When it comes to picking an airline to fly, many people are creatures of habit. Whether this is because their companies require them to fly with certain airlines or because they’ve gained elite status and enjoy the perks, people often like to stick with one or two airlines for the bulk of their flying whenever they can.
Doing this can be beneficial when it comes to earning and redeeming miles too. Continually booking with the same airlines means you keep building up your balances with those mileage programs. When it comes time to redeem for an award flight, you end up flying with those same airlines or some of their partners. In some cases, the elite benefits you have earned will even carry through to your award tickets.
With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at the Chase Aeroplan® Credit Card and see how it might be a good fit for those who mainly fly with United. If that’s you, you may be surprised how well this card will fit into your credit card portfolio and help you reach your personal travel goals.
Chase Aeroplan Card Details
Let’s take a look at a quick overview of the Aeroplan® Credit Card.
- Welcome offer: 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining, takeout and eligible delivery services, grocery stores and each dollar spent directly with Air Canada including vacations and cruises and 1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
- 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent in a calendar month (up to a maximum of 1,500 points per calendar month)
- First checked bag free on Air Canada flights for the primary cardmember and up to eight other travelers on the same itinerary
- Automatic Aeroplan 25K Elite Status for the remainder of the first calendar year, plus the following calendar year
- Up to $100 Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS credit every four years
- No foreign transaction fees
- World Elite Mastercard travel and insurance benefits
- An annual fee of $95
Read more: Aeroplan® Credit Card Review
Aeroplan® Credit Card vs. United℠ Explorer Card
This article focuses on how the Aeroplan® Credit Card would benefit United flyers, so we’ll compare it with the United℠ Explorer Card, which is also issued by Chase. We chose this card to compare because the annual fee is at the same level. Chase also offers other United card options with higher annual fees that include additional benefits.
United Explorer Card Details
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on dining including eligible delivery services, hotel stays and United® purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases
- 25 Premier qualifying points (PQP) for every $500 in net purchases (including purchases made by authorized users) up to a maximum of 1,000 PQP per year
- First checked bag free on United flights for the primary cardmember and one companion on the same itinerary when tickets are purchased with the United Explorer Card
- Priority boarding for the cardholder and companions on the same reservation
- $100 Global Entry, TSA Precheck or NEXUS credit every four years
- No foreign transaction fees
- Visa Signature travel and insurance benefits
- Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
Read more: United℠ Explorer Card Review
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Where the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Card Excels
As you can see when comparing the notable features of these two cards, there are several areas where the Aeroplan® Credit Card clearly comes in ahead of the United℠ Explorer Card.
An area where the United card comes in ahead is in the annual fee, which is waived for the first year. Once you see these other advantages though, paying that $95 annual fee for the Aeroplan® Credit Card may be worth it.
Welcome Bonus
Although the way they are presented is a bit unconventional, and you have to do a little more planning to maximize the value you get out of them, potential cardholders may appreciate the current welcome offer: 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
Earning Multipliers
The Aeroplan® Credit Card takes the maximum of 2 miles per dollar that you can earn with the United℠ Explorer Card and raises it to 3 points per dollar for both airline specific charges and dining and food delivery services. They then add in 3 points per dollar on grocery purchases so almost all of what you eat, a major spending category for most, is getting a multiplier.
Spend Bonuses
With a spending bonus of 500 bonus points for every $2,000 spent in a calendar month, up to a maximum of 1,500 bonus points per calendar month, Aeroplan is definitely winning this round.
In this category, the United card only offers a maximum of 1,000 bonus points per year, and they are awarded at a rate of 25 per $500 of spend. These points are also Premier Qualifying Points (PQP), so they will help with status requalification, but you can’t use them to book travel.
Elite Status
You may be wondering why we didn’t count the 1,000 bonus PQP with the United card as an advantage. That’s because you have to spend a total of $24,000 to get just 20% towards your first level of elite status.
The Aeroplan® Credit Card gives all new cardmembers automatic Aeroplan 25K Elite Status for the remainder of the first calendar year, plus the following calendar year. After that, you can requalify for that level of status by spending $15,000 per year.
Checked Bags
The number of checked bags allowed is also a clear victory for the Aeroplan® Credit Card, assuming you are indifferent to which airline you get a free checked bag with. The Aeroplan card grants a free first checked bag for the cardmember and up to eight companions traveling on the same Air Canada itinerary. This compares to a free checked bag for the cardmember and only one companion with the United Explorer Card when flying United.
Travel Credits
Both cards offer up to a $100 credit every four years for application fees for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS that are charged to your card.
Why It Might Make Sense To Pair the Aeroplan Card and the United Explorer Card
Up to this point, we’ve seen why the Aeroplan® Credit Card is a solid offering and why it could be better for Air Canada flyers than the United℠ Explorer Card would be for United Flyers. But now let’s consider why this card may be a great one for United flyers to add to their wallets too.
For this, it all comes down to increasing your options. Yes, you may already have a stockpile of United miles and you’re comfortable booking award flights on United and its Star Alliance partners. But booking with United miles isn’t always the best option.
Award Charts
Back in 2019, United did away with its published award charts. It said this was so it could make award pricing more flexible by raising or lowering rates as the market changes. What it effectively did was make it nearly impossible to plan for an award trip and know ahead of time how many miles you will need to redeem for your flights.
Air Canada still publishes award charts for the Aeroplan program. If you take a look, you will see that the award prices for flights on Air Canada have ranges for redemption, but for the flights with partners, there are fixed numbers. This allows members to plan for redemptions and know what they need to earn.
Flexibility
Having the option to mix United and Aeroplan awards opens up a lot of travel options when booking your trips. If United comes back with a lower award price, you can use those miles to book your flight out. If, however, United comes back with an exorbitant price for your return flights, you still have the option to book with a fixed cost with your Aeroplan points.
When searching for award flights with these two programs, you won’t see one that is always better in price than the other. By having the ability to book with either program’s miles or points though, you will always be able to get the better award price for your flights.
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Bottom Line
It’s easy to see that the Aeroplan® Credit Card would be significantly more valuable to Air Canada flyers than the United℠ Explorer Card would be to United flyers. The benefits are quantitatively better in many areas. Not only that, but the Aeroplan Card can also be a great addition for United flyers looking to up their travel game.
By pairing the Aeroplan® Credit Card with the miles and elite status you’ve earned with United, you are able to increase your options and benefits for Star Alliance award flights fairly easily. You can earn points at a faster rate with your Aeroplan Card on important categories like dining and groceries. Then when it comes time to redeem, you can take advantage of fixed award charts that let you plan ahead for where you want to go.
As a United flyer, you certainly don’t want to ignore the variety of United credit cards that are offered by Chase. But if you are looking to expand your Star Alliance reach and want a card with solid benefits that will help you do just that, the Aeroplan® Credit Card may be the next card you need to add to your wallet.
