The Chase Aeroplan Card is available to US residents and Canadians who have embarked on the path of getting US credit cards. Chase has released a new welcome bonus to kick off the summer travel months, and it’s one of the best we’ve ever seen on this particular card.
As part of the sky-high welcome offer, there’s a rather significant spending requirement to earn the full bonus. However, if you’re in a position to spend $20,000 (USD) over the next 12 months, it’s very much worth your while.
With the latest offer, you can earn up to 100,000 Aeroplan points in the first year as a cardholder. Let’s go over the details.
Chase Aeroplan Card Offer: 100,000 Aeroplan Points
The best available offer for the Chase Aeroplan Card is for up to 100,000 Aeroplan points, which is broken down into two steps:
- Earn 60,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $4,000 in the first three months (all figures in USD).
- Earn 40,000 Aeroplan points upon spending a total of $20,000 in the first year as a cardholder.
This represents an outstanding offer in terms of the number of Aeroplan points you can earn after completing the spending requirement. In fact, of all the offers currently available for Aeroplan co-branded credit cards on both sides of the border, this is arguably the best available offer.
In the past, we’ve seen the welcome bonus on this card go barely higher in terms of nominal value, but it was delivered in the form of less flexible Welcome Flight Reward Certificates instead. If you maximize the current welcome bonus, there aren’t any strings attached, and you can redeem your Aeroplan points as you please.
If you’re eligible for the Chase Aeroplan Card but haven’t applied yet, then 60,000 Aeroplan points with a reasonable $4,000 spending requirement is certainly a strong incentive to get the card at this time. With an annual fee of just $95, you’re essentially acquiring 60,000 Aeroplan points at a rate of 0.16 cents per point, which is outstanding.
Furthermore, if you’re able to manage another $16,000 of spending over the rest of the year, you’d unlock the remaining bonus of 40,000 Aeroplan points. Averaged out over the course of a year, you’ll need to spend an average of $1,667 per month to earn the full welcome bonus.
You’ll also earn points through the regular category multipliers, earning 3 points per dollar spent on groceries, at restaurants, and with Air Canada. As a Mastercard, you’ll also enjoy much wider acceptance than with American Express, which should aid you in meeting the annual minimum spending requirement.
To make matters even better, the Chase Aeroplan Card doesn’t levy foreign transaction fees, making it a great card to bring with you when travelling.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to redeem the Aeroplan points you earn through the card on Aeroplan bookings. Earlier this year, Chase introduced the “Pay Yourself Back” feature on the Chase Aeroplan Card.
If you choose to redeem points this way, you can get 1.25 cents per point (USD) applied as a statement credit towards any purchase that codes as travel.
You’re likely to get much better value by redeeming your points for premium cabin flights through Aeroplan; however, if these types of redemptions aren’t your cup of tea, at least you have another option available.
Chase Aeroplan Card: Spend Your Way to Elite Status
While the total $20,000 spending requirement to maximize this offer is steep, there’s another reason why you might want to consider pursuing it.
That’s because spending $15,000 on the Chase Aeroplan Card will earn you Aeroplan 25K status through the following year as part of the card’s ongoing benefits.
Aeroplan 25K status earns you up to 25 eUpgrade credits per year, allowing you to score instant upgrades from economy class to business class on Air Canada flights, if you play your cards right.
Furthermore, cardholders who spend $50,000 within one calendar year will earn a one-time status bump through the following year via the Elite Status Level Up benefit.
Combined with the $15,000 spending threshold for Aeroplan 25K, this means that spending $50,000 on the Chase Aeroplan Card is the only sure-fire way to earn at least Aeroplan 35K status year after year without necessarily having to fly.
With this in mind, if you’re planning to spend $50,000 in a year on this card for the Elite Status Level Up anyway, then you’d naturally hit the minimum spending requirement of $20,000 in the first year and unlock the full bonus.
Furthermore, if you’re someone who tends to earn Aeroplan 75K status every year, but doesn’t quite reach the 20,000 SQD threshold to reach Super Elite, then the Elite Status Level Up benefit can bring you up to Super Elite without having to fulfill the regular requirements.
In fact, this is arguably the easiest and most accessible way to reach Air Canada’s top-tier status tier, since you can effectively do so by organically qualifying for Aeroplan 75K status and spending $50,000 on the Chase Aeroplan Card to unlock the Elite Status Level Up benefit.
Apply Now
The Chase Aeroplan Card is subject to Chase’s “5/24 rule”, which means that you’re unlikely to be approved if you’ve opened five or more US-issued credit cards over the past 24 months.
If you’re a Canadian-based Aeroplan member and are interested in getting this card, refer to our guide to Getting US Credit Cards for Canadians. If you’re starting out now, it’ll likely be at least a year’s time before you’re eligible to get the Chase Aeroplan Card.
Meanwhile, US-based Aeroplan members can apply directly via Chase to earn 100,000 Aeroplan points after meeting the minimum spending requirements.
This story originally appeared on princeoftravel
