(EXPIRED) Get Aeroplan status (1st tier) w/ points transfer from credit cards

Air Canada’s Aeroplan is offering an interesting opportunity to earn their low tier of elite status by earning 50K miles on their credit cards or transferring from partners like American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, or Marriott or other hotel partners.  If you already have elite status, you can get an upgrade to their next-to-highest tier with a big transfer. Either way, it’s an interesting opportunity to get status without flying, which could be useful for anyone who anticipates a lot of travel on Air Canada this year or next.

The Deal

• Air Canada Aeroplan is offering Altitude Prestige 25K status to members with no current status who register for the promo and earn 50,000 miles from “everyday Travel at Home activities” like earning on your Aeroplan credit card or transferring from partners between April 20 and May 31, 2020
• Existing Altitude members (members with elite status earned separately from this promotion) can earn several tiers of elite qualifying miles and eUpgrade certificates or even a one-time status upgrade to 75K status depending on how many miles they earn from credit cards / transfers
• Direct link to register for this promotion

Key Terms

• Altitude Members who receive Altitude Prestige 25K with this Offer will have to meet the regular published Air Canada Altitude qualifying requirements in order to achieve any higher status. Please refer to this link for published qualifying requirements: https://altitude.aircanada.com/status/overview.
• Aeroplan Member accounts will be updated with Altitude Prestige 25K status by July 31, 2020 and such Altitude Members will be notified by email.
• Aeroplan Members who receive Altitude Prestige 25K with this Offer will still have to earn the published qualifying requirements for Altitude Qualifying Miles (AQM) or Altitude Qualifying Segments, Altitude Qualifying Dollars (AQD) in order to be able to be eligible to share their status with a loved one in 2021.
• This Offer cannot be combined with the Travel at Home & Earn a Higher Altitude Status Offer. For greater clarity, an Eligible Participant who receives Altitude Prestige 25K status through this Offer cannot participate in the Travel at Home & Earn a Higher Altitude Status Offer.
• Anti-gaming: if you acquire an Aeroplan credit card and cancel it before the end of 2020, return any eStore transaction or any other mileage reversal, Air Canada reserves the right to remove any Bonus Altitude Qualifying Miles (AQM) and the Altitude Prestige 25K status you may have earned through this Offer. Similarly, Aeroplan reserves the right to remove any Aeroplan Miles you may have earned through this Offer.
• See promotion landing page for full terms

Quick Thoughts

This promo could be worthwhile if you think you may fly Air Canada a few times either late this year or next year. It could also just be an easy opportunity to pick up elite status that you could try to leverage into a match or challenge with another airline in the future if you’re confident that you’ll use the Aeroplan miles and/or can keep them active so they don’t expire.

Miles for this promotion can come from:

• Aeroplan credit card welcome bonus: The welcome bonus for a new Aeroplan credit card acquired by an Eligible Participant, provided the credit card was acquired during the Offer Period and in conformity with the applicable credit card terms and conditions.
• Aeroplan credit card spend: All Aeroplan spend-based earn shall include only Aeroplan Miles credited to the Eligible Participant’s Aeroplan account during the Offer Period, in-cluding Aeroplan Miles credited on the June 2020 statement. The applicable credit card terms and conditions shall apply
• eStore: Purchases must be made on the eStore during the Offer Period to qualify for the Offer, and in compliance with the eStore terms and conditions.
• All other activity: Unless otherwise stipulated, all Aeroplan Miles credited to the Eligible Participant’s Aeroplan account based on activity during the Offer Period shall qualify for the Offer. [Frequent Miler note: this should include points transferred from partners like Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, or hotel partners)

Since the Aeroplan credit card got discontinued in the US earlier this year, most US-based customers will likely have to rely on the “All other activity” section that should include transfers from partners.

I generally don’t suggest moving a transferable currency like Membership Rewards or Capital One miles to a specific airline partner without an immediate redemption in mind since the points are more valuable when flexible.

That said, I’m actually marginally tempted to take them up on this one. I mentioned on a recent Frequent Miler video or podcast that my wife and I are expecting a second child later this year. Aeroplan is a great option for international premium cabin awards with a lap infant since they charge a set amount ($100 or 10K miles for business class or 12.5K miles or $125 for first class) for a lap infant on an award ticket (whether you book one-way or round trip). Many programs charge 10% of the revenue fare, so Aeroplan can offer a great savings when traveling with a lap infant. I therefore expect that we will likely redeem Aeroplan miles for travel sometime in 2021 or 2022, making me a bit more inclined to consider a speculative transfer. I’m not sure I’ll participate in this promo, but I might.

Current elite members aren’t left out. If you currently have elite status, you can earn the following:

• Earn 15,000 miles (from credit cards / transfers), get 1500 bonus AQMs
• Earn 30,000 miles (from credit cards / transfers), get + 3000 bonus AQMs
• Earn 70,000 miles (from credit cards / transfers), get + 20 eUpgrade certs
• Earn 100,000 miles (from credit cards / transfers), get + $1,000 bonus AQDs
• Earn 250,000 miles (from credit cards / transfers), get a one-time upgrade to Elite 75K

Note that the terms say that you can’t get the above bonuses if your status came from this promotion. In other words, you can’t transfer 50K points to get Prestige 25K status and then transfer another 250K to get Elite 75K status. It’s one promo or the other.

Note that when you get to the promotion landing page, you’ll need to click “register” to expand the section where you enter your Aeroplan number to register (and where you’ll find full details).

H/T: View from the Wing

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