Analyzing Air Canada’s New Revenue-Based Aeroplan Elite Status

In 2026, Air Canada will adopt a revenue-based model for earning Aeroplan Elite status (and earning Aeroplan points, which we’ve discussed in a separate article). 

In my opinion, the shift to a revenue-based model for Aeroplan Elite status is a much more significant change than it is for earning Aeroplan points on paid flights, and there’s a lot to digest about the changes.

Acknowledging that there’s no one-size-fits-all outcome for everyone with this new revenue-based model, let’s turn our attention to analyzing the changes to Aeroplan Elite status one-by-one, including who will benefit more and who will have to put in more effort to earn status than before.

Prior to reading this article, I recommend reading through our comprehensive guide to all of the changes that are set to take effect next year as Air Canada adopts a revenue-based earning model, as you’ll want to have all of those details fresh in your mind for this analysis.

Earning Aeroplan Elite Status with SQC vs. SQM, SQS, and SQD

First off, let’s take a look at what earning Aeroplan Elite status will look like with Status Qualifying Credits versus Status Qualifying Miles, Segments, and Dollars.

On a positive note, you’ll only need to concern yourself with one metric for status qualification going forward, and SQCs are a much simpler concept than the current combination of SQM, SQS, and SQD.

Indeed, the math for calculating the SQC you get through flying is much less complex: Economy (Basic) fares won’t get SQC, Economy (Standard) fares get 2 SQC per dollar spent, and Economy (Flex) fares and higher get 4 SQC per dollar spent.

As we’ll explore later in this article, you can also collect SQC by engaging with Aeroplan partners (and flying with Star Alliance-member airlines), spending on Aeroplan co-branded credit cards, the Head Start benefit on Aeroplan premium co-branded credit cards, and through Milestone benefit choices.

Spending Thresholds to Earn Status in the Current vs. New Models

Whether or not qualifying for Aeroplan Elite status will be more or less difficult with SQC than it is with the current model will depend on how you travel, how you buy your fares, how often you engage with partners, how you leverage credit cards, and more. 

As it stands, you qualify for Elite status with the following SQM, SQS, and SQD amounts:

• Aeroplan 25K: 25,000 SQM or 25 SQS, and $3,000 SQD
• Aeroplan 35K: 35,000 SQM or 35 SQS, and $4,000 SQD
• Aeroplan 50K: 50,000 SQM or 50 SQS, and $6,000 SQD
• Aeroplan 75K: 75,000 SQM or 75 SQS, and $9,000 SQD
• Aeroplan Super Elite: 100,000 SQM or 100 SQS, and $20,000 SQD

As a reminder, you’ll need to collect the following amounts of SQC to earn Elite status in beginning in 2026:

• Aeroplan 25K: 25,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 35K: 35,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 50K: 50,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 75K: 75,000 SQC
• Aeroplan Super Elite: 125,000 SQC

With the above in mind, the following table shows the effective SQC-spending thresholds (with Economy (Standard) and Economy (Flex) fares and higher) compared to the current SQD-spending thresholds.

If we put aside the nuances of SQM/SQS versus SQC, as well as ignore the ability to collect SQC (and SQM/SQS) by other means for now, and if we focus solely on how much you’d need to spend with the two models, then we see that earning status would require more spending with Air Canada in the new revenue-based model than in the current one.

Again, this doesn’t factor in any SQC collected through other means, nor does it factor in the need to also earn SQM/SQS (and the various ways to do so) with the current model. 

It goes to show that if you’re at all concerned about earning Aeroplan Elite status going forward, then Economy (Standard) fares likely won’t work in your favour at all. That’s because you’ll get 50% fewer SQC per dollar spent than Economy (Flex) fares and up, which means that the amount you’d need to spend to earn status rises significantly.

Of course, this means that you’d need to spend incrementally more to bump up to Economy (Flex) fares and higher when you shop for Air Canada fares if you want to ensure you’re earning optimally towards status every time you fly.

Economy (Flex) fares and up also have other benefits that you’ll need to consider, including change fees, seat selection, eUpgrade costs (in both credits and add-on fees), and more.

Lowering the Thresholds by Collecting SQC Through Other Means

The above figures also show that for every 1,000 SQC you get by other means (e.g., through partners, credit card spending, the Head Start benefit, and/or Milestone benefits), the threshold to qualify for status is effectively lowered by 1,000 SQC.

In fact, if you factor in the ability to collect SQC by those other means, you can effectively keep the current SQD spending requirements equal with the new revenue-based system.

Assuming that you book Economy (Flex) fares and up, you’d need to collect the following amounts of SQC through partners, credit card spending, the Head Start benefit, and/or Milestone benefits to keep the effective SQD thresholds the same with the new SQC-based system.

