American Express is known for consistently offering some of Canada’s best credit card welcome bonuses. Whenever an elevated offer comes around, it’s important to consider if it can help you reach your travel goals very quickly.
Echoing the thrilling all-time-high bonuses we saw in the summer of 2021, you have until July 24, 2023 to snag the new generous offers on the Aeroplan Reserve Card and the Aeroplan Business Reserve Card, worth up to 115,000 and 120,000 Aeroplan points, respectively.
While the offers aren’t the highest we’ve ever seen, they’re nevertheless a very strong welcome package for anyone who’s considering these cards now. This is especially the case for anyone who values Aeroplan points to help drive their aspirational travel goals.
Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card: Up to 115,000 Aeroplan Points!
The American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card, Amex’s flagship premium Aeroplan co-branded card, has a current welcome bonus of up to 115,000 Aeroplan points.
The points are distributed as follows:
- 45,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $6,000 in the first three months
- 7,500 Aeroplan points for each of the first six months in which you spend $2,000, for a total of 45,000 Aeroplan points
- 25,000 Aeroplan points upon making a purchase between months 14 and 17
It’s worth noting that this is amongst the best offers we’ve seen for this card, which equals the current all-time-high welcome bonus on its premium TD counterpart.
One caveat is that you’ll have to do a fair bit of legwork to unlock the full welcome bonus this time around.
In the first year, you’ll want to make sure you spend at least $2,000 each month for the first six months, which would give you both the initial bonus of 45,000 points upon spending $6,000 in the first three months, as well as the 7,500 points each month for the first six months, for an extra 45,000 points.
Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay the annual fee for the second year to get the extra 25,000 points by making a purchase in months 14–17. We value Aeroplan points at 2.1 cents per point, which means that the 25,000 points in the second year can be worth at least $525, which happens to be a bit less than the card’s annual fee of $599.
However, you can certainly get more value per point by redeeming them for a high-value business class or First Class redemption. Whether or not it’s worth it to you will also depend on if you can leverage the card’s many other perks in your favour, such as the rollover benefits and the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass.
The card has an annual fee of $599, which is a steep but worthwhile expense for the privilege of earning 115,000 Aeroplan points.
At our current valuation of 2.1 cents per point, you can expect to get out around four times the value you put in, while possibly stretching that number further with an inspired redemption or two. To put this into perspective, 115,000 points is enough for a round-trip flight in business class with ANA between Vancouver and Tokyo – a flight that routinely costs upwards of $6,000.
As always, with a premium Aeroplan credit card, you’ll get priority airport services, a 1.25x earning rate on daily spending, preferred pricing discounts on Aeroplan redemptions, and likely some compelling Amex Offers throughout the year to further offset against your annual fee.
American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
- Earn 45,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $6,000 in the first three months
- Plus, earn a further 45,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $2,000 in each of the first six months
- Plus, earn 25,000 Aeroplan points upon making a purchase in months 14–17
- Always earn 3x Aeroplan points on Air Canada purchases
- Aeroplan preferred pricing, free checked bag, priority check-in and boarding on Air Canada flights
- Unlimited Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access
- Bonus Aeroplan points for referring family and friends
- Annual fee: $599
Amex Aeroplan Business Reserve Card: Up to 120,000 Aeroplan Points!
The American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card is offering a higher number of points than its personal counterpart, albeit with higher spending requirements. When you apply for the card, you’ll earn:
- 50,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $9,000 in the first three months
- 7,500 Aeroplan points for each of the first six months in which you spend $3,000, for a total of 45,000 Aeroplan points
- 25,000 Aeroplan points upon making a purchase between months 14 and 17
As we saw with the personal card, there is a pretty substantial spending requirement to unlock the full welcome bonus this time around. You’ll need to spend at least $3,000 in each of the first six months to earn 95,000 Aeroplan points, and then make a purchase in months 14–17 as a cardholder to fully maximize the offer.
