Chase gave the Aeroplan Card more perks, then made sure fewer people would care. A major refresh nearly doubled the annual fee to $195 while shifting more of the card’s value toward Air Canada itself.
Cardholders now get automatic Aeroplan 25K Status, up to $100 in annual Air Canada credits, and 15% off eligible award flights.
For frequent Air Canada flyers, those additions can comfortably cover the higher fee. For everyone else, especially people who used the card heavily for dining, groceries, or partner awards, the math has gotten worse.
The fee only works with credits
The easiest place to start is the $100 Air Canada credit. Use all of it on travel you were already booking, and the $195 fee effectively drops to $95.
Getting the full $100 takes some planning, though. It comes as two $50 statement credits, one in each half of the year, so occasional flyers could easily leave money behind.
Regular Air Canada customers have a much easier time. Book eligible travel in both windows and the credits take care of more than half the annual fee without changing your travel habits.
For 2026, cardholders get one $50 credit through Dec. 31. The new fee applies to renewals from Dec. 1 onward, giving existing cardholders a chance to decide whether the new benefits are worth another year.
No foreign transaction fees, travel protections, and the Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS credit remain, but none changes the fee equation as much as actually using that $100.
Status is the better upgrade
Automatic Aeroplan 25K Status is where the refresh gets much more interesting.
Primary cardholders now keep 25K status as long as the account remains open and in good standing. Previously, retaining it after the initial period meant putting $15K on the card each year. Now that spending can go somewhere else.
The status brings priority check-in, Zone 2 boarding, and checked-bag benefits on Air Canada. Cardholders can also choose five eUpgrade Credits each year as a Core Benefit, giving frequent flyers more to work with than the standard free-bag perk found on many airline cards.
There is still a route to 35K status through $75K in calendar-year spending, but that is a steep target to chase for status alone. It makes more sense for someone who would naturally put that much through the card anyway.
Award bookings carry more weight
New applicants can earn up to 115K points, starting with 75K after $4K in purchases during the first three months. Another 40K arrives after reaching $20K in total spending during the first year.
The first 75K points are the obvious prize. The second chunk asks for another $16K in spending, making it far less compelling unless those purchases were happening anyway.
After the welcome offer, the 15% award discount becomes one of the better reasons to keep the card. It applies to eligible Air Canada redemptions and itineraries with at least one Air Canada-operated segment.
Travel entirely on partner airlines and it won't apply. That is a notable miss for anyone who likes Aeroplan because of its Star Alliance partners rather than Air Canada itself.
Those travelers are losing something too. The old 10% Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus ends after Dec. 31, 2026, which Frequent Miler flags as one of the biggest drawbacks of the refresh for partner-award users.
Everyday spending got weaker
The new earning rates make the card's priorities pretty clear. Travel comes out ahead. Dining and groceries don't.
Cardholders now earn 3X on travel, 2X at restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations, and 1X elsewhere. Eligible Air Canada tickets can reach 5X once the 25K earning benefit is included in the calculation.
That matters if those categories were doing much of the work in your wallet. With plenty of cards offering stronger returns on meals and supermarket spending, there is less reason to keep using the Aeroplan Card there just because you have it.
A fourth-day-free rental car benefit arrives in January 2027, joining the existing fourth-night-free hotel perk. Both require Aeroplan point redemptions through eligible booking channels, so their usefulness depends on how often you actually book through the program.
The refresh leaves the Aeroplan Card with a much clearer audience. Fly Air Canada regularly, use both credits, and make good use of 25K status and discounted awards, and $195 isn't difficult to defend.
If Aeroplan is mostly your route to partner awards and the card spends more time at restaurants than airports, $195 is a much tougher sell.