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Great news, U.S. travelers! If you hold elite status with one or more U.S. frequent-flyer programs, Air Canada is offering an incredible, limited-time offer to match that status to its Aeroplan program.
Air Canada has partnered with Destination Canada — an official government organization that promotes tourism — to offer this status match to a limited number of U.S. elites at no cost. Successful applicants will receive free Aeroplan elite status through the end of 2021. And you have the option to extend that status through 2022 by flying just one round-trip Air Canada flight.
This deal is likely to be claimed quickly. So, check out the details and apply for your free status match before it's too late!
How the Status Match Promotion Works
Aeroplan's status match promotion is available to U.S. residents who hold elite status with an eligible U.S.-based frequent-flyer program. This offer will end on December 31, 2021 or whenever the limited number of complimentary status matches have been claimed—whichever occurs first. We think it's very likely that the promotion's “Status Match cap” will be reached well before the official end date. So, don't wait to apply!
If you qualify based on the status match table below, you can apply here for a complimentary status match. Once your application is approved, you'll receive matched status at no cost until December 31, 2021.
To extend your status through the end of December 2022, you just need to book and fly one round-trip itinerary operated by Air Canada before midnight on January 15, 2022.
Key Details on Getting Complimentary Aeroplan Status Through 2021
- Eligible flyers must request a status match by December 31, 2021.
- After requesting your status match, you will be informed of the decision by email within three (3) days. You can check your application in real time with Status Match Tracker.
- Successful applicants will see their new Aeroplan status reflected in their account within five (5) business days. Once that happens, you'll have access to your Aeroplan tier benefits.
- Your Aeroplan status will expire on December 31, 2021 unless you meet the requirements to have your status extended.
How to Keep Aeroplan Status Through 2022
- To keep your status through December 31, 2022, you must book and fly one (1) round-trip itinerary operated by Air Canada before midnight on January 15, 2022.
- You must complete all flights in the itinerary by the above deadline. Aeroplan will not extend your status if part of your itinerary is completed after January 15.
- If you don't qualify to extend your status by December 31, you will not have Aeroplan elite status for the period from January 1-15. However, Aeroplan will add your elite status back as soon as your qualifying flight is processed.
- Aeroplan will extend your elite status until the end of 2022 within five (5) days of completing your round-trip flight with Air Canada.
Important Fine Print
- Only flights paid for with cash (not points) are eligible to extend your status
- This promotion is only open to current U.S. residents; U.S. citizens living abroad are not eligible.
- This promotion has limited availability and can be ended at any time.
- If your status match is successful, you will not be eligible to apply for a future status-match offer from Aeroplan for at least two years.
Which Aeroplan Elite Status Will I Receive?
If you have elite status with Alaska MileagePlan, American AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles, HawaiianMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, or Southwest Rapid Rewards, you can now match that status with an Air Canada Aeroplan Elite Status. Depending on which status you're matching from, you will get one of Aeroplan's five elite status levels. Aeroplan's top-tier Super Elite is only available to invitation-only levels of Delta and American.
Aeroplan Elite 25K
- AAdvantage Gold
- SkyMiles Silver Medallion
- Mileage Plan MVP
- True Blue Mosaic
- Rapid Rewards A-List
- Hawaiian Gold or Platinum
Aeroplan Elite 35K
- AAdvantage Platinum
- SkyMiles Gold Medallion
- Mileage Plan MVP Gold
- Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred
Aeroplan Elite 50K
- AAdvantage Platinum Pro
- SkyMiles Platinum Medallion
- Rapid Rewards Companion Pass
- Mileage Plan MVP 75K
Aeroplan Elite 75K
- AAdvantage Executive Platinum
- SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
Aeroplan Super Elite
- AAdvantage Concierge Key
- SkyMiles 360°
You'll notice that United Premier elite members don't have the opportunity to match to Aeroplan elite status through this promotion. That's because both airlines are Star Alliance members. And airlines in the same alliance generally avoid trying to poach elite members from their partners.
Aeroplan Elite Status Benefits
Aeroplan elite status comes with some valuable benefits that can save you money and make your travels more comfortable. That's true when flying on Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners.