From the above chart, we can draw the following conclusions:

• Without considering SQC earned by other means, earning status will require 56.25–118.75% more spending on flights with the new model (assuming Economy (Flex) fares and up)
• But, you can effectively maintain the current SQD spending thresholds by collecting 13,000, 19,000, 26,000, 39,000 or 45,000 SQC by other means for 25K, 35K, 50K, 75K, and Super Elite status, respectively
• Therefore, it’s in your best interest to leverage other ways of collecting SQC to make qualifying for status easier going forward

Indeed, this is a clear example of how revenue-based models reward those who engage with the airline and its partners more than those who don’t.

Plus, it’s worth noting that you’ll be able to earn Aeroplan 25K, 35K, and even 50K status without flying through collecting SQC through partners and credit card spending, as well as 25K status through Everyday Status Qualification (as you can today).

Aeroplan Elite Status Milestones vs. Select Benefits & Threshold Rewards

Aside from the move to SQC, the biggest change that Aeroplan Elites will need to get used to is the introduction of Milestones as a replacement for Threshold Rewards, Select Benefits, and the automatic awarding of Priority Rewards with SQD thresholds.

As a reminder, you’ll earn a Milestone benefit for every 10,000 SQC collected (up to 200,000 SQC), and then for every 20,000 SQC collected thereafter (up to 1 million SQC) with the revamped Elite status.

In some cases, Milestones are automatic, while in others you get to make one selection. In some cases, you get both.

The below chart shows all of the Milestone benefits that are awarded at each SQC threshold.

First off, it’s interesting to see that Air Canada opted not to offer any Milestone benefits to non-Elites as they pursue status for the first time, as this is something we’ve seen introduced in a few different programs recently (WestJet Rewards and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan come to mind here).

In other words, if you’re climbing the Elite ladder for the first time, you won’t get a Milestone benefit at the 10,000- and 20,000-SQC thresholds (as you would if you already have Elite status).

When it comes to the Milestone benefits offered, below are a few high-level thoughts. We’ll do a deep-dive analysis of the new Milestone benefits versus today’s Select Benefits, Threshold Rewards, and Priority Rewards in the near future.

For Priority Rewards, here’s a comparison of how much you’d need to spend to earn a Priority Reward between the current model and the future model. Note that the SQC spending requirements assume earning 4 SQC per dollar spent on Economy (Flex) fares and up.

As you can see, the effective spending threshold to earn a Priority Reward has increased by $1,000–5,000; however, this doesn’t factor in any SQC you can get outside of paid flights (which would count towards SQC thresholds, and therefore Milestone benefits).

Plus, beginning next year, you’d need to forego other Milestone benefits to earn Priority Rewards, whereas they’re awarded automatically upon meeting spending thresholds today.

In my opinion, Priority Rewards remain one of the strongest benefits available to Elites, and they represent a compelling choice for the selection-based Milestones.

Meanwhile, you’ll have the option to boost your eUpgrade balance by hitting automatic Milestones, as well as through some selection-based Milestones.

While the Core Benefit eUpgrade allotment is decreasing for Aeroplan 25K, 35K, and 5oK members, you could increase your eUpgrade allotment by 10 eUpgrades at each threshold of 10,000 SQC (up to 50,000 SQC), though this would require forgoing Priority Rewards for your selection-based Milestone.

As we’ve covered extensively, eUpgrades are a valuable tool if used strategically (especially in combination with a Priority Reward). 

We also see being able to gift Aeroplan 25K, 35K, 50K, and 75K status as selection-based Milestones, as well as the other usual suspects (bonus Aeroplan points, bonus SQC, Status Passes, gift cards, and discounts on select Aeroplan redemptions). 

It’s worth noting that gifting 75K status is a selection-based Milestone at the 200,000-SQC threshold; however, it would require forgoing the banked year of Super Elite status, which is a more valuable (and popular) perk in my opinion.

I’d argue that it never really makes sense to select the 30% off hotel, car, gift card, or merchandise redemptions, since Aeroplan points are typically best used for flight redemptions (speaking strictly from a cents-per-point perspective).

Otherwise, there are solid options for Elite members to consider at each threshold, each with their own merit.

In particular, the bonus SQC available at certain Milestone thresholds offer you another pathway towards reducing the effective qualification thresholds, beyond the 25,000 SQC you can get with partners and the 25,000 you can get via credit card spending.

Plus, the availability of Milestone benefits at increments of 10,000 SQC encourages members to continue engaging with Air Canada and its partners in-between the distinct status tiers.

