New CIBC Aeroplan Credit Card Offers for Summer 2023

CIBC has announced the latest round of offers on its Aeroplan co-branded credit cards. The only change this time around is a reduction to the welcome bonus on the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, which is now offering up to 45,000 Aeroplan points and an annual fee rebate for the first year.

Let’s take a closer look at the state of CIBC’s Aeroplan co-branded credit card offers, which are valid as of June 1, 2023 and have no listed expiry date. 

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card: Up to 45,000 Aeroplan Points + First Year Free

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card has dropped its welcome bonus down to 45,000 Aeroplan points from its previous offer of 50,000 points. There’s also now a larger minimum spending requirement for the second boost of points, and the third allotment of points gets delivered as an anniversary bonus after spending $10,000 in the first year.

The structure of the current offer is as follows:

• 10,000 Aeroplan points upon making your first purchase
• 20,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $4,000 in the first four months
• 15,000 Aeroplan points as an anniversary bonus upon spending at least $10,000 in the first year

In addition, this annual fee for the primary cardholder ($139) and the first three supplementary cardholders ($50) will be waived for the first year.

As a reminder, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card offers the following earning rates on everyday spending:

• Earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on groceries, on gas, and with Air Canada
• Earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Meanwhile, the card’s key benefits for cardholders include preferred pricing for Aeroplan redemptions on Air Canada, as well as a free first checked bag for you and your party on Air Canada flights.

Lastly, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite requires either $60,000 in annual personal income or $100,000 in annual household income to be eligible to apply.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card: Up to 90,000 Aeroplan Points

The welcome offers on the rest of CIBC’s Aeroplan cards haven’t changed this time around. However, as a reminder, let’s go over what’s available.

If you can justify a higher volume of spending in the initial period of signing up for the card, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card might serve you well.

CIBC’s premium Aeroplan credit card offers 90,000 Aeroplan points, distributed as follows:

• 20,000 Aeroplan points upon first purchase
• 40,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 in the first four months
• 30,000 Aeroplan points as an additional anniversary bonus

As you can see, a total of 60,000 Aeroplan points are on the table under the four-month minimum spending window.

In addition, there’s a further 30,000 Aeroplan points that you can as an anniversary bonus, which will be awarded within eight weeks after the one-year account open date (meaning that you’ll likely have to pay a second-year annual fee in order to unlock this component). 

If you choose to only focus on the first two components, you’d be earning 60,000 Aeroplan points after spending $3,000. That’s not a bad return on paper either.

The card’s earning rates are as follows:

• Earn 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on Air Canada purchases
• Earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on groceries, gas, travel, and dining
• Earn 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on other purchases

In addition to the travel benefits offered by the lower-tier cards, the Visa Infinite Privilege card also comes with a DragonPass membership and six lounge passes per year, Maple Leaf Lounge access and priority airport services when flying with Air Canada, elite status benefits like rollover Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) and eUpgrades, and the ability to earn an Annual Worldwide Companion Pass upon spending $25,000 every year.

The Visa Infinite Privilege card requires $200,000 in annual household income to qualify.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business: Up to 60,000 Aeroplan Points

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business Card, geared towards small business owners, has also kept its welcome offer the same.

You’ll earn a total of up to 60,000 Aeroplan points, distributed as follows:

• 10,000 Aeroplan points upon first purchase
• 20,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 in the first four months
• 30,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $35,000 in the first year

In this case, $35,000 is a very high spending threshold within one year for the final chunk of 30,000 Aeroplan points, so this component of the offer would be very much geared towards established businesses with higher spending volumes.

(Even then, earning only 30,000 points for spending $35,000 isn’t necessarily the best return.)

If you choose to focus only on the first two components, you’re looking at 30,000 Aeroplan points for spending $3,000 in the first four months.

That’s a fairly meagre offer, especially since we’ve seen the welcome bonus on this card go as high as 35,000 Aeroplan points for no minimum spend in the past. 

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business offers earning rates that are geared towards common spending categories for small businesses:

• Earn 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada
• Earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on shipping, internet, cable, phone, dining, and travel
• Earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Meanwhile, the card’s key benefits for cardholders also mirror those of the Visa Infinite: preferred pricing for Aeroplan redemptions on Air Canada, as well as a free first checked bag for you and your party on Air Canada flights.

Personally, I’ve had pretty smooth experiences getting approved for the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business both online and in-branch, although I know others have complained that the application process for this card can be quite cumbersome.

I’d recommend familiarizing yourself with the best practices for applying for business cards in order to maximize your odds of success.

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card: 10,000 Aeroplan Points

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is the only no-annual-fee product among all Aeroplan co-branded credit cards.

Just like the last round, this card will continue to offer 10,000 Aeroplan points as a signup bonus, and preferred pricing on Air Canada flights as its sole meaningful benefit.

10,000 Aeroplan points is very much the standard ongoing offer on this card, while the other three products undergo rotating signup bonuses on a regular basis. As a no-fee product, there isn’t much room for the bonuses to swing too wildly anyway.

While the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card is pretty no-frills, it remains a good option for those of you who’d like to participate in the Aeroplan ecosystem (in the form of 10,000 points and preferred pricing) without paying an annual fee.

Conclusion

CIBC’s new Aeroplan offers have hit the market. The only change this time is the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card, which is now offering up to 45,000 Aeroplan points and a first-year fee waiver.

The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card also continues to have a strong bonus if you’ve been thinking about picking up a premium Aeroplan credit card, as it’ll give you a total of 90,000 Aeroplan points, although the last chunk of 30,000 points is only delivered as an anniversary bonus.

Meanwhile, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business Card‘s welcome offer is a little less interesting, given the high annual spending required to unlock the full bonus.

Finally, the no-fee CIBC Aeroplan Visa Card keeps its offer flat to before, but continues to fulfill an important role in the market as the only no-fee product in the Aeroplan lineup.

Just like before, CIBC’s offers do not come with a stated expiry date, so they could change during the next quarterly cycle or remain in place for months on end. Therefore, if you’re interested in these offers in their current form, I’d recommend applying sooner rather than later to lock in the bonus.