Post number four covering the new suite of Aeroplan co-brand payment cards takes us to the new American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card
Recommended reading:
- The New Air Canada Aeroplan Program All the resources you need
- The new Air Canada Aeroplan program revealed – it all goes live on November 8!
- A closer look at the new Air Canada Aeroplan credit cards
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of the new Air Canada Aeroplan program
- A reminder to get on the waitlist for the new American Express® Aeroplan®* Cards to score extra Aeroplan points
The Welcome Bonus
This card has the highest bonus of all the consumer Aeroplan cards
limited time offers revealed today. There are up to three parts to it: bonus points, a statement credit and the wait list bonus. Or you can choose. That big bonus is 65,000 points which is further boosted to 75,000 if you happened to join the wait list:
- Welcome
bonus of up to 65,000 points – broken down as 35,000 points when you
spend $3,000 on the card in the first three months and then 5,000 bonus
points per month with $1,000 spend monthly for the first six months. - $100 statement credit with $3,000 in spend within the first three months
- Those who joined the wait list are eligible to earn an extra 10,000 bonus Aeroplan points upon approval, for a total of up to 75,000 points
- Prospects who prefer a welcome offer where they can earn an Air Canada bonus Buddy Pass + up to 40,000 Welcome Bonus points + a $100 statement credit, can call 1-800-567-2639 to learn more or apply via phone.
At 75,000 Aeroplan points this is one of the largest Aeroplan credit card welcome bonuses ever seen in Canada! Previously the ultra premium offering from Amex was the AeroplanPlus Reserve card and that card saw welcome bonuses in the 60,000 range along with an $899 fee. Now you have this bonus that is higher and an annual fee $300 less than the old version of the card.Those 75,000 points are worth no less than $900 in our valuation of Aeroplan points but then you add in the $100 statement credit subtract the annual fee and you have a $401 value – at a minimum in your first year. That doesn’t even take into account the additional benefits the card provides.
If you choose to go the buddy pass route you can pull some real out-sized value if you know you can travel with someone else within a year of receiving it. As we’ve already covered the Buddy Pass option on three of the other cards that came out today I won’t rehash it here. If you want to learn more about the buddy you can read about in this post.
Welcome package
We were lucky enough to get a sample welcome package for the new American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card from American Express – here’s what you can expect to get from them if you go with this card:
Basics of the new card
The card is made from precision-cut and engraved 13 g metal and will offer the following:
- 3X the points on eligible Air Canada® and Air Canada Vacations® purchases
- 2X the points on eligible dining and food delivery in Canada
- 1X the points on everything else
- In addition to the above-mentioned accelerators, for the first year,
existing American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum and Reserve Cardmembers
will receive an exclusive offer as a thank you for their continued
Cardmembership: - 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan points for every $1,000 in purchases, up to 10,000 points
- 2X the points on eligible grocery purchases, up to $5,000
- $100 credit towards the annual fee for the Card
- Air Canada Travel Benefits: including Free First Checked Bag, Maple Leaf LoungeTM* Access and Air Canada Café access within North America,
Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, Priority Airport Services, Status
Qualification Boost and Preferred Pricing on flight rewards - Air Canada Elite Member Benefits: including Rollover Status Qualifying Miles, Rollover eUpgrade Credits and Priority Airport Upgrades
- Toronto Pearson International Airport Benefits: an elevated airport experience with a range of benefits
- Access to American Express Entertainment & Experiences: Access to presale and reserved tickets through Front of the Line®, insider access to events through Amex® Experiences, and tailored perks and discounts through Amex Offers*
- Insurance Benefits: An array of insurances that can provide coverage on eligible travel or shopping close to home
- $599
Annual fee and two options for additional cards $199 annual fee card
with full benefits or $0 annual fee card to earn points only
Final thoughts
This is what a traditional welcome bonus should look like as I was alluding to in some of our other posts. 65,000 to 75,000 Aeroplan Points is great bonus and yes you do have that $599 annual fee but you also get a statement credit. I also like how Amex is giving you the option to go the buddy pass route as well. This is something all the cards should have done! Right now this is the only card that takes into account the solo traveller as you don’t have to get the buddy pass but even with that said 75,000 points can be potentially used for multiple tickets as well so you are kind of covering both grounds here. I mean 75,000 points can potentially get you three round trips tickets from Vancouver to Hawaii – that’s more than the two tickets with the buddy pass. However Toronto to Hawaii is a different story and that’s where the buddy pass may be better for you.