Air Canada’s $195 Card Offers A 20-Night Hyatt Globalist Shortcut And Increase Value Of Your Points—Even If You Earn Elsewhere

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Be aware that websites may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Capital One, and others. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all offers that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.In their latest Frequent Miler on the Air, Greg and Nick weren’t keen on Chase’s refreshed Aeroplan card. The annual fee has gone up, some of the useful earning goes away, and other cards can earn points for Aeroplan awards faster. I think the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan® Credit Card (See rates and fees) deserves a different look. For many readers, the best use will be getting its benefits while putting most spending on another card. The award discount and access to a Hyatt Globalist challenge can justify the $195 annual fee, though, without making this your everyday card. One Air Canada Flight Can Discount A Partner Award The card gives you 15% off the points required for eligible awards. And, as I explained in my original post on the Aeroplan card refresh, a single Air Canada flight makes a one-way itinerary eligible, even when the rest of the trip is on partners. (Air Canada confirmed this during the Chase media on the card.) That means a short Air Canada flight connecting to a long partner flight can get the discount on the eligible one-way’s entire points cost. An itinerary consisting entirely of partner flights doesn’t qualify. And an Air Canada segment on the outbound doesn’t make a partners-only return eligible. You don’t have to earn the points with this card. Transfer points from another bank, redeem an existing Aeroplan balance, or use points earned from flying. The discount comes from holding the card and having it linked to your Aeroplan account. Frequent Miler has since reported that members of Aeroplan family pools are seeing the discount even when they don’t have their own card. Suppose four eligible awards would cost 80,000 points apiece. A 15% discount takes the total from 320,000 to 272,000 points. That’s 48,000 points saved on one trip (say, roundtrip for two passengers or one-way for four). At 1.5 cents per point you’d be getting $720 in value against the card’s $195 annual fee. There are also two $50 Air Canada statement credits each year, one for January through June and one for July through December. If both replace eligible purchases you’d make anyway (such as award taxes or fees), they offset $100 of the annual fee. The Card Gets You Into Hyatt’s Globalist Challenge The refreshed card provides ongoing Aeroplan 25K status without an annual spending requirement. That status comes with Air Canada benefits, but for some readers its most valuable use will be at Hyatt. I covered the Air Canada route to Hyatt Globalist in July. Aeroplan 25K members qualify for a challenge that lets them earn Globalist with 20 qualifying nights in 90 days, instead of the usual 60 nights in a year. The card refresh eliminates the $15,000 annual spending requirement that would eventually have applied to keeping its 25K status. Under Hyatt’s current offer: Wait for your Aeroplan 25K status to appear, then link your Aeroplan and World of Hyatt accounts. Register for the challenge by December 31, 2026. Your 90-day clock starts when you register, so time it around stays you can actually complete. Complete 20 qualifying nights, with checkout inside the challenge window. Credit card elite night credits and extra promotional night credits don’t count. Globalist earned from a 2026 registration lasts through February 2028. You receive trial Explorist status during the challenge. Globalist requires completing the nights. And earning status from a challenge doesn’t generate the Milestone Rewards associated with staying 60 nights, such as the Category 1–7 free night certificate. I’d Earn Most Of The Points Elsewhere Frequent Miler’s criticism of the reduced earning is fair although I think 3x on all travel can be useful, especially for short-term rentals like Airbnb and for cruises. Grocery and dining earning drops to 2 points per dollar in January, the monthly spending bonus disappears, and the cardholder bonus on Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers ends. (New applicants still get 3 points per dollar on groceries and dining through December 31, 2026.) And the initial bonus offer is strong at 75,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases within three months, plus another 40,000 after reaching $20,000 in purchases within 12 months. Spending Can Make Sense When It Buys Status The big exception to using a different card for unbonused spend is someone pursuing higher Aeroplan tier status. The card provides Status Qualifying Credits which also earn Milestone Benefits: Calendar-Year Card Spending Total SQC From The Card No spending required 5,000 $25,000 15,000 $50,000 25,000 Those totals include the 5,000 SQC you receive for holding the card. The spending earns another 10,000 at each threshold. At $50,000 in spending, the card alone gets you past the 20,000 status credit milestone, where you can choose a Priority Reward for 50% off an eligible award’s points fare. Combined with your flying, those credits can help you reach additional Milestones and higher status. Higher status also makes the Priority Rewards you select more useful. Under Aeroplan’s Priority Reward rules, eligibility depends on your status when you select the benefit: Status When Selected Where And How You Can Fly 25K Canada and the U.S., including Hawaii, in economy 35K or 50K North America, up to premium economy 75K Worldwide, up to premium economy Super Elite Worldwide, up to business class That’s why spending to help reach Super Elite can be worth much more than spending simply to collect another voucher at 25K. You’re getting access to half-price international business class awards. One voucher covers one passenger, whether the award is one-way or roundtrip. The 15% card discount also stacks with a Priority Reward when the itinerary qualifies for both. An eligible award priced at 100,000 points before either discount would fall to 85,000 points, then 42,500 points. That’s a 57.5% reduction in the points fare. Taxes and fees don’t change. There’s an opportunity cost of rewards earned on a different card for that spend, but reaching status and milestone levels with this card can definitely be worth it. Topics on this page Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.