Why I’m Considering the New Chase Aeroplan Card

Back in August, I mentioned that Chase would soon be offering a new Air Canada Aeroplan credit card. At the time, if you RSVPd for a launch notice, you would get an extra 10k bonus miles with the offer. I signed up on the link, and yesterday I received my email from Chase.

Chase Aeroplan Card

The Chase Aeroplan Card (non-affiliate link) currently offers a sign-up bonus of 100,000 points (in the form of two 50,000-point flight certificates) after spending $4000 in the first three months.

• $95 annual fee not waived
• 3X points on dining and takeout/delivery services
• 3X points at grocery stores
• 3X points on Air Canada
• 1X points on all other spending
• Earn 500 bonus points for every $2k in monthly spending (up to 1500 bonus points per month)
• $100 statement credit for TSA Pre-check/Global Entry/Nexus

You also get Aeroplan 25k elite status for current calendar year plus the next calendar year and the opportunity to earn higher elite status with more spending.

Starting in 2022, you can Pay Yourself Back with travel purchase statement credits at 1.25 cents per point up to 50k points a year.

If you RSVPd on the waitlist earlier this year, the bonus comes with an additional 10,000 points plus 10 eUpgrade credits. The waitlist offer expires February 15, 2022.

What I Like and Dislike About this Card

Obviously, I love getting 100k points. Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance, which includes partner airlines like United, ANA, Lufthansa and more. I used Aeroplan points a few years ago to book a flight home from New Zealand on United. My family has plans to visit Europe a few times in the next couple of years, and the points would likely come in handy.

Aeroplan has no fuel surcharges, even on partner flights. Family members can pool together up to eight accounts.

I like the 3X on travel and dining. The $95 annual fee is not too high.

However, the fact that the bonus comes in two 50,000-point flight certificates makes it a little more difficult to use. If you only need to spend 35,000 points on the flight, you don’t get the extra 15,000 points back. However, you can stack miles on top of the certificate for a higher award. Unfortunately, if you cancel the card, the certificates go away. That means that if you’re not going to use the points right away, you will need to keep paying the annual fee for a few years.

While recently some Chase cards seem to bypass the 5/24 rule, most data points show that this card does not.

Final Thoughts

I will likely apply for this card at some point before the February 15 deadline. Unfortunately, my husband is at 5/24 so he likely wouldn’t be approved. Right now, my husband and I are both working on the minimum spending for our two Capital One Venture X cards.

We can always use more miles to help us travel to Europe. I’m happy to see another card that can help get us there.