However, there are clearly a lot of points on offer here, so if you can keep track of your spending and meet the monthly thresholds, it’s definitely worth your while to take advantage of this offer.
The card comes with many of the same benefits and features as the Amex Reserve card, including the ability to earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) and 1 Status Qualifying Segment (SQS) per $5,000 spent on the card. If you tend to have a high volume of spending, you can easily fast-track your way to meeting some of the requirements for Aeroplan Elite status, and then you can plan out your paid flights to satisfy the Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD) requirement in a more predictable manner.
American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card
- Earn 50,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $9,000 in the first three months
- Plus, earn a further 7,500 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 in each of the first six months, up to 45,000 Aeroplan points
- Plus, earn a further 25,000 Aeroplan points upon making a purchase in months 14–17
- Also, earn 3x Aeroplan points on Air Canada purchases
- Aeroplan preferred pricing, free checked bag, priority check-in and boarding on Air Canada flights
- Unlimited Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge access
- Bonus Aeroplan points for referring family and friends
- Qualify for the card as a sole proprietor
- Annual fee: $599
]
Amex Aeroplan Card: Up to 55,000 Aeroplan Points!
While the premium Aeroplan cards naturally have the highest bonuses, the Amex Aeroplan Card shouldn’t be overlooked either. As a reminder, the card is offering up to 55,000 Aeroplan points for new applicants, which is a great way to pad your Aeroplan balance.
The offer on the Amex Aeroplan Card is in the same format as the bonuses on the higher-end Reserve cards, just with lower totals across the board. When you apply via a refer-a-friend link, you’ll earn:
- 40,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 in the first six months
- 2,500 Aeroplan points for each of the first six months in which you spend $500, for a total of 15,000 Aeroplan points
Like before, you can hit multiple components of the offer with the same spending. In this case, the optimal strategy is to aim for $500 in each of the first six months, which would help you complete both the first and second components.
The real appeal of the Amex Aeroplan Card is the lower annual fee of $120, making this offer a fantastic choice for anyone whose credit card strategy revolves around keeping annual fees low and manageable. At an effective “cost” of 0.22 cents per point, the value proposition here is very strong indeed.
Furthermore, the Amex Aeroplan Card is a charge card, not a credit card. Unlike the Reserve and Business Reserve, which are credit cards, it doesn’t impact Amex’s limit of holding four credit cards per person at a time. If you’re already tight against the cap, the core Aeroplan Card might be a great way to pad your Aeroplan balance without going over your limit.
There’s no listed expiry date for this offer, so be sure to take advantage of it sooner than later before it disappears.
American Express Aeroplan Card
- Earn 40,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $3,000 in the first six months
- Plus, earn a further 2,500 Aeroplan points upon spending $500 in each of the first six months
- Always earn 2x Aeroplan points on Air Canada purchases
- Aeroplan preferred pricing, free checked bag on Air Canada flights
- Bonus Aeroplan points for referring family and friends
- Annual fee: $120
Conclusion
American Express has released great welcome offers on the Aeroplan co-branded credit cards for Summer 2023. You can earn up to 120,000 Aeroplan points with the offers, which is an outstanding way to pad your balance in a relatively short amount of time.
On both of the Aeroplan Reserve Card and the Aeroplan Business Reserve Card, the bonuses come with a fairly hefty spending requirement that’s sustained over the course of six months. While this may be a bit of a hurdle for some, if you can manage to divvy up the spending evenly across six months, and then consider if the second year’s annual fee is worth it or not, you stand to quickly gain a significant amount of points.
On the other hand, the Amex Aeroplan Card has a smaller welcome bonus, but it’s paired with a lower spending requirement and a solid welcome bonus. There isn’t a listed end date for the offer, so apply sooner rather than later if it fits in with your overall strategy.
The offers on the Reserve cards expire on July 24, 2023, so be sure to take advantage before then!
