The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite is the go-to Aeroplan credit card for those entrenched in the CIBC financial network, although this card is slightly inferior to TD’s offering.
Bonuses & Fees
The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite currently offers 50,000 Aeroplan points as a signup bonus, awarded in two parts:
- 10,000 Aeroplan points upon first purchase
- 40,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $1,000 in the first four months
The $139 annual fee is currently waived for the first year. Otherwise, if the first-year fee waiver were not available, then it can be waived if you have a CIBC Smart Plus Chequing Account.
The signup bonus of 50,000 points is quite generous, and it’s arguably more flexible than Air Canada Buddy Pass awarded in previous offers.
Supplementary cards may be added for an annual fee of $50 apiece, although the first three supplementary cards enjoy a first-year annual fee waiver under the current promotion.
Earning Rewards
The card’s earning structure is fairly standard, in that you’ll earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on gas, groceries, and Air Canada, and 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
There are certainly better options for your everyday spending – for example, the American Express Business Platinum Card for general purchases or the Cobalt Card for food and drink.
If you’re shopping at places that don’t accept Amex, though, the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite could be a solid choice to have in your wallet, since at the very least, Aeroplan points are pretty easy to redeem for a good value.
Redeeming Rewards
Aeroplan remains the program of choice for the vast majority of Canadians aiming to redeem their points for high-value international business and First Class redemptions.
Redeeming Aeroplan points follows the Aeroplan Flight Reward Chart, and can cost as little as 55,000 points one-way from Vancouver to Tokyo in business class.
From the East Coast, 60,000 Aeroplan points (or often fewer, thanks to Air Canada’s preferred pricing if you hold Elite Status or a credit card) would unlock a transatlantic flight to most parts of Western Europe.
Closer to home: short-haul flights within North America that are under 500 miles only cost 6,000 Aeroplan points one-way.
With a few months of organic spending on top of the signup bonus, the 25,000 points earned is enough to travel one-way in business class across the continent on routes such as Toronto – Vancouver or Montreal – Los Angeles.
Perks & Benefits
As a cardholder, you’ll receive:
- Free first checked bag on Air Canada flights, for the primary and supplementary cardholders
- Preferred pricing when redeeming Aeroplan points for Air Canada flights
- The ability to earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) and 1 Status Qualifying Segment (SQS) for every $10,000 you spend on the card
- Your Aeroplan points won’t expire for as long as you’re a cardholder
CIBC’s focus as a bank these days seems to be on their Aventura program rather than on Aeroplan (it’s been this way ever since they lost the big Aeroplan contract to TD back in 2014).
That means that the extra perks you find on the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite, such as the Priority Pass benefits and the NEXUS fee waiver, sadly aren’t available on this card.
Insurance Coverage
The CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite includes all the insurance benefits that you’d expect from a premium travel credit card, such as:
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Emergency medical insurance of up to $5,000,000 on the first 15 days of an out-of-province trip (3 days for 65+)
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Flight/trip delay insurance of $500 for delays of at least 4 hours, which comes in handy if you need to replace your incidentals due to a delay
- Baggage delay insurance of $500 per person or a combined $1000
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Car rental theft and damage insurance, which can replace the insurance fees that car rental agencies will try to upsell when renting a car
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$500,000 Common Carrier Accident insurance, which protects you in case of a travel-related accident
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Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance: trip cancellation of up to $1,500 per insured person for a combined $5,000 and Trip Interruption insurance of $2,000 per person
One thing that’s worth noting is that the CIBC Aeroplan credit cards (i.e., this card, plus the Infinite Privilege and the Visa for Business) are among the few cards that will extend their travel insurance benefits to tickets redeemed with Aeroplan points.
Many credit cards in the marketplace consider award travel to be ineligible for travel insurance – you have to put the full revenue ticket cost on the card in order for it to count. Meanwhile, the CIBC Aeroplan cards only require you to charge the taxes and fees of your Aeroplan booking to the credit card in order for the travel insurance to kick in.
If you prefer to cover your bases using travel insurance, yet also frequently travel on Aeroplan points, that makes this card worthwhile to keep around.
Love this site! Question about the minimum spend on the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite:
Does spending “$1000 in the first four months” mean $1000 per month for four months (total $4000 in four months)? or is it $1000 total over four months?
Thanks for providing us with resources that are easy to find in one place!
With regards to CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite, the insurance actually includes “Hotel Burglary” (source below) – maximum
of $2,500 (CAD) per occurrence for all insured persons combined.
Ricky, it sounds like this CIBC Visa’s insurance coverage is comparable to even Amex Personal Platinum insurance coverage, that is quite impressive. Lower coverage amounts in some cases (e.g. trip cancellation insurance), but it covers the same items as the Amex!
Insurance details: https://www.cibc.com/content/dam/cibc-public-assets/personal-banking/credit-cards/agreements-and-insurance/aeroplan-visa-infinite-benefits-guide-en.pdf
Love the site! Reading that “The Buddy Pass is limited to one per “credit card of the same type” regardless of the issuer, where “type” refers to
…also mentioned a buddy pass issued within 12 months..
