Aeroplan Adopting Revenue-Based System for Points and Status Next Year — What It Means for You

Updated: August 6, 2025, 12:52pm CDT

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Table of Contents

Revenue-Based Points Earning
Aeroplan’s New Status Qualifying Credits
Final Thoughts

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Big changes are coming to Air Canada’s Aeroplan next year.

From January 1, 2026, the program will switch to a revenue-based earning system and introduce a new way for Aeroplan members to earn elite status.

Here are the details you need to know.

Revenue-Based Points Earning

Aeroplan is joining the many other airline loyalty programs that have switched to revenue-based earning. As of January 1, 2026, rather than earning a set number of points related to the distance of your Air Canada flight, you’ll be awarded points based on the amount you paid for your ticket.

The exact amount will be 1 Aeroplan point per CA$1 spent on Air Canada flights (roughly 73 cents in USD at the time of publishing). As per normal practice, points will only be awarded for the base fare and carrier surcharges, while taxes, fees, and third-party charges won’t be eligible for points earning.

Earning rates will increase to between 2x and 6x points earned per CA$1 spent, depending on the passenger’s level of Aeroplan elite status. So far, Air Canada hasn’t provided an exact breakdown of how that will work.

Ultimately, this means a passenger buying an expensive last-minute ticket will earn more points than a passenger who got a deal on their ticket when purchasing in advance.

Hot Tip:

Aeroplan has been a firm favorite among points and miles aficionados thanks to the excellent value Aeroplan points redemptions that you can find.

Aeroplan’s New Status Qualifying Credits

Also from January 1, 2026, Status Qualifying Credits (SQC) will be introduced as the sole way of earning Air Canada Aeroplan status. The new SQCs will replace existing Status Qualifying Miles, Status Qualifying Segments, and Status Qualifying Dollars. This mirrors moves to a single metric in other programs, such as Delta’s Medallion Qualification Dollars and American Airlines’ Loyalty Points.

For every CA$1 spent, Aeroplan members will earn up to 4 SQCs. Similar to the previously mentioned Aeroplan points, this will exclude taxes, fees, and third-party charges.

Air Canada 787 business class seat — Air Canada Signature Class on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Image Credit: Ehsan Haque

Aeroplan members can also earn up to 25,000 SQCs through eligible Aeroplan credit card spending and an additional 25,000 SQCs via eligible partner activity.

For every 10,000 SQC earned, Aeroplan members will unlock Milestone Benefits, such as bonus SQCs, status passes, and more.

And finally, beginning in 2027, primary account holders of Aeroplan’s premium credit cards will earn a 10% SQC bonus of the previous year’s earnings when qualifying for Aeroplan elite status.

Final Thoughts

Air Canada’s much-loved Aeroplan loyalty program is jumping on the revenue-based trend. This is often interpreted as a devaluation of a program, rather than a “customer-centric” change in the way airlines try to spin it.

Only time will tell as to whether Aeroplan will reign supreme in the world of airline frequent flyer programs — or whether the changes will see members switching up their loyalty.