Aeroplan Credit Cards In Canada

Being the most popular airline rewards program in Canada, Aeroplan understandably has a lot of credit cards available for both personal and business use. Here you can find out about each of these cards and and easily compare their benefits and drawbacks. If your desire is to collect a lot of Aeroplan miles, then you should probably choose one of these cards to be your primary card, but even then you should still sign up for most, or all, of these credit cards over time to obtain the large sign up bonuses. On the other hand, if you want to have the absolute best credit card possible instead of remaining loyal to Aeroplan, then visit our Credit Cards section for a collection of all the best credit cards available to Canadians.

American Express AeroplanPlus Gold

The AeroplanPlus Gold is the most competitive card offered by American Express, although it is actually a charge card, not a credit card. This means that the balance is supposed to be paid in full every month, there is no preset spending limit, and if the balance is not paid they can charge an exorbitant annual interest rate of 30% on unpaid balances. The card has three major advantages over the CIBC Aeroplan credit cards. First, for spending over $10,000 annually, you earn 1.25 miles per dollar spent compared to the usual 1 mile per dollar spent. Second, there are frequent sign up bonus promotions increasing the sign up bonus to as much as 20,000 miles. Third, you can have up to two additional cardholders on the account at no extra cost, whereas the Aerogold charges $50 per person extra.

Positives:

• Increased earning rate of 1.25 miles / $1 spent on all purchases after the first $10,000 spent annually.
• Decent travel insurance package.
• 2 Free supplementary cards.
• American Express Front Of The Line access.

Negatives:

• American Express is accepted at fewer locations than Visa and MasterCard making it harder to use as a primary card.
• Horrible international currency conversion rate due to the Amex policy of converting all funds to USD first and then Canadian dollars.

Insurance Package:

• Extended Warranty - up to 1 year, $25,000 maximum.
• Purchase Protection - 90 day $1,000.
• Travel Accident - $500,000.
• Car Rental Theft & Damage (CDW & LDW).
• Flight Delay & Baggage Delay - $500 combined.
• Lost Or Stolen Baggage - $500.
• Hotel & Motel Burglary - $500.

American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum

This is one of the highest annual fee cards available in Canada, the only exception being the American Express Centurion card, which is typically invite only and has an insane annual fee in the thousands of dollars. To go along with the $499 annual fee, there are some serious perks included than can make the fee worthwhile if you are able to take full advantage of them. The 1.5 miles per dollar spent earning ratio can also be a great benefit for those who can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on the card. Most people do not fall into this category, but it is definitely useful for some. For the rest of us, it may be worth applying for it once for the sign up bonus, the companion pass, and the airline perks that can be timed with a special trip.

Positives:

• High regular earning rate of 1.25 miles / $1 spent on all purchases.
• Further increased earning rate of 1.5 miles / $1 spent on purchases after the first $25,000 spent annually.
• Great travel insurance package that includes rare coverage:
  • Emergency Medical
  • Trip Cancellation
  • Trip Interruption
• An array of travel and airline related perks that are unrivalled by other cards:
  • Complimentary annual short haul partner ticket when redeeming 15,000 miles.
  • Access to Maple Leaf lounges and Arrival lounges.
  • Access to over 500 airport VIP lounges outside of those run by Air Canada.
  • Air Canada priority check in.
  • Complimentary Hertz Rent-A-Car #1 Club Gold membership and upgrades.
• American Express Front Of The Line access.

Negatives:

• American Express is accepted at fewer locations than Visa and MasterCard making it harder to use as a primary card.
• Horrible international currency conversion rate due to the Amex policy of converting all funds to USD first and then Canadian dollars.
• No free supplementary cards ($199 annual fee).
• High minimum income requirement.

Insurance Package:

• Extended Warranty - up to 1 year, $25,000 maximum.
• Purchase Protection - 90 day $1,000.
• Travel Accident - $500,000.
• Emergency Medical – 15 days under 65 years of age.
• Trip Cancellation - $1,500 per person, $3,000 maximum.
• Trip Interruption - $1,500 per person, $6,000 maximum.
• Flight Delay & Baggage Delay - $1,000 combined.
• Lost Or Stolen Baggage - $1,000.
• Hotel & Motel Burglary - $1,000.
• Car Rental Theft & Damage (CDW & LDW).

CIBC Aero Classic

With an annual fee of $29, this is the cheapest Aeroplan affiliated credit card in Canada because, unlike Air Miles credit cards, there are no cards currently available with no annual fee. It used to be possible to use the MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard as a spectacular no annual fee Aeroplan credit card by converting starpoints to Aeroplan miles, until Starwood replaced it with the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex. That said, this card has such a low earning rate of 1 mile per $2 spent that it is hardly worthwhile for anyone to have it. With no annual fee, it might be worth a second look but, as is, there are lots of better options available.

