Air Canada's Aeroplan program has quietly become one of the most useful loyalty schemes for anyone booking Star Alliance award flights — and you don't need to set foot on an Air Canada plane to build a balance. The program pairs distance-based award charts (with some dynamic pricing on Air Canada and select partners) with perks like a cheap stopover option and low fees on award tickets, which matters a lot when you're redeeming on partner airlines.
Flying is the obvious route. On eligible Air Canada flights — anything with a ticket number starting "014" — basic members earn 1 point per Canadian dollar spent on base fare and carrier surcharges, with elites earning 2 to 6 points per dollar depending on tier (Aeroplan 25K through Super Elite). A CA$250 one-way JFK to Montreal fare earns a basic member 250 points; a Super Elite would bank 1,500. Partner flights ticketed by another airline generally earn based on distance flown and fare class instead, with rates listed per partner on the Aeroplan site.
For most US-based travellers, though, the faster path is credit card points. The Chase Aeroplan Card, with a $195 annual fee, currently offers up to 115,000 bonus points — 75,000 after $4,000 spend in three months, plus another 40,000 after $20,000 in a year. At The Points Guy's October 2026 valuation of 1.5 cents per point, that's worth up to $1,725. Cardholders also get automatic Aeroplan 25K status and at least a 15% discount on award pricing on Air Canada-operated flights. Aeroplan is additionally a 1:1 transfer partner of several major flexible-currency programs, which is why TPG calls transferable rewards the best starting point — you keep flexibility until you actually need to book.
There are slower-burn options too. Points usually sell for 3.75 Canadian cents each, though sales are frequent (and Canadians pay sales tax while Americans don't — but you'll be billed in CAD, so use a no-foreign-fee card). The Aeroplan eStore covers more than 200 online retailers, and car rentals with Avis, Budget, Payless, Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty can all earn points — from May 6, qualifying Hertz-family rentals earn 2 points per Canadian dollar. Hotels offer two angles: several chains let you earn Aeroplan points instead of hotel points on stays, or you can transfer hotel points in, at ratios ranging from 1:1 (Accor, Coast, Shangri-La) to 10,000:1,000 for Hilton. TPG's advice on that last one: transfers are fine for topping up an award, but hotel points usually deliver more value spent on hotels.
Why care? Aeroplan's award chart access to Star Alliance partners, combined with cheap stopovers and low surcharges, makes it one of the better currencies for long-haul premium cabin redemptions. Stack a card welcome bonus with a few everyday earning methods and a business-class trip gets a lot closer than you'd think.
The Points Guy
