Air Canada award redemptions just got cheaper for the right cardholders. Following a September refresh of the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Credit Card, primary cardholders now pay at least 15% fewer Aeroplan points on eligible Air Canada flight rewards than everyone else. On a 100,000-point redemption, that's a saving of up to 15,000 points — on a single booking.
The mechanics are simple but specific. You need to be the primary cardholder (authorized users don't qualify, though the discount applies to everyone on the booking), link the card to your Aeroplan account, and book directly through Air Canada's website, app or call centre. At least one segment of your itinerary must be flown by Air Canada or its subsidiaries, Air Canada Express or Air Canada Rouge — so a United flight from Chicago to Montreal connecting onto Air Canada to London still counts. Bookings made entirely on partner airlines get nothing.
Only the points portion of the base fare is discounted; taxes, fees and any cash component of a points-plus-cash booking stay the same. Standard Aeroplan change and cancellation rules apply, and you must remain the primary cardholder if you rebook.
The bigger play is stacking. Priority Rewards — vouchers that halve the points price of an award for one passenger — can be combined with the 15% card discount. A 30,000-point one-way economy award to Canada becomes 15,000 with a Priority Reward, then drops to 12,750 with the card discount: a combined saving of more than 57%. The catch is that Priority Rewards aren't automatic. You pick one as a Milestone Benefit, with the first option at 20,000 Status Qualifying Credits, and each voucher is valid for 12 months from selection (you only need to book before expiry, not fly). Higher status unlocks better vouchers — Super Elite can use one on business class worldwide, while 25K is limited to economy within Canada and the US, with basic economy excluded.
Notably, the refreshed card helps you earn those credits without flying: up to 25,000 SQCs per calendar year, with 5,000 automatic, 10,000 more after $25,000 of spend and a final 10,000 at $50,000. Hit the full $50,000 and you'll cross the 20,000-credit threshold for a Priority Reward.
Is the $195 annual fee worth it? Using The Points Guy's valuation of 1.5 cents per Aeroplan point, you'd need to save about 13,000 points a year to break even on this benefit alone — achievable with one premium cabin redemption to Europe or a couple of economy round trips. The card sweetens things further with up to $100 in annual Air Canada statement credits (split into two $50 halves from 2027), automatic Aeroplan 25K status each year, a free first checked bag for you and up to eight companions, up to 5 points per dollar on eligible Air Canada flights, and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck/Nexus fee credit every four years.
For anyone booking Air Canada awards with any regularity, this is a meaningful upgrade — the old status-based discount rarely topped 10%. And since Aeroplan is a 1:1 transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards, Chase, Capital One and Bilt, topping up an account is easy, with no carrier-imposed surcharges and 5,000-point stopovers on one-way awards to stretch a trip further.
