Chase Aeroplan Co-Branded Credit Card: 60,000-Point Sign-Up Bonus

Air Canada co-branded card’s welcome bonus is now 60,000 points, and spending $4,000 is still fairly easy to complete. Aeroplan redemptions for UA and ANA flights are pretty solid, and they’re especially good for infant tickets. After this card was refreshed, you can earn Air Canada elite status through spending, and it’s also generous with baggage benefits. Another nice feature is that you can redeem Aeroplan points for travel purchases at a value of 1.25 cents per point, which is great for people who have points they can’t easily use.

• Aeroplan application link

This card’s welcome bonus is pretty good, so we’ve also added it to our credit card sign-up bonus rankings!

• Best U.S. Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses (Personal Cards)

Chase Aeroplan Air Canada Co-Branded Credit Card Overview

Benefit analysis

• Monthly spending bonus: Earn 500 extra points for every $2,000 spent, up to 1,500 points per month. That’s effectively an additional 0.25x.
• Air Canada-related benefits:
  • Get one year of Aeroplan 25K status just for opening the card
  • Spend $15,000 a year to keep Aeroplan 25K status; spend $50,000 a year to get a one-tier status boost, up to Air Canada 35K status
  • First checked bag free, for up to 8 companions, Air Canada-operated flights only
  • Enjoy Air Canada preferred pricing, with a discount on award bookings
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, and NEXUS application fee reimbursement: Up to $100 every four years

Flight reward certificate (not currently offered)

• Flight reward certificate use: The flight reward you get at approval is worth 50,000 points, similar to a free night certificate. It can be used for flights costing up to 50,000 points. It is only for one traveler and is not limited by cabin class. If you book a 65,000-point flight, you need to add 15,000 points; if you book a 45,000-point flight, the extra value is not refunded. The certificate does not expire, but it will expire automatically if you close this card. It stays in your own account and cannot be transferred, but you can use it to book flights for someone else.

Pay Yourself Back Feature

How it works

This card now offers a Pay Yourself Back-like feature, which lets you use Aeroplan points to reimburse travel purchases at 1.25 cents per point, or 10,000 points for $125 in travel spend. Eligible travel purchases include airfare, hotels, timeshares, car rentals, third-party travel agencies, cruises, trains, buses, taxis, tolls, parking, and more.

Merchants in this category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel category.

The redemption feature works as follows:

• According to the new terms, only points earned from Aeroplan, the Chase Aeroplan card, and Chase UR points can be used for this feature (in theory, points transferred to AC from other points cannot be used).
• In 2025, the redemption cap is 200,000 (per FM’s info; I couldn’t find it in the terms).

Only Aeroplan Points earned under the Aeroplan Program, the Chase Aeroplan Card, and Chase Ultimate Rewards® can be used for Chase Pay Yourself Back. Points converted from other programs are not eligible. For information about Chase rewards categories, see chase.com/RewardsCategoryFAQsOpens in a new window. If Aeroplan determines, in its sole discretion based on its data, that you have redeemed ineligible Aeroplan Points, Aeroplan reserves the right to reverse your point redemption or freeze your Aeroplan Membership account.

This feature is especially noteworthy for the following reasons:

• Aeroplan points can suddenly be used to effectively cash out, and as long as you have travel spending, you can burn through a lot of AC points.
• 【Officially not allowed; your account may be locked】Aeroplan has many transfer partners, such as AMEX, Chase, and Capital One, all at 1:1 transfer ratios. Marriott is also 3:1.25. If you hold this card, those bank points can at least be used at a floor value of 1.25 cents per point.
• There are also bonus offers for transferring bank points to AC points, for example:
  • UR to AC 10% bonus: cardholders can currently see this offer. If you have a card that can transfer UR points to Aeroplan points (for example, Sapphire Preferred/Reserve, Ink cards, etc.), transferring 50,000 or more points in one transaction can earn an extra 10% bonus, effectively improving the transfer ratio to 1:1.1. The annual bonus cap is 25,000.
  • UR to AC extra bonus: There was a 20% bonus in 2024. And this can stack with the card’s 10% bonus, for a total 30% bonus.
  • 【Officially not allowed; your account may be locked】MR to AC 30% bonus: there have been several such promotions before. If you combine that 30% bonus with the 1.25 cents per point value, it is effectively like cashing out MR at 1.625 cents per point.
  • 【Officially not allowed; your account may be locked】Marriott to AC bonus: there have been extra bonuses before, usually several times a year.

According to FM, this card’s 2025 Pay Yourself Back (PYB) cap is 200,000 points, which works out to $2,500 in travel-related spending at 1.25 cents per point. Note that, under the new terms, only points earned from Aeroplan, the Chase Aeroplan card, and Chase UR points can be used for this feature (points transferred to AC from other points are theoretically not eligible, so please be careful about the risk). After thinking about it, the best use is probably to wait until UR-to-AC transfers have a 20%+10% bonus and then use them up, so you can get 1.25*1.3=1.625 cents per point in value, which is a bit better than redeeming UR directly for flights at 1.5 cents per point.