Does this mean I can get another buddy pass from another core card offer AFTER twelve months. I have had a TD infinite coming up to a year soon and used their pass and contemplating CIBC Infinite to take advantage of their offer. Thank you!
Do not apply for this card. There is no Buddy Pass for this card for a qualifying spend of $1000. The qualifying spend is $25,000.
Not sure now – I am actually getting mixed answers, depending on where I look. The message from CIBC, after application, does not provide a link to list the Buddy Pass, but on the CIBC application page, it does. On Aeroplan, it does not. Confused, but will have to wait to find out what the actual answer is for this application at this time.
Hi Ricky, thanks for this guide, as always, you provide easy to access resources.
For CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite insurance, I noticed that “Hotel Burglary Insurance” is not mentioned in your resource page, but it is an insurance made available for cardholders, FYI. https://www.cibc.com/en/personal-banking/credit-cards/all-credit-cards/aeroplan-visa-infinite-card.html
Will I get the welcome bonus/will I be able to apply for this card even if I already have the basic CIBC Aeroplan Visa?
Yes!
Hey, I have the TD Infinite and received a buddy pass. If I get the CIBC Infinite Visa will I receive a second Buddy Pass?
Thanks
Eddie
I had the same question – did you ever get an answer on this?
Hi,
Thanks for the great info! Just wonder if it’s too late to apply for the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite card and get the buddy pass converted into 30,000 points? Since the deadline to convert is now Nov 30? Thank you!
Is the $139 fee currently waived for the first year if I apply through the link on this page? When you’re re-routed to CIBC’s website, it says you can receive a $139 rebate if you have a CIBC Smart Plus Account. Just wanted to double check before I apply. Thank you!
Yes, the first year waiver is currently for all applicants. You only need a premium chequing account if you want to waive the fee in subsequent years.
Hi Ricky,
I opened a CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite back in April 2020, got the welcome bonus and used those points already. I then switched the card to a no-fee card to avoid having to pay the annual fee because I didn’t plan on using the card anymore. Can I cancel the no fee card and then open a CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite to still get the 20,000 welcome bonus + buddy pass? I did open a TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite in May of 2020 as well and plan on keeping that card for now.
I’d say you have a fairly decent chance of getting the 20K + Buddy Pass, but there’s no real need to close your no-fee card if you don’t want to.
Hi Ricky,
I have an TD Aeroplan Visa infinite that was converted from my old TD Aeroplan following the aeroplan rebranding last november. I didn’t get any signing bonus So I was wondering if I will get the 20k aeroplan and buddy pass if I sign up for the CIBC Areoplan Visa infinite? Thanks
Yes you will!
Is this card considered a new product based on a Aeroplan’s rebranding?
I’ve closed this card only a couple of months ago, had it opened since late 2019.
Wondering if I’d be eligible for the 20k bonus.
It’s the same product as the old CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite. However, I’d be pretty confident of getting the bonus in your situation.
Does anyone know if the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite is a metal or plastic card?
Plastic.
On the CIBC website it says $139 annual fee unless you have a Smart Plus account. So 1st year fee is not waived anymore as of today without the CIBC account?
All applicants will get the first year free. It’s a bit confusing as it’s displayed inconsistently on their website.
If you product switch, the annual fee is payable on the first statement unless you have a CIBC chequing account.
So I saw that the T&C of the CIBC Inifinite card says the following:
– This one-time Welcome Bonus offer of a bonus Buddy Pass is only valid for eligible cardholders. You will not be eligible for the Welcome Bonus offer of a Buddy Pass if you have previously opened an Aeroplan program credit card of the same type, regardless of the credit card issuer and have received the Welcome Bonus offer in the last 12 months.
– Offer applies to newly approved card accounts only.
Anyone know what’s defined as “newly approved”? I had this card 6 months ago. Would I be able to apply and get the bonus again?
Also, whats said in that first bullet point seems to suggest we can’t double up on these welcome bonuses by applying for TD/ CIBC/Amex?
Thanks guys!
Newly approved, as in not a product-switch from a different CIBC card I believe. The Buddy Pass is limited to one per “credit card of the same type” regardless of the issuer, where “type” refers to core/premium/business cards. So you can double-up on Buddy Passes if you get a core card and a premium card, but not if you get two core cards, etc.
Is there an end date for this promotion?
No published end date, but I would hazard a guess that the signup bonus is likely to change around Quarter 4 of 2020 when the new Aeroplan program is launched.
Does anyone know if they can apply for CIBC Aerogold Business and this card and double dip on welcome bonus? I figure that since this is a personal and the other is a business, you can get both reward bonus.
Yes, you can.
Hi,
Love your site. How long do I have to hold the CIBC Aeroplan Infinite card to keep the 50,000 Aeroplan miles welcome bonus? Is it a good strategy to change to a no-fee CIBC card so CIBC does not take back my Aeroplan points? I also have held a TD Visa Infinite card for several years.