1500 a month.
- 10% bonus on 50,000+ Ultimate Rewards transfers to Aeroplan (max 25k/yr)
- 3x points on grocery & dining
Our Verdict
The 3x on Travel, $100 Air Canada credit, automatic 25k elite status, and 15% award discount are nice parts of the refresh. The higher annual fee and the removal of the monthly bonuses and the 3x grocery/dining and the UR transfer bonus is a bummer.
For those who actually travel Air Canada, there are some benefits here that can justify the annual fee ($100 in credits, 25k status, 15% discount). For others who are more interested in partners or PYB the $195 is painful. (Update: given the new 2 cents per point PYB redemption, the increase in annual fee is only mildly more cost in points – previously 7,600 and now 9,750.)
In terms of signup bonus, it’s good to see the higher bonus for those meeting the $20k tier. Still not as good as the old 85k offer which just required $4k spend. Not sure if we’ll add this bonus to our List of Best Current Credit Card Bonuses.
Just got this promo email and came here to see what others thought, I was intrigued (I flew Air Canada to Osaka last year and would like to go again) but overall not impressed, especially the fee, but I’m cheap that way.
Chase Trump Card has more of a ring to it, I think.
Bad refresh.
Booking fees and taxes are coded as airfare AFAIK.
1.25 cpp for travel and annual fee. 0.8 cpp for dining and a couple of other things.
Maybe we need the Chase America Card. The only benefit is a 10 percent surcharge on everything you buy.
How has Chase been lately with retention offers on these cobranded cards?
Will chase match signup bonus when annual fee has changed? applied few days ago.
I lowkey would get this card just to churn the sign up bonus
Is this their way of getting us back for the whole “Lake America” thing? Not cool.
The card’s terms and conditions do not expressly state what categories of purchases are eligible for PYB. But, Chase can from time to time change what categories are. They also do not state a maximum number of points that can be used for PYB. But, Chase can impose one. Also, if a person closes the card, any tier status benefit gained from the card will be removed/ reversed. While many authors seem to be citing specifics perhaps provided from Chase, what has been released on its website provides no certainty.
I applied for this 4/24, application went to pending (don’t reapply) credit pulled email, but no pending applications viewable in chase online banking. TBD
1.25 at least through 12/31, though the terms say they have the right to change it at any time
doubtful, probably only covers straight airfare. Need to maximise breakage afterall
It would need to be 150% off awards with Air Canada to be useful due to the DL style pricing they have
Maybe I missed it, but what is the redemption rate for the PYB. Seems like is variable or whatever they set it at? Or is is still straight 1.25?
Time to cancel this.
Wow my old $95 annual fee just hit 9 days ago, I suppose Ill ride it out for the first year with this refresh for the 25k status, since I’ve made use of Star Alliance Silver when I am doing partner short hauls in different continents. To be honest, the grocery category for this card never got utilized over the capital one savor. 3x travel could be decent. The loss of the 10% UR to aeroplan bonus sucks, because now you can only use that 15% off when you’re flying on an itinerary that includes Air Canada metal. For a US based card, that makes no sense to me. Delta can do it because they are a US airline. $50 bi annual credits id discount at least 50%. Assuming you can make one Air Canada award redemption with this card a year, or flying their metal. overall, meh.
They should be, as it shows on on card statement like it’s a ticket purchase.
Bummer, thanks. I just realized it was already included in the post as well, I just need to read more thoroughly.
So they doubled the annual fee and offered nothing of value ?
it is going away.
I don’t see any mention on either Chase’s website or Air Canada’s about keeping the UR transfer boost for Aeroplan card members (10% I believe?) Am I just missing it?
Unconfirmed, however, Chase typically charges the updated annual fee at renewal, so if your renewal just passed, you probably get the new benefits for 11 months at the old fee.
Wondering the same, TIA!
If my annual fee posted earlier this month, should I be able to keep the card for an extra year at the old AF level, or will they charge me the extra later ?
Terms state the $50 credit starts today, no previous dates. Wonder if pending charges will apply?
this one feels odd lol
$199 is the new $99
The benefits are not worth the extra $100 annual fee as 25k status is not that great. I will be cancelling at the next renewal unless I get a decent retention offer.