Only Aeroplan Points earned under the Aeroplan Program, the Chase Aeroplan Card, and Chase Ultimate Rewards® can be used for Chase Pay Yourself Back. Points converted from other programs are not eligible. For information about Chase rewards categories, see chase.com/RewardsCategoryFAQsOpens in a new window. If Aeroplan determines, in its sole discretion based on its data, that you have redeemed ineligible Aeroplan Points, Aeroplan reserves the right to reverse your point redemption or freeze your Aeroplan Membership account.

Risk warning

Recently I’ve seen several examples of people getting their cards shut down after heavily using the unlimited 2023 Pay Yourself Back feature, so if you’re planning to go big, be careful. Personally, I think if next year’s redemption cap is 50,000 points, then you’re definitely fine within that range; above that, it’s safer not to go over 100,000. Also, this PYB feature mainly gives the co-branded card another way to use AC points. If you transfer a large number of points from AMEX, Marriott, etc. into AC points and then redeem them, that does go somewhat against the feature’s original design. So if you have a lot of points coming in and then redeem them, be extra careful.

Previously closed accounts have also been seen restored, and some accounts received a notice. The gist is that they have the right to close accounts, and only points from AC, the Chase AC co-branded card, and Chase UR can be used for Pay Yourself Back. Points from other sources (for example MR, Marriott, etc.) cannot be used for this feature. In theory, once points enter AC, Chase can’t tell where they came from, so there’s no need to worry too much. Personally, I think it’s fine as long as the amount isn’t too large. If you’re going to go over 50,000 or 100,000, it’s better to follow Chase’s guidance.

Subject: Update regarding your recent Aeroplan Points ConversionYou have recently converted a significant number of points from a third party rewards program into the Aeroplan® Program and then subsequently redeemed those Aeroplan Points for Pay Yourself Back® on your Chase Aeroplan® Card. Section 6 of the Aeroplan Terms and Conditions provides that “Aeroplan reserves the right, at any time, to impose limitations on the ability of a Member to engage in conversions from a Conversion Program into Aeroplan Points and on the use of such Aeroplan Points upon conversion.”Only Aeroplan Points earned under the Aeroplan Program, the Chase Aeroplan Card, and Chase Ultimate Rewards can be used for Chase Pay Yourself Back. All other conversion programs are not allowed to be converted into Aeroplan Points for use with the Chase Pay Yourself Back program.

An enthusiastic reader, Darren, also shared his Aeroplan account being locked. He transferred 260,000 points from Membership to Aeroplan, planning to use them for PYB, but after the redemption went through, the account was locked. So AC points could only be moved in but not used (he could not issue award tickets or use PYB either). A few days ago he also received the email above, and only after that did the AC account return to normal. During that time, he contacted Chase, and Chase’s final reply was that it was a review requested by AC, so everything would depend on the outcome of that review, and Chase could not provide a solution.

Hotel benefits

Aeroplan has now launched a benefit for co-branded credit cards: book hotels with AC points, and every three nights booked gets one night free. From the wording, it seems the three nights can be booked separately; they do not have to be consecutive. The promotion ends on December 31, 2025, which extends it by another year

• Promotion link

• HotelSaver overview

My take

As a new card, I don’t think it’s great that the sign-up bonus is not points but a much more restrictive points voucher. Even though the voucher doesn’t expire, you still have to keep the card, so you can’t just grab the bonus and close it. From a benefits standpoint, it’s still pretty good: there’s 3x on groceries and dining, extra monthly spending bonuses, and annual spending can also earn AC elite status. If you fly AC regularly, it may be worth keeping.

How to apply:

• Recently, there have been signs that the Chase 5/24 rule has loosened a bit. I personally think this card is very likely not subject to 5/24, so you can decide for yourself whether to take a shot
• This card requires a credit limit of at least $5,000, so if your income is too low or your credit history is too short, you may not be approved
• This is an Air Canada co-branded credit card. When applying, you can enter your Aeroplan membership number; if you leave it blank, the system will automatically assign you a new one

Chase Credit Card Application Guide

• Chase application status check link (login required). Or call: 888-338-2586
• The 5/24 rule: if you have opened more than 5 new cards in the past 2 years (including cards from other banks), you will not be approved for a new Chase card
• You can be approved for at most two Chase credit cards within every 30 days
• If you have received the welcome bonus on this card within the past 24 months (48 months for the Sapphire family), your application will be automatically denied
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-453-9719) to expedite card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• Having a Chase Checking account can help with getting approved for a credit card
• More on applying for Chase credit cards

Application link: