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Chase recently rolled out a new benefit available to all Aeroplan® Credit Card cardholders. Launched in mid-January 2023, Aeroplan Card cardholders can now “pay themselves back” using Aeroplan points they've earned while using their card.
In many ways, the Aeroplan Card Pay Yourself Back benefit is better than those found on Sapphire and Ink cards. But does it makes sense to use Aeroplan points to cover transactions?
Here is what cardholders need to know about this new benefit.
What Is The Chase Aeroplan Card?
Air Canada offers Canadian residents multiple co-branded credit cards, including cards issued by TD Bank and American Express. However, U.S. residents have access to just one Air Canada credit card. That card is the Aeroplan Card.
The Aeroplan Card offers pretty solid value to Air Canada frequent flyers and those loyal to airlines in the Star Alliance. Aeroplan points can be redeemed for travel on partners that include United Airlines, Lufthansa, and ANA.
With a $95 annual fee, the card also comes with a few travel-friendly benefits. These benefits include a free checked bag, $100 Global Entry/TSAPreCheck statement credit every four years, and access to preferred pricing when redeeming points for award travel.
The Aeroplan Card also comes with a pretty hefty welcome bonus. New cardholders will earn up to 100,000 bonus points: – 75,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open, plus 25,000 points after you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months.
And those points can be used for even more redemptions now that Chase and Air Canada let cardholders “pay themselves back” with the Aeroplan points they've earned with their card.
Pay Yourself Back with the Aeroplan® Credit Card
In the case of the Aeroplan Card, each Aeroplan point will provide 1.25 cents in value when redeemed for eligible travel purchases. So, if you wanted to use your Aeroplan points to cover a $100 rental car, you'd need 8,000 points.
There is no limit to the number of points that can be used to cover transactions through December 31, 2023. However, starting in 2024, cardholders will only be able to redeem 50,000 Aeroplan points to cover transactions.
Does It Make Sense to Pay Yourself Back Using Aeroplan Points?
Whether or not it makes sense to cover charges with Aeroplan points depends on the valuation of Aeroplan points for other redemptions like award travel. In recent redemptions, AwardWallet users have averaged 1.91¢ per Aeroplan point. That's much more than if you were to take advantage of the Pay Yourself Back Benefit.
If you had earned 120,000 points with your Aeroplan Card, you could redeem those points for a round-trip business class award between New York City and London.
Over the next few months, you can find a round-trip business class ticket for around $3,400 on that route. This means that you'd be getting 2.83 cents per point when you use Aeroplan points for that same route.
That's a particularly lucrative example of getting solid value from Aeroplan points. Nevertheless, there are plenty of award redemptions that yield more value than 1.25 cents per point.
Comparatively, 120,000 Aeroplan points would cover $1,500 in transactions through Pay Yourself Back. It's not the worst redemption rate, but there are better ways to redeem Aeroplan points.
Related: The Sweetspots of the Air Canada Aeroplan Program
The Bottom Line
There's a new benefit available to Chase Aeroplan Card cardholders.
Cardholders can now “pay themselves back” with the points they've earned with their card. The Pay Yourself Back benefit allows cardholders to use points to cover transactions they've made with their Aeroplan Card.
Each point will cover 1.25 cents. This means that a $100 transaction can be offset with 8,000 Aeroplan points. While not the worst pay with points benefit, there are usually better ways to get maximum value from your Aeroplan points.
However, it is worth noting that there is no limit to the number of points you can redeem to cover transactions through December 31, 2023.
Will you be taking advantage of this new benefit? Have you ever used points or miles to cover credit card transactions?
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