Amex Aeroplan Credit Card Offers: Earn Up to 95,000 Points

American Express has returned the welcome offers on both of its premium Aeroplan co-branded cards to their standing levels, after a short-lived bump in early September. The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card is offering up to 85,000 Aeroplan points, and the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card is offering up to 95,000 Aeroplan points through our referral link.

The elevated versions, which paid up to 110,000 and 120,000 points respectively, were never given an end date, and they disappeared from Amex’s website in mid-September. The spending requirements are the same as before, with the payouts back to where they were.

Read on for the full details on both Reserve cards, along with what’s currently available on the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card.

American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card: Up to 85,000 Aeroplan Points

The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card is Amex’s flagship Aeroplan co-branded card, and it’s currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 85,000 Aeroplan points, structured as follows:

• Earn 60,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $7,500 in the first three months
• Earn 25,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $2,500 in month 13 as a cardholder

With our valuation of Aeroplan points at 2 cents per point, the full 85,000-point bonus is worth an estimated $1,700. Since 25,000 of those points only arrive in month 13, you’ll need to renew the card for a second year to collect the full amount.

For context, this has been the standing offer on the card for most of the past two years. This summer’s 150,000-point all-time high required $45,000 in spending within 12 months to unlock the middle tier, and a 110,000-point version appeared briefly in early September before Amex pulled it. Elevated offers tend to return a few times a year, so if you’re not in a rush, it can pay to wait for the next one.

At Prince of Travel, our favourite tool to pair with minimum spending requirements is Chexy, a Canadian platform that allows you to pay a host of bills – including rent, tuition, utility bills, car lease payments, property taxes, and much more – with a credit card and earn points.

There’s a 1.75% processing fee for each payment (which can be further reduced by referring friends to Chexy), but when you consider the value of the points you earn from spending and welcome bonuses, it’s easy to justify.

The card has an annual fee of $599, and it comes with a number of other perks, including unlimited Maple Leaf Lounge access in North America, an extra year of eUpgrade validity, the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass upon spending $25,000 in a year, preferred pricing on Aeroplan redemptions, strong insurance, and some compelling Amex Offers throughout the year to further offset the annual fee.

Spending on the card also counts toward Aeroplan Elite Status. You’ll earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Credits (SQC) for every $5,000 spent, up to 25,000 SQC per calendar year, and starting in 2027, the 10% Head Start benefit will carry over a tenth of the previous year’s SQC to give you a running start on requalifying.

In terms of the returns on everyday spending, the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card offers the following three-tiered structure:

• 3 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations
• 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on dining and food delivery
• 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on everything else

It’s worth noting that the 3x earning rate on Air Canada purchases is the highest amongst Canadian Aeroplan co-branded credit cards. If you’re a frequent flyer, this is the best card to use for buying Air Canada flights.

Unlike other Aeroplan premium cards, there’s no minimum income requirement to be eligible to apply.

American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card: Up to 95,000 Aeroplan Points

The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card offers up to 95,000 Aeroplan points, paired with higher spending requirements than its personal counterpart:

• Earn 70,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $10,500 in the first three months
• Earn 25,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,500 in month 13 as a cardholder

By our valuation, that’s an estimated $1,800 in Aeroplan points, and as with the personal card, the month 13 portion means holding the card into a second year. The card briefly offered up to 120,000 points in early September, and like the personal Reserve, it has a history of elevated offers returning a few times a year.

If you’re looking to maximize your rewards, you should know that Chexy has a small business offering, which allows you to pay virtually any business expense with a credit card and earn points along the way.

The card comes with many of the same benefits and features as the personal Reserve, including the ability to earn 1,000 SQC per $5,000 spent on the card, up to 25,000 SQC per year.

If you tend to have a high volume of spending, you can easily fast track your way to meeting the requirements for Aeroplan Elite Status, and the SQC you earn also count toward Milestone Benefits along the way.

In terms of the returns on everyday spending, the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card offers the following three-tiered structure:

• 3 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations
• 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals
• 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on everything else

This is the card’s standing public offer, with no listed expiry date.

American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card: Up to 45,000 Aeroplan Points

While the premium Aeroplan cards naturally have the highest available bonuses, the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card shouldn’t be overlooked.

Currently, the card is offering up to 45,000 Aeroplan points for new applicants, which could be a less expensive way to pad your Aeroplan balance than the premium cards, since it doesn’t come with a hefty annual fee.

When you apply for the card, you’ll be eligible to earn the following:

• 35,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $7,500 in the first six months as a cardholder
• 10,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $1,000 in month 13 as a cardholder

That works out to an estimated $900 in value by our numbers, against an annual fee of $120.

The appeal of the Amex Aeroplan Card is the lower annual fee, making this offer a solid choice for anyone whose credit card strategy revolves around keeping annual fees low and manageable.

Furthermore, the Amex Aeroplan Card is a charge card, not a credit card. Unlike the Reserve and Business Reserve, which are credit cards, it doesn’t count against Amex’s limit of holding four credit cards per person at a time.

If you’re already tight against the cap, the core Aeroplan Card might be a great way to pad your Aeroplan balance without going over your limit.

Conclusion

With the early September bump now over, the Reserve is back to 85,000 points and the Business Reserve to 95,000 through our referral link (90,000 publicly). Both remain solid offers for Air Canada frequent flyers who value the lounge access and elite status perks, although history suggests that higher offers come around a few times a year for anyone willing to wait.

The core Aeroplan Card is unchanged at 45,000 points, but it remains a solid option if you’re trying to stay under Amex’s four-credit-card limit or simply want to keep annual fees low.

If you’re interested in any of the American Express Aeroplan co-branded cards, click on any of the “Learn More” buttons to read about the offers and features, or “Apply Now” to head straight to the American Express website to apply.

We’ll update this article when American Express raises the offers again.