Air Canada has announced that there will be some upcoming changes made to the benefits offered on the Chase Aeroplan Card in 2026. Some are being phased out, while others are being adjusted or remaining the same.
These changes coincide with the airline’s move towards revenue-based earning in 2026, which we’ve gone over in detail in a separate article.
In This Post
- Upcoming Changes to the Chase Aeroplan Card in 2026
- The Chase Aeroplan Card Remains a Premium Card at a Mid-Tier Price
- Conclusion
Upcoming Changes to the Chase Aeroplan Card in 2026
The Chase Aeroplan Card is getting a makeover in 2026, as Air Canada moves to a revenue-based earning model and adjusts its Elite status program.
First up, the popular Level Up benefit is being discontinued and replaced with tiered awarding of Status Qualifying Credits (SQC) instead.
As a reminder, the Level Up benefit works by giving you a one-tier status boost to the status you’ve earned when you spend $50,000 (USD) on the card in a calendar year.
If you’ve earned a Level Up benefit over the course of 2025, it will be honoured for the 2026 status year.
Going forward, cardholders will receive three boosts of Status Qualifying Credits instead, awarded as follows:
- Get 5,000 SQC awarded at the beginning of the year
- Get 10,000 SQC when you spend $25,000 (USD) on your Chase Aeroplan Card
- Get 10,000 SQC when you spend $50,000 (USD) on your Chase Aeroplan Card
As a reminder, Status Qualifying Credits will become the sole metric used to qualify for Aeroplan Elite status as of 2026, and with the Chase Aeroplan Card, you can collect up to 25,000 SQC through credit card spending.
New cardholders of the Chase Aeroplan Card will continue to enjoy Aeroplan 25K status for the remainder of the calendar year, plus the following calendar year.
Beyond that, cardholders can earn 25K status by spending $15,000 (USD) in a calendar year, as they have before.
However, to move up to 35K status, you’ll now need to spend $75,000 (USD) in a calendar year. Previously, cardholders could Level Up to 35K status with $50,000 (USD) in spending in a calendar year.
The other spend-based perks, which award Priority Rewards and the Global +1 benefit, are remaining at their current levels.
Chase Aeroplan cardmembers will continue to unlock Priority Rewards upon spending $100,000 (USD), $250,000 (USD), $500,000 (USD) and $750,000 (USD), as well as the Global +1 Benefit at $1,000,000 (USD) in account spend.
The Chase Aeroplan Card Remains a Premium Card at a Mid-Tier Price
Pound for pound, the Chase Aeroplan Card remains one of the most powerful Aeroplan co-branded credit cards available in any market.
In exchange for a reasonable $95 (USD) annual fee, cardholders can benefit from generous welcome offers (as high as 100,000 Aeroplan points), no foreign transaction fees, 3x Aeroplan points per dollar spent at grocery stores, restaurants, food delivery services, and on Air Canada purchases, and a number of lucrative spend-based benefits.
Indeed, these types of welcome offers, earning rates, and benefits are typically reserved for premium Aeroplan co-branded credit cards in Canada, which command an annual fee of $599 (CAD).
The sunsetting of the Level Up benefit is surely a loss for savvy credit card and Aeroplan Elite strategists, especially since it offered cardholders one of the easiest pathways to Aeroplan 50K status (which comes with Star Alliance Gold recognition), and Air Canada’s top-tier Super Elite status.
That’s because as long as you fulfilled the requirements for Aeroplan 35K status (35,000 Status Qualifying Miles or 35 Status Qualifying Segments, plus $4,000 Status Qualifying Dollars) or Aeroplan 75K status (75,000 Status Qualifying Miles or 75 Status Qualifying Segments, plus $9,000 Status Qualifying Dollars), and as long as you hit the $50,000 (USD) Level Up spending threshold on the Chase Aeroplan Card, you’d get bumped to Aeroplan 50K or Super Elite status, respectively.
Earning Aeroplan 50K status typically requires 50,000 Status Qualifying Miles or 50 Status Qualifying Segments, plus $6,000 Status Qualifying Dollars, while Super Elite status usually commands 100,000 Status Qualifying Miles or 100 Status Qualifying Segments, plus $20,000 Status Qualifying Dollars.
Therefore, the Level Up benefit served as a useful way to shortcut a significant chunk of qualification activity.
Despite the discontinuation of the Level Up benefit, the Chase Aeroplan Card will remain one of the most powerful Aeroplan co-branded credit cards going forward, especially if you’re a cross-border cardholder and Air Canada loyalist.
That’s because with Canadian-issued Aeroplan credit cards, you’d need to spend $125,000 (CAD) on a premium card (with a $599 annual fee) or $500,000 (CAD) on a core credit card to max out the 25,000 SQC you can collect through credit card spending.
With the Chase Aeroplan Card, you’d only need to spend $50,000 (USD) to get the same 25,000 SQC, which is roughly equivalent to $69,000 (CAD) at the time of writing.
Therefore, if you’re eligible for US credit cards, the Chase Aeroplan Card remains a key tool to have at your fingertips to finesse your way through Aeroplan’s new Elite status tiers.
For business owners and high spenders, it’s good to see that Priority Rewards and the extremely lucrative Global +1 benefit are remaining. If you can hit the thresholds, you’ll be rewarded handsomely; however, it’s worth noting that those are likely out of reach for the vast majority of cardholders.
Conclusion
In 2026, the Chase Aeroplan Card is getting a makeover.
The lucrative Level Up benefit is being discontinued, and replaced with three tiers of SQC that will contribute towards earning Aeroplan Elite Status.
Cardholders can still spend their way to Aeroplan 35K status; however, it will require a total of $25,000 (USD) more spending than it does now.
Otherwise, the card remains one of the powerful tools available to Air Canada frequent flyers with ties to the US, especially given its prowess as a mid-tier card that comes packed with premium features.
