The Chase Aeroplan Card has been overhauled and renamed the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Credit Card, and the headline number is hard to miss: the annual fee has jumped from $95 to $195, roughly doubling overnight. The upside is a perks package aimed squarely at people who actually fly Air Canada.

The most valuable addition is automatic Aeroplan 25K elite status every year, with no spending requirement attached. Previously you got 25K on approval but had to put $15,000 on the card each calendar year to keep it. Entry-level status sounds modest, but it covers genuinely useful day-of-travel perks: priority check-in, zone 2 boarding and two free checked bags on Air Canada flights. Big spenders can still reach 35K status after $75,000 in annual spend.

Two new credits and discounts help offset the fee. Cardmembers get up to $100 a year in statement credits for Air Canada purchases, split into two $50 instalments each half-year (one credit for the rest of 2026). There's also 15% off eligible Air Canada award flights booked with points — it applies to one-way itineraries that include at least one Air Canada-operated segment, and it stacks with Priority Rewards for bigger savings. From January 2027, a fourth day free on car rentals at 11,000-plus locations worldwide joins the existing fourth-night-free hotel perk.

Earning rates have shifted too. General travel spending jumps from 1 point to 3 points per dollar and gas stations rise to 2x, while Air Canada purchases can effectively hit 5x with status. The trade-off: dining and groceries drop from 3x to 2x starting 1 January 2027, so anyone using this as an everyday card will earn less. Two existing perks — the monthly $2,000 spend bonus and the 10% Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus — disappear after 31 December 2026.

There's a strong reason to act quickly if you're tempted. The current welcome offer is the biggest yet: 75,000 bonus points after $4,000 spend in three months, plus 40,000 more after $20,000 in the first year — up to 115,000 points, valued at around $1,725 at recent Aeroplan valuations. Existing cardholders get some breathing room too, as the $195 fee only applies from 1 December based on renewal dates.

Who should care? If you fly Air Canada regularly, redeem points for its flights or would use the full statement credit, the maths can still work — the credit alone brings the effective fee back to $95. If you rarely touch the airline and were mostly in it for dining and grocery points, this refresh is probably your cue to look elsewhere.