Positives:

• Lowest annual fee of all Aeroplan affiliated credit cards.
• Lowest minimum income requirement.
• Free supplementary cards.

Negatives:

• Extremely poor mileage accrual rate.
• Terrible insurance package and perks.

Insurance Package:

• Travel Accident – $100,000.

CIBC Aerogold

The CIBC Aerogold card is one of the most popular and generally well known credit cards in Canada. Its affiliation with Air Canada, its very distinctive design, and CIBC’s endless marketing efforts all attribute to that fact. It is also a decent overall credit card and has historically been the card of choice for Aeroplan collectors, at least until the new Infinite version of the card was recently introduced. The biggest benefit of the card is the 1.5 mile earning rate for money spent at gas, grocery, and drug stores. Many credit cards, like the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard, offer perks for gas and grocery purchases, but the Aerogold is one of the few to offer a bonus for drug store spending. For those who make large prescription purchases, this is definitely a good thing.

Positives:

• Increased earning rate of 1.5 miles / $1 spent on all purchases at gas, grocery, and drug stores.
• Decent travel-related insurance package.

Negatives:

• Extended warranty and purchase protection missing from insurance package.
• $50 annual fee for supplementary cards.

Insurance Package:

• Travel Accident - $500,000.
• Flight Delay & Baggage Delay .
  • $500 living.
  • $100 transportation.
  • $100 entertainment.
  • $1,000 baggage.
• Lost Or Stolen Baggage - $1,000.
• Car Rental Theft & Damage (CDW & LDW).

CIBC Aerogold Infinite

The infinite version of the Aerogold card simply builds on everything that the standard Aerogold has to offer, the best part being that the annual fee remains the same. The only difference is that there is a higher income requirement to obtain this card and, unfortunately, there are also slightly higher fees that the merchants must pay when processing infinite cards, which is what really pays for the added perks. The added travel related insurance perks are what really makes this card shine and, when possible, it should always be chosen over the standard Aerogold.

Positives:

• Increased earning rate of 1.5 miles / $1 spent on all purchases at gas, grocery, and drug stores.
• Excellent travel-related insurance package that includes rare coverage:
  • Emergency Medial
  • Trip Interruption

Negatives:

• Still no extended warranty or purchase protection in the insurance package.
• $50 annual fee for supplementary cards.
• High minimum income requirement.

Insurance Package:

• Travel Accident - $500,000.
• Emergency Medical – 15 days under 65 years of age.
• Trip Interruption - $2,000 per person.
• Flight Delay & Baggage Delay.
  • $500 living.
  • $100 transportation.
  • $100 entertainment.
  • $1,000 baggage.
• Lost Or Stolen Baggage - $1,000.
• Car Rental Theft & Damage (CDW & LDW).

CIBC Aerogold Business

The Aerogold card for business is very similar to the standard Aerogold card except that it is designed around business use. This means that you can have more cardholders associated with the account, the interest rates are a bit lower, and the 1.5 mile bonus earning rate applies to travel related purchases instead of gas, grocery, and drug stores. You don’t necessarily have to have a business to sign up for a business card because you can simply claim that you have a sole proprietorship business that is run under your own name. So, if that describes you, you can do a little bit of research and find out if there is a way for you to legitimately get this card.

Positives:

• Increased earning rate of 1.5 miles / $1 spent on travel related purchases.
• Decent travel-related insurance package.

Negatives:

• $50 annual fee for supplementary cards.
• Extended warranty and purchase protection missing from insurance package.

Insurance Package:

• Travel Accident - $500,000.
• Flight Delay & Baggage Delay.
  • $500 living.
  • $100 transportation.
  • $100 entertainment.
  • $1,000 baggage.
• Lost Or Stolen Baggage - $1,000.
• Car Rental Theft & Damage (CDW & LDW).

Conclusion

The American Express AeroplanPlus Gold card really stands out as the strongest card in this bunch for the average consumer because of its increased earning rate of 1.25 miles per dollar spent, a well-rounded insurance package, and free supplementary cards. The only thing holding it back is that the acceptance of Amex can be so horrible at times that it can be frustrating to try and use an Amex as your primary credit card. To make this problem less painful, a good strategy is to complement it with one of the top no annual fee credit cards that you can find in our Credit Cards section. That way you can get all of the perks of the Amex and earn a lot of Aeroplan miles while not missing out on a good overall return when shopping at stores that don’t accept American Express. In particular, the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard would be an excellent secondary credit card because it gives you cash back as a reward, which can still be easily used for travel, and it gives you a high bonus earning rate at grocery stores, which often don’t accept American Express.