Again, we’ll dedicate a separate article entirely to the analysis of Milestones in the near future, which will include our suggestions for the most intriguing choices at each selection-based threshold.

Changes to Aeroplan Elite Status Core Benefits & eUpgrades

By and large, you’ll enjoy the same Core Benefits as an Aeroplan Elite member in 2026 as you do today.

As we described in our overview of the changes, the only exceptions to this are the following:

• Maple Leaf Lounge passes will no longer be awarded as a Core Benefit (though they’re available as a Milestone selection)
• Core eUpgrade allotments are changing (lower-tier members will get less, 75K members will get the same, and Super Elites will get more)
• Bonus SQM earned through Flight Passes will switch to an equal amount of bonus SQC

To me, the biggest change here is the redistribution of eUpgrades as a Core Benefit, which is outlined in the following table.​​

As you can see, members in the first three status tiers (25K, 35K, and 50K) will receive fewer eUpgrades as a Core Benefit allotment, while the top two tiers will receive the same (75K) or more (Super Elites) eUpgrades.

This means that lower-tier members will have to work harder to receive the same allotment of eUpgrades as they enjoy now (by earning Milestone benefits), while 75K and Super Elite members will benefit from the same or a greater allotment of eUpgrades to begin the year (as well as through Milestones).

Furthermore, if you qualify for Aeroplan 25K status by way of Everyday Status Qualification, you’re going to lose out with the changes to eUpgrade allotments and the introduction of Milestones, since you’ll only have 5 at your disposal, compared to the current 20 you’d get as a Core Benefit and 5 that you could choose as a Select Benefit. To earn any more, you’d need to collect enough SQC to hit Milestone thresholds.

We also know that the eUpgrade add-on fees for Economy (Standard) fees are increasing, though we don’t yet know by how much.

In my opinion, using eUpgrades with Economy (Standard) fares isn’t an ideal practice in the first place, since the jump to an Economy (Flex) fare or higher usually makes more sense than eating the add-on fee (in addition to requiring fewer eUpgrades).

On a positive note, you’ll be able to share your eUpgrades with up to four travel companions on the same booking starting next year. Plus, you’ll be able to share them with an additional four travel companions on the day of travel who are on the same flight.

This is great news for Elites who travel with family and friends, who can currently apply their eUpgrades to up to two others on the same booking (as well as up to two others on the day of travel). Plus, Super Elites can designate an eUpgrade nominee.

At this stage, there are no changes planned for the eUpgrade waitlist ranking system, nor are there amendments to the number of eUpgrades required based on fare, distance, and destination.

Earning SQC through Aeroplan Partners & Credit Cards

As we discussed earlier, the effective spending thresholds to qualify for Aeroplan Elite status have risen with the revenue-based model. However, the ability to collect up to 25,000 SQC each by engaging with partners and through credit card spending can result in equalling or even reducing the equivalent current SQD spending thresholds.

Earning SQC through Aeroplan Partners

As a reminder, you can get up to 25,000 SQC each year by engaging with Aeroplan’s everyday partners (such as Starbucks, Uber, Uber Eats, the LCBO, Journie Rewards, and more), travelling with Star Alliance-member airlines (on tickets not issued by Air Canada), and through select travel partners (such as Avis, Marriott, and more).

A full list of these partners can be found on the Air Canada website.

Within this group, you’ll get 1 SQC for every 5 Aeroplan points earned, which means that you’d need to earn a total 125,000 Aeroplan points over the course of the year to collect the full allotment of 25,000 SQC.

In my opinion, it’ll be difficult to max out the SQC accrual this way, since it’d require a fairly significant amount of spending to earn 125,000 Aeroplan points. The main exception I can see here is if you regularly travel with Star Alliance airlines in premium cabins, at which point you’d likely see a meaningful boost.

Furthermore, I’d love to see Aeroplan points earned through the Aeroplan eStore count towards this bucket of SQC in the future, as spending during promotions that offer 5–10x Aeroplan points would be equivalent to 1–2x SQC, which would be outstanding.

Still, since every SQC you get through this set of partners is one fewer SQC required to reach Elite status, you should factor in SQC accrual with these partners as part of your status strategy.

Earning SQC through Credit Card Spending

When it comes to collecting up to 25,000 SQC through credit card spending, you’ll certainly want to add a premium Aeroplan credit card to your wallet for a leg up on earning status.

That’s because premium cards, which get 1,000 SQC for every $5,000 spent, will get SQC four times faster than core cards, which get 1,000 SQC for every $20,000 spent.

With a premium card, you’d need to spend $125,000 (CAD) in a calendar year to max out the collection of 25,000 SQC, whereas with a core card, you’d need to spend a whopping $500,000 to max out the collection of 25,000 SQC.

