Chase Aeroplan Card Adds 15% Award Discount — Including Some Partner Flights
Chase Aeroplan cardholders can now save 15% on eligible Aeroplan award flights — and partner flights can qualify when the itinerary includes an Air Canada-operated segment.
The refreshed Chase Air Canada Aeroplan® Credit Card just picked up a genuinely useful new benefit: cardholders can now receive a 15% discount on eligible Aeroplan award flights.
And unlike some airline credit-card award discounts, this one isn't necessarily limited to itineraries flown entirely by Air Canada.
As long as an eligible itinerary includes at least one Air Canada-operated segment, other segments can be operated by Aeroplan partner airlines.
That makes this new benefit considerably more interesting for travelers who use Aeroplan for Star Alliance and other partner awards.
How the New 15% Aeroplan Award Discount Works
Primary cardholders of the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Credit Card receive a 15% reduction in the number of Aeroplan points required for eligible flight rewards.
The discount is automatic when booking an eligible award through Aeroplan.
The important rule is:
The itinerary must include at least one Air Canada-operated flight.
That means an itinerary combining Air Canada with another Aeroplan partner can potentially receive the discount.
For example:
| Normal Award Price | 15% Discount | Cardholder Price |
|---|---|---|
| 25,000 points | 3,750 points | 21,250 points |
| 50,000 points | 7,500 points | 42,500 points |
| 75,000 points | 11,250 points | 63,750 points |
| 100,000 points | 15,000 points | 85,000 points |
| 150,000 points | 22,500 points | 127,500 points |
On an expensive premium-cabin redemption, the savings can become substantial very quickly.
A 100,000-point award, for example, drops to 85,000 Aeroplan points.
Partner Flights Can Still Qualify
This is probably the most interesting part of the new benefit.
Aeroplan has an enormous network of airline partners. If your itinerary contains an eligible Air Canada-operated segment plus a connecting segment on an Aeroplan partner, the itinerary may still qualify for the 15% reduction.
For example, an itinerary could theoretically look something like:
Las Vegas → Vancouver on Air Canada → Frankfurt on Lufthansa
Because the itinerary includes an Air Canada-operated segment, it can potentially qualify even though Lufthansa operates the long-haul segment.
That's considerably more flexible than airline-card discounts that require the entire award to be operated by the card's associated airline.
There's an Important Catch
This does not mean simply holding the Chase Aeroplan card gives you 15% off every Aeroplan partner award.
If you book a partner itinerary containing no Air Canada-operated segment, you should not expect the cardholder discount to apply.
That's an important distinction, particularly because some of Aeroplan's most attractive redemptions involve partner airlines exclusively.
This Could Be Particularly Valuable for Premium-Cabin Awards
Saving 15% is nice on a 12,500-point economy ticket.
It's much more noticeable on a 100,000- or 150,000-point business- or first-class redemption.
Consider a hypothetical award costing 150,000 points.
Without the card:
150,000 Aeroplan points
With the 15% cardholder discount:
127,500 Aeroplan points
Savings:
22,500 Aeroplan points
That's enough points to have meaningful value toward another trip.
For travelers who routinely redeem Aeroplan points for business or first class, the discount could offset a substantial portion of the card's annual fee over time.
The Aeroplan Card Has Also Been Significantly Refreshed
The award discount isn't arriving by itself.
Chase and Air Canada introduced a much broader refresh of the U.S. Aeroplan card on September 10, 2026.
Among the major changes:
- Automatic Aeroplan 25K status without a spending requirement
- 15% off eligible Air Canada Aeroplan award redemptions
- Up to $100 per year in Air Canada statement credits
- 3X Aeroplan points on travel
- 2X points on gas, dining and grocery purchases
- Up to 5X total Aeroplan points on eligible Air Canada purchases when combining card earnings with the additional earning available to Aeroplan 25K members
- A new fourth-day-free rental-car benefit on qualifying Aeroplan car redemptions
There's also one very significant negative change.