Here are some of the benefits of Aeroplan elite status when flying on Air Canada:
Aeroplan Elite 25K benefits:
- Priority seat selection
- Priority check-in, standby, and boarding
- 2 complimentary 23kg (50lbs) check-in bags
- Complimentary sports equipment handling (great for skiers)
- 2 Maple Leaf lounge guest passes
Aeroplan Elite 35K benefits:
- Priority security clearance
- 3 complimentary 32kg (70lbs) check-in bags
- Complimentary access to select Maple Leaf lounges
Aeroplan Elite 50K benefits:
- Complimentary preferred seats within North America
- Priority baggage handling
- Complimentary access to all Maple Leaf lounges and Star Alliance Gold Lounges
- Access to the Air Canada Cafe
Aeroplan Elite 75K benefits:
- Guaranteed reservations in economy class
- Complimentary preferred seats on all flights
- Aeroplan 35K Elite Status for a friend
- 12-month Aeroplan WiFi Plan
Aeroplan Super Elite benefits:
- Air Canada concierge service
- Access to Heathrow Arrivals Lounge
- Aeroplan 50K Elite Status for a friend
- Complimentary changes and cancellations with Aeroplan flight rewards
- Complimentary in-flight refreshment
Your Aeroplan status also grants you Star Alliance Gold or Silver status. This status confers additional benefits when flying with a Star Alliance airline — such as United.
Aeroplan Elite 50K status and higher will equate to Star Alliance Gold status. Elite 25K and 35K statuses will give you Star Alliance Silver status. See the full list of tier benefits on the Air Canada website.
Our Take
Now that the borders between the U.S. and Canada are open for vaccinated travelers, it's great to see Destination Canada teaming up with Air Canada to provide this free status match. While it's common for airlines to try to steal their competitors' most valuable customers by offering an elite status match, this promotion stands out for being unusually generous.
These offers can require applicants to pay a non-refundable fee to apply for a status match. And offers usually require significantly more paid travel if you want to extend your matched status for the following year.
Meanwhile, this Aeroplan status match is free and requires just one round-trip on Air Canada to extend your status through 2022. If you qualify and want to take advantage, we recommend applying as soon as possible. We don't know the exact number of free matches available, but we expect this opportunity will be fully claimed well before the official deadline.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Very useful for me as I just moved to Canada. Thanks!
Very generous offer especially if you fly Air Canada
Like previous post, I applied the status match yesterday and got the confirmation 3 hours later. Air Canada still show the old status, so hopefully it will show up in few days.
This is a great offer. Congrats to who all get it. I wonder how many elites will hear about this and take advantage of it? usually elites are busy. If they are part of Air Canadas loyalty program I am sure they’ll get emails but otherwise?
Up to top tier is an amazing offer, shame they’re not accepting Qantas matches :/
It will be funny if Air Canada tries to steal business from United through status match. 🙂
AC couldn’t steal my business if they gave me free top tier status. Their treatment of people during the pandemic is inexcusable.
This is awesome. We just matched this with our AA AAdvantage Platinum, which should give us Air Canada Elite 35K. We are flying to Montreal for Christmas, so this is perfect timing since the Elite 35K will save us money on the luggage / ski bags and we can access the lounge.
Hopefully this could be expanded to residents of other countries
Unfortunately I don’t think it is likely that this will be extended to other countries.
While I have no AC flights planned any time soon, I’ve registered anyway. I’ve learned in the past that you never know what may happen. For all I know, I’ll find a killer fare to Europe through Toronto or something like that.
Best match I can get is 35K, which doesn’t seem worth the effort since I’d have to switch an already-booked flight to Calgary in early January, so I wouldn’t even have the status for that flight. Darn!
Great opportunity to get elite status on a solid airline with great potential if you’re flying to Canada or Europe. Are there any Star alliance benefits to go along with status match?
Yes, you’ll get Star Alliance Gold or Silver depending on what status you match to. You can find benefit info on the Star Alliance website.
what a good idea from Air Canada !!!
These offers really have to be taken advantage of before they go away…
Thanks so much for posting this! We’ll definitely be taking advantage of this offer.
I status matched my AA Executive Platinum status to E75K a couple of days ago. The process was very quick. I’m now planning a short trip on Air Canada in the next couple of months. I’ll use it to visit friends that I haven’t seen for several years due to COVID. Although I might not get a lot of use out of this, I think it will given me access to United Lounges as a Star Alliance Gold (from another airline than United) so that alone will be worth it.
Easy win here, wish more airlines would do this.