Chase Aeroplan Card Refresh: 115,000 Points Bonus, $195 Annual Fee, Keeps PYB, Adds Air Canada Benefits

Chase refreshed today the Aeroplan card, as expected. The new card increases the signup bonus to 115,000 points (from 100,000), increases the annual fee to $195 (from $95), maintains the Pay Yourself Back benefit, adds $100 in Air Canada credits and automatic Air Canada Aeroplan 25K elite status and 15% award discount. 

Also notable: existing cardholders get the new benefits starting today with some existing benefits going away after 12/31/26 (details below).

The Offer

Direct link to offer 

• The refreshed Chase Aeroplan card is offering a signup bonus of up to 115,000 points. Bonus is broken down as follows:
  • Earn 75,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
  • Plus 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months your account is open.

Points Earnings

Card earns at the following rates:

• 3x points on Travel purchases and on Air Canada purchases (Air Canada purchases will also get an additional 2X points from Air Canada on eligible flights when traveling as an Aeroplan 25K Member)
• 2x points on Gas Stations, Dining, and Grocery purchases (until 12/31/26 you’ll get 3x on Grocery and Dining)
• 1x on all other purchases

Card Details

• Annual fee of $195
• Pay Yourself Back On Travel Purchases (currently, 1.25¢ Per Point through 12/31/26; unknown what this will look like in terms of categories or rate in 2027)
• Automatic Aeroplan 25K Status (no spend required) which includes Priority Check-In and Priority Boarding (Zone 2), and 5 eUpgrade Credits every year
• $100 Air Canada credit: two $50 credits for direct Air Canada purchases, one from Jan-June and one from Jul-Dec.
• Cardholders get 15% discount on eligible Air Canada flight award bookings. (FLY15OFF)
• Free 1st checked bag with up to 8 companions on Air Canada.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Fee Credit (up to $120 every four years)

Benefits ending on 12/31/26 for existing cardholders (not relevant for those signing up now):

• 500 point bonus every 2k spend up to 1500 a month.
• 10% bonus on 50,000+ Ultimate Rewards transfers to Aeroplan (max 25k/yr)
• 3x points on grocery & dining

Our Verdict

The 3x on Travel, $100 Air Canada credit, automatic 25k elite status, and 15% award discount are nice parts of the refresh. The higher annual fee and the removal of the monthly bonuses and the 3x grocery/dining and the UR transfer bonus is a bummer. 

For those who actually travel Air Canada, there are some benefits here that can justify the annual fee ($100 in credits, 25k status, 15% discount). For others who are more interested in partners or PYB the $195 is painful.

In terms of signup bonus, it’s good to see the higher bonus for those meeting the $20k tier. Still not as good as the old 85k offer which just required $4k spend. Not sure if we’ll add this bonus to our List of Best Current Credit Card Bonuses.