The Annual Fee Is Increasing to $195
The card's annual fee is increasing from $95 to $195.
That's a $100 increase, so the new benefits aren't exactly free.
Chase is attempting to offset that increase with up to $100 in annual Air Canada statement credits.
Beginning in 2027, the credit is structured as up to:
- $50 from January through June
- $50 from July through December
Travelers who can naturally use both credits could effectively offset the $100 annual-fee increase.
Someone who rarely purchases tickets or other qualifying expenses directly from Air Canada should value those credits much more conservatively.
Automatic Aeroplan 25K Status Changes the Equation
Another major improvement is automatic Aeroplan 25K elite status.
Under the previous version of the card, cardholders could receive temporary 25K status but generally needed significant card spending to maintain it.
Under the refreshed card, primary cardholders receive Aeroplan 25K status automatically.
That brings Air Canada travel benefits including priority services and gives frequent Air Canada travelers another reason to consider the card despite the higher annual fee.
For someone who actually flies Air Canada, this may ultimately be more valuable than the award discount itself.
How This Compares With Delta TakeOff 15
There's an obvious comparison with Delta's TakeOff 15 benefit.
Eligible Delta credit-card holders receive at least a 15% discount on qualifying Delta award tickets.
The Aeroplan implementation has one major advantage:
An eligible Aeroplan itinerary can contain partner-operated flights.
You just need at least one qualifying Air Canada-operated segment.
That opens some interesting possibilities given Aeroplan's extensive partner network.
A Useful Trick When Searching Aeroplan Awards
The new benefit creates another variable worth checking when constructing complicated Aeroplan itineraries.
Suppose you find a partner award that does not qualify for the discount because no Air Canada flight is included.
It may be worth comparing that itinerary with an alternative routing containing an Air Canada positioning or connecting segment.
Don't add an unnecessary flight merely to save points — that's usually a bad trade.
But when two reasonable routings already exist, an Air Canada segment could potentially tip the economics in favor of one itinerary.
This will be particularly worth checking on expensive premium-cabin awards.
Aeroplan Remains One of the More Useful Transferable-Points Programs
Another reason this benefit matters is how easily U.S. travelers can accumulate Aeroplan points.
Aeroplan is a transfer partner of major transferable-points currencies, including Chase Ultimate Rewards.
That means you don't necessarily need to put huge amounts of spending on the Aeroplan card itself.
You can earn transferable Chase points on cards that are better suited to everyday spending and transfer them to Aeroplan when you find an award.
As always, avoid transferring flexible points speculatively unless you have a specific redemption in mind. Transfers generally can't be reversed once completed.
Trash Panda Take
The 15% Aeroplan award discount is legitimately useful, particularly because partner-operated segments can remain eligible when the itinerary includes an Air Canada flight.
That's far better than restricting the benefit exclusively to Air Canada-only itineraries.
But there's a giant asterisk attached to the good news:
The annual fee is now $195 instead of $95.
Whether this refresh is an improvement therefore depends heavily on how you use the card.
If you:
- fly Air Canada regularly,
- can use the $100 annual Air Canada credits,
- value automatic Aeroplan 25K status, and
- routinely redeem Aeroplan points,
the refreshed card could easily justify its higher price.
If your primary interest in Aeroplan is booking partner awards that don't involve Air Canada, the calculation is very different.
The 15% discount won't suddenly make the Aeroplan card a must-have for everyone.
But for people already making Air Canada part of their award strategy, knocking 15% off expensive Aeroplan redemptions is a very real benefit — and one that gets more valuable as the price of the award climbs.
Sources
This article was based on the September 10, 2026 Chase/Air Canada card refresh and reporting from Upgraded Points and other industry sources. Credit-card benefits and Aeroplan redemption rules can change. Verify current terms with Chase and Air Canada before applying or transferring points.
