American Express has just updated the offer on the American Express Aeroplan Card – its core Aeroplan co-branded card – which now comes with a slightly higher welcome bonus. The offers on the two premium co-branded cards remain unchanged.
Once again, there’s no listed expiry date for the offers, which means that they could change at any time. However, if you’ve had your eye on any of the cards, the current offers are all worthy of your consideration.
Amex Aeroplan Card: Up to 50,000 Aeroplan Points
While the premium Aeroplan cards naturally have the highest available bonuses, the Amex Aeroplan Card shouldn’t be overlooked this time around, especially with a new offer at hand.
Currently, the card is offering up to 50,000 Aeroplan points for new applicants, which could be a less expensive way to pad your Aeroplan balance than premium cards, since it doesn’t come with a hefty annual fee.
When you apply via a refer-a-friend link, you’ll earn the following:
- 30,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 (all figures in CAD) in the first three months as a cardholder
- 20,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $1,000 in month 13 as a cardholder
Fortunately, the offer has improved this time around, since it no longer requires a long-term monthly minimum spending requirement.
On the other hand, make sure you keep track of spending $1,000 in month 13, since you stand to gain an extra 20,000 points.
Indeed, the real 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 impact 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.
There’s no listed expiry date for this offer, so be sure to take advantage of it sooner rather than later if it makes sense for you.
- Earn 30,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 in the first three months
- Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $1,000 in month 13
- Always earn 2x Aeroplan points on Air Canada purchases
- Aeroplan preferred pricing, free checked bag on Air Canada flights
- Bonus Aeroplan points for referring family and friends
- Annual fee: $120
American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card: Up to 85,000 Aeroplan Points
The American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card, Amex’s flagship premium Aeroplan co-branded card, has a current welcome bonus of up to 85,000 Aeroplan points. There’s no change to the offer this time around.
With the current offer, the points are distributed 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
While the total amount of points available through this offer is slightly less than the previous round, the structure is much better.
Last time, there were a number of requirements you’d have to meet for the welcome bonus, including spending $2,000 in each of the first six months, paying to add two supplementary cardholders at the time of application, and spending $6,000 between months 13 and 16.
This time, you’ll earn the lion’s share of the welcome bonus in one fell swoop after spending $7,500 in the first three months, and then you can earn the remaining points by spending $2,500 in month 13.
While it averages out to spending $2,500 in the first three months and then again in month 13, there are plenty of ways to meet higher minimum spending requirements, including paying your rent and paying taxes with a credit card.
The card has an annual fee of $599, and it comes with a number of other perks, including rollover benefits, the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, preferred pricing discounts on Aeroplan redemptions, and some compelling Amex Offers throughout the year to further offset against your annual fee.
Once again, there’s no listed expiration date for this offer, so be sure to sign up soon if you stand to benefit.
- Earn 60,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $7,500 in the first three months
- Plus, earn 25,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $2,500 in month 13
- Always earn 3x Aeroplan points on Air Canada purchases
- Aeroplan preferred pricing, free checked bag, priority check-in and boarding on Air Canada flights
- Unlimited Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access in North America
- Bonus Aeroplan points for referring family and friends
- No minimum income requirement
- Annual fee: $599
Amex Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: Up to 95,000 Aeroplan Points
The American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card is offering a higher number of points than its personal counterpart, albeit paired with higher spending requirements. There hasn’t been a change to the offer this time around.
When you apply for the card through a refer-a-friend link, you’ll earn the following:
- 70,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $10,500 in the first three months
- 25,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,500 in month 13
As we saw with the personal card, there’s a pretty substantial spending requirement to unlock the full welcome bonus this time around in each of the first two years. On the other hand, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with a large boost of points that come without a long-term monthly minimum spending requirement.
The card comes with many of the same benefits and features as the Amex Reserve card, including the ability to earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) and 1 Status Qualifying Segment (SQS) per $5,000 spent on the card.
If you tend to have a high volume of spending, you can easily fast track your way to meeting some of the requirements for Aeroplan Elite Status, and then you can plan out your paid flights to satisfy the Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD) requirement in a more predictable manner.
As with the personal cards, there’s no listed expiry date for this offer.
- Earn 70,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $10,500 in the first three months
- Plus, earn 25,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,500 in month 13
- Also, earn 3x Aeroplan points on Air Canada purchases
- Aeroplan preferred pricing, free checked bag, priority check-in and boarding on Air Canada flights
- Unlimited Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access
- Bonus Aeroplan points for referring family and friends
- Qualify for the card as a sole proprietor
- Annual fee: $599
Conclusion
American Express has a new welcome offer out on its personal core Aeroplan co-branded credit card. The American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card now comes with a welcome bonus of up to 50,000 points.
On both of the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card and the American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card, the majority of the points come after meeting a single spending threshold in the first three months. Then, you can earn another batch of points in year two, as long as you complete (and keep track of) a minimum spending requirement in month 13.
On the other hand, the American Express Aeroplan Card has a smaller welcome bonus, but it’s paired with a smaller spending requirement and a much lower annual fee.
There isn’t a listed end date for the offers, so apply at your leisure if you stand to benefit from any of the cards.