Air Canada Offers 50% Bonus SQC on Montreal Flights Until July 22

Air Canada is running its third Status Qualifying Credits (SQC) promotion of the year, this time offering 50% more SQC on flights between Montreal and the rest of Canada.

Book an eligible fare between July 16 and July 22, 2026, for travel through September 15, 2026, and you'll earn 6 SQC per $1 spent instead of the usual 4.

Unlike the Billy Bishop double SQC promotions that ran in April and June, this one is open to all Aeroplan members. No targeted email, no registration, just book and fly.

The Offer at a Glance

The promotion covers Air Canada flights between Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and any destination in Canada, including flights operated by Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express.

• Eligible routes: anywhere in Canada to Montreal (YUL), on Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, and Air Canada Express
• Booking window: July 16 – July 22, 2026
• Travel window: through September 15, 2026
• Eligible fares: Economy Flex, Comfort, Latitude, Premium Economy Standard, Premium Economy Latitude, Business Class Standard, and Business Class Latitude
• Bonus cap: none stated

Economy Basic and Economy Standard fares don't count, and neither do points bookings, Points + Cash reservations, or flight pass travel. Only fresh booking references created within the offer window qualify, so rebooking an existing reservation into the travel window won't get you anything.

Codeshare and interline flights are excluded as well, and the booking needs to be a round trip, or a pair of one-ways, paid in cash.

How the SQC Math Works

On the eligible Flex and above fares, Air Canada normally awards 4 SQC per $1 on base fare and carrier surcharges, before taxes and third-party fees. Under this promotion, you also pick up an extra 2 SQC per $1 in bonus credits, lifting the haul to 6 SQC per $1.

Air Canada's own worked example uses a $500 round trip in Economy Flex between Montreal and Toronto. That fare would normally earn 2,000 SQC, and the bonus adds another 1,000, landing you at 3,000 SQC total from a single round trip.

One catch to watch on connecting itineraries. Only the segments that touch Montreal earn the bonus, so a Vancouver–Montreal booking with a Toronto connection collects bonus SQC on the legs between Toronto and Montreal only.

The bonus credits post separately and can take up to six weeks after travel to show up.

What's Different from the Billy Bishop Rounds

If you followed the April and June promotions, this one breaks the pattern in a few ways worth flagging.

It's open to everyone. The earlier rounds were targeted at Aeroplan Elite Status members who received an email, while this offer applies automatically to any Aeroplan member in good standing.

There's no bonus cap in the terms. The Billy Bishop offers cut you off at 5,000 bonus SQC, but no such ceiling appears here, so heavier flyers can keep earning at 6 SQC per $1 all the way through the travel window.

The earn rate is gentler, though. This is a 50% boost rather than a full doubling, and premium economy fares make the eligible list this time, which the Billy Bishop rounds left out.

Using This Offer to Reach a Higher Status Tier

With no cap on bonus SQC, this promotion can do real work toward your next Aeroplan Elite Status tier. Worth noting that 25K can be reached entirely through Aeroplan credit card spending, so the first tier where flying actually matters is 35K.

The threshold most members chase is 50K, since that's where Star Alliance Gold and Maple Leaf Lounge access kick in.

A quick refresher on what each tier requires and unlocks.

Tier	SQC Required	Key Unlock
Aeroplan 25K	25,000	Priority check-in, boarding, extra baggage
Aeroplan 35K	35,000	Dedicated security lanes, 3x points multiplier
Aeroplan 50K	50,000	Star Alliance Gold, Maple Leaf Lounge access
Aeroplan 75K	75,000	Higher upgrade priority, 5x points multiplier
Super Elite	125,000	6x points multiplier, concierge service

If you're based in Toronto, Ottawa, or Halifax and route through Montreal with any regularity, the promotion rewards flights you might've booked anyway. For everyone else, it's a reason to point a summer trip at Quebec rather than elsewhere.

A worked example for status chasers

Say you book two Montreal round trips in Economy Flex before mid-September, each with a $600 base fare. Without the promotion, each trip earns 2,400 SQC, for 4,800 SQC across both.

With the 50% bonus, you'd add 1,200 bonus SQC per trip, bringing the total to 7,200 SQC from the same two bookings. Combined with the 25,000 SQC ceiling from a top-tier Aeroplan credit card, that puts 35K status within closing distance for the year.

Business class fares accrue at the same 6 SQC per $1, so a couple of Latitude or business class bookings on longer routes like Vancouver or Calgary could produce a serious SQC haul, with no cap to worry about.

Conditions to Keep in Mind

A few details are worth confirming before you click book.

• New bookings only: reservations made before July 16 don't count, even if you change the travel dates to fall inside the window
• Aeroplan number on the booking before travel: retro-credit requests after the fact aren't accepted
• Montreal segments only: connecting segments that don't touch Montreal earn at the regular rate
• Cash fares only: award bookings, Points + Cash, and flight pass travel are excluded
• Not Lifetime Qualifying Miles: bonus SQC won't count toward Million Mile recognition, and can't be converted to Aeroplan points

The offer can be combined with other active promotions, and card-based SQC from Aeroplan credit cards will continue to post on top of your flight earnings as usual.

Once you land, Air Canada's City Shuttle runs between the airport and the Palais des congrès downtown for $9 plus tax each way. If you hold Aeroplan Elite Status, check your inbox, as the promotional email includes a personalized code for 50% off shuttle bookings through the end of 2026.

Conclusion

Air Canada has now run three SQC promotions since April, and this is the first one anyone can use. The shift from targeted Billy Bishop emails to a public offer on an entire hub suggests the airline likes what these bonuses are doing for its network strategy.

If you were already planning an eastern Canada trip before mid-September, shifting your booking into this window is free status acceleration. Just don't sit on it, since only bookings made by July 22, 2026 qualify.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Vancouver or Calgary get the same treatment before the qualification year wraps up.