To the point
American Express announced today 2 new offers for its premium Aeroplan cards. Here are the details!
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Enhanced offers for these Aeroplan cards from American Express
As of October 1st, 2019, American Express has enhanced its welcome offers for two cards:
American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card
With the American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card, you will receive:
- a welcome bonus of 40,000 Aeroplan miles when you spend $3,000 within the first three months
- a $150 Air Canada eGift card if you spend $6,000 within the first 6 months
Welcome bonus of 40,000 Aeroplan miles
With 40,000 Aeroplan miles, for example, it is possible to get, according to availability:
- 1 short-haul round-trip reward ticket like Montreal – Chicago (15,000 Aeroplan miles)
And
- 1 round-trip reward ticket across North America (25,000 Aeroplan miles)
A $150 Air Canada eGift card
This is a new offer from American Express and Air Canada.
If you spend $6,000 within the first 6 months, you’ll get a $150 Air Canada eGift card.
Once the required purchases are posted to the account, you will automatically receive your eGift card by email (the one listed in your Aeroplan account) or by direct mail.
Reminder of the perks of the American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card
American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card has an annual fee of $499.
But you’ve got a full list of perks coming with this card:
- An annual Partner Ticket benefitfor a short-haul roundtrip Fixed Mileage Flight Reward (up to 15,000 Aeroplan miles)
- Unlimited access to Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges
- An accelerate earning to 1.5 miles per dollar over $25,000 annually
- Air Canada Priority Check-in
- Pearson Priority Security Lane
American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve Card
American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve Card offers:
- a welcome bonus of 50,000 Aeroplan miles when you spend $3,000 within the first three months
- a $200 Air Canada eGift card if you spend $6,000 within the first 6 months
Welcome bonus of 50,000 Aeroplan miles
With 50,000 Aeroplan miles, for example, you can get, according to availability:
- 2 round-trip economy reward flights across North America (25,000 Aeroplan miles per ticket)
OR
- 1 round-trip business class reward flight across North America (50,000 Aeroplan miles)
a $200 Air Canada eGift card
If you spend $6,000 within the first 6 months, you’ll get a $200 Air Canada eGift card.
Once the required purchases are posted to the account, you will automatically receive your eGift card by email (the one listed in your Aeroplan account) or by direct mail.
Reminder of the perks of the American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve Card
With a $899 annual fee, American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve Card is the most expensive card from American Express (and of all Aeroplan-affiliated cards).
With this high annual fee, here is a list of all the perks you get with this card
- An annual Partner Ticket benefit for a short-haul or long-haul flight reward when you redeem up to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles
- Unlimited access to Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges
- Unlimited access to Priority Pass lounges
- $200 Annual Travel Credit
- Complimentary first checked bag on flights operated by Air Canada
- Air Canada Priority Check-in
- Pearson Priority Security Lane
The terms of use of the eGift card
Authorized purchases with the eGift card
You can use your eGift Card:
- on aircanada.com
- when calling Air Canada Reservations
- When purchasing a flight through a travel agent
It is possible to redeem your eGift card for:
- a flight
- Air transportation costs, change fees, seat selection, applicable taxes or any other similar fees that apply to the purchase
The eGift Card can not be used for:
It will not be possible to redeem a eGift card for:
- onboard purchases
- Aeroplan or other reward travel tickets
- a flight pass
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Club membership fees
Balance and Expiration
It is possible to redeem the electronic gift card for multiple purchases until it reaches a zero dollars balance.
Finally, it should be noted that this eGift card does not expire. However, after 5 years of inactivity, it will have to be reissued by calling Air Canada.
Conclusion
American Express has decided to improve its offer for its 2 Aeroplan premium cards.
While a higher welcome bonus in Aeroplan miles could have been expected, at least American Express has not tightened its rulesto get these miles: it is still $3,000 in purchases in 3 months, which is reasonable considering the targeted public.
And above all, American Express didn’t took the path of TD(requiring nearly $10,000 in purchases in 3 months!)
The addition of the $150 eGift card for American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card and $200 for the American Express® AeroplanPlus® Reserve Card will be a nice bonus to Air Canada frequent flyers, especially since this gift card does not have an expiration date !
We regret, however, that the offer stay unchanged on the other two cards
It is clear today that the market segmentation, in the context of Air Canada’s takeover of Aeroplan,is as follows:
- Consumer cards for occasional flyers: TD & CIBC
- Frequent flyers / business travellers card: American Express
This post was not sponsored. The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
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