Indeed, the pairing of Elite status with a premium Aeroplan credit card is much more significant in 2026 than it is now. After all, core cardholders who benefited from earning 1,000 SQM/ 1 SQS per $10,000 spent will now have a less favourable SQC earning ratio (1,000 SQC per $20,000 spent) and are very much nudged towards the premium cards.

If you are eligible for US credit cards, it’s worth noting that the Chase Aeroplan Card offers a superior pathway to maxing out this bucket of 25,000 SQC.

That’s because you’ll get the total of 25,000 SQC upon spending just $50,000 USD (around $69,000 CAD), which is just over half of the required spending to collect 25,000 SQC on a Canadian premium Aeroplan credit card.

When the two buckets of 25,000 SQC that you can earn without flying are put together, it’s interesting to see that you can earn Aeroplan 25K, 35K, and 50K status without ever setting foot on a plane starting in 2026.

Surely, this isn’t a likely outcome for most Aeroplan members, and a more practical result will be two additional pathways to collect SQC and reduce the effective thresholds to qualify for Elite status.

Comparing the SQC Head Start Benefit vs. the SQM Rollover Benefit

Lastly, let’s go over the sunsetting of the SQM/SQS rollover benefit and the implementation of the Head Start benefit on premium Aeroplan co-branded credit cards.

Currently, you can roll over up to 200,000 unused SQM through to the next qualifying year, as long as you’ve organically qualified for status and are a primary cardholder of a premium Aeroplan card by December 15.

For many cardholders, this benefit has proven to be particularly lucrative over the past five years, as the rollover SQM count towards earning Threshold Rewards.

If you had a large volume of personal or business spending as well as a high frequency of travel, you were able to accumulate a huge amount of SQM – 1,000 SQM / 1 SQS per $5,000 spent on your card, plus whatever you earn through flying.

The best sweet spots with this system were being awarded with a banked year of Super Elite status upon crossing 250,000 SQM each year, and having the SQM requirement for Super Elite status fulfilled at the onset of the next qualifying year.

Beginning in 2027, premium cardholders will enjoy the new Head Start benefit instead, which awards 10% of the total SQC collected in the previous year to give you a kick start towards status the following year.

The Head Start benefit will surely play a positive role in finessing your way towards status each year, especially as there’s no cap. Assuming you do the bare minimum to qualify for status at each tier, the qualification thresholds would be effectively reduced by 10% each year (or more), which is a nice feature to add to your Elite status finessing toolkit.

At the same time, the Head Start benefit won’t play as big of a role as the combination of rollover SQM and spend-based SQM accrual both in terms of status qualification and in benefits awarded.

In other words, collecting enough SQC to unlock a banked year of Super Elite status (available as a selection-based Milestone at the 200,000 SQC threshold) will require more legwork than it did with the rollover benefit, which will likely result in fewer Elites banking Super Elite status.

Plus, the banked year of Super Elite will no longer be awarded automatically; instead, it must be chosen as a Milestone benefit over other choices.

Let Us Take Care of You

If you’re an Air Canada frequent flyer looking to maximize the benefits of the new Aeroplan Elite status program, Aeroplan points, eUpgrades, and more without putting in all of the work yourself, head over to the Prince of Travel Concierge website to learn more about our white-glove service.

Our expert Concierge account managers will look after everything on your behalf: crafting a comprehensive credit card strategy, ensuring you’re earning elite status and leveraging all of the benefits, redeeming points for maximum value, and saving you time and money on booking travel.

Conclusion

As we’ve shown in the above discussion, there are significant changes coming to Aeroplan Elite status in 2026 as Air Canada moves to a revenue-based model for qualification.

Overall, achieving Aeroplan Elite status in 2026 is going to require more legwork than it does currently, although you’ll be rewarded appropriately for your efforts as you reach the higher status tiers – which is exactly what revenue-based models aim to do. 

Furthermore, there’s a deepened integration with partner engagement and premium co-branded credit cards, which will play a more important role in status qualification going forward compared to now. 

Still, we’re also seeing the sunsetting of some of the best opportunities to finesse your way up the Elite status ladder, with the loss of the Chase Aeroplan Card’s Level Up benefit and the shift away from rollover SQM. We’re also lamenting the loss of an easy 25 eUpgrades for Aeroplan 25K Elites who qualified through Everyday Status Qualification.

Indeed, these trends are very much in line with the overall direction of the industry, whereby increased engagement and willingness to spend are met with more lucrative perks, while less entrenched members will need to ramp up their activity to maintain a similar level of status as before.