The Aeroplan program has updated its terms and conditions to clarify certain points. An update had already gone into effect on December 19, 2022, with the aim of preventing abuses, particularly those linked to Aeroplan credit card churning (multiplication of credit cards).

For new Aeroplan members, the conditions have been in effect since the update was announced on November 29, 2023. For the remaining members, these conditions have been in force since February 5, 2024.

The sections containing revisions that are effective as of February 2024 deal with the following topics:

• Number of Aeroplan accounts per person
• Family sharing
• The consequences of an inactive account
• Bonuses paid with Aeroplan co-branded credit cards
• The use of scripts, macros or automation for the Aeroplan program
• Aeroplan’s right to verify Aeroplan Members’ accounts at any time

In short, there’s nothing new, but Aeroplan is clarifying some points that have been in a gray area, since the terms and conditions of its program were updated in December 2022.

We’re thinking specifically of Aeroplan point bonuses earned with an Aeroplan credit card.

We recommend that you follow these rules carefully, because from what we’ve seen, Aeroplan doesn’t seem to make any compromises.

Aeroplan now clarifies that each person wishing to join the Aeroplan Program may do so only once, using their full legal name as shown on their passport or government-issued identification. It is therefore forbidden to create more than one account for the same person using a different e-mail address.

Any attempt by an individual to register more than one Account by using the same or multiple different email addresses, identities, registrations, logins, or any other method(s), may void all Aeroplan Points that have been awarded or scheduled to be awarded to that Member, and that Member maybe disqualified from participating in the Aeroplan Program or any aspect thereof.

– Section 2 of the Aeroplan Terms and Conditions

In section 7, Aeroplan specifies that any suspicion of fraudulent activity may lead to the suspension or termination of the joint account and its related accounts. We recall that the creation of new family sharing accounts was recently suspended.

If we suspect any untruthful, fraudulent or illicit activity related to a Pool or a Family Member in the Pool in any way, we may, at our sole discretion, in addition to all other rights and remedies available to us, temporarily or permanently prohibit any or all Family Members from participating in a Pool or from accumulating or redeeming Aeroplan Points, or we may suspend or terminate the Pool, any or all of the associated Aeroplan Memberships and close any or all of the associated Accounts.

Section 7 des conditions d'Aéroplan

Under Section 8 of the Terms and Conditions, an Aeroplan account is considered inactive if no points have been earned or redeemed for 18 consecutive months. Secondly, the account could be terminated after five consecutive years of inactivity. Effective from February 5, 2024, the account may now be terminated after three consecutive years of inactivity.

It’s easy to avoid having your account become inactive simply by redeeming points with your family share, transferring points from another loyalty program to Aeroplan, charging an Aeroplan credit card, or using the eStore to earn a minimum of one Aeroplan point.

Section 10 reads:

“The New Card Bonus offered to a Member to become an Aeroplan Credit Cardmember is intended to encourage that Member to become an Aeroplan Credit Cardmember when he or she does not already hold, or did not previously hold, the type of Aeroplan Credit Card, regardless of issuer (e.g., Basic, Primary, Reserve, Small Business Primary, Small Business Reserve, or any other card offering a substantially similar level of benefits) for which the New Card Bonus is offered. This means thata Member can be granted a maximum of one New Card Bonus for each type of Aeroplan Credit Card they become a Cardmember of, regardless of issuer.

American Express, TD and CIBC offer different types of Aeroplan credit cards:

In addition, there are Aeroplan Business Credit Cards, which are another type of Aeroplan card like the :

• American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card

Therefore, an Aeroplan Member is entitled to only ONE Welcome Bonus, PER TYPE of card, for life. For example, this combination would be possible:

• American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card(mid-range card) + TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card(high-end card) + American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card (business card)

As well as this one:

• American Express^®* Aeroplan^® Reserve Card (high-end card) + TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card (mid-range card) + American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card (business card)

From now on, if you hold these cards of the same level at the same time, even if they are from different issuers, you are in breach of the rules:

• American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Card (mid-range card) + a TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card (mid-range card)

Aeroplan has the right to withdraw the number of points awarded and/or simply close the Aeroplan Member’s account. Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard from a few people who have unfortunately experienced this new rule.

This does not apply to American Express Membership Rewards cards that transfer to Aeroplan, such as the American Express Cobalt^® Card.

This includes the following gestures:

• Apply for, transfer or substitute (…) or complete any other product change between multiple Aeroplan Credit Cards for one or more types of products or with one or more financial institutions issuing an Aeroplan Credit Card;
• Tendency to cancel or disengage from an Aeroplan Credit Card shortly after receiving a New Card Bonus (or a portion of a New Card Bonus) or a similar bonus or incentive;
• Tendency to purchase and then cancel or return a product or service for which Aeroplan Points have been issued;
• Link your Aeroplan Credit Card to an account that is not your own.

When an Aeroplan member makes a transaction with an Aeroplan partner, every effort will be made to ensure that the cardholder receives the points in their own Aeroplan account. It may be a transaction on the Aeroplan eStore for example.

Or that the Aeroplan points of the Aeroplan credit card holder are credited to their own Aeroplan account. This is to prevent them from being transferred directly to the account of a spouse, relative or friend.

In addition, Aeroplan specifies that the conversion of points from another loyalty program must be remitted to the same Aeroplan member. One thinks of a person transferring American Express Membership Rewards Points or Marriott Bonvoy Points to their Aeroplan account.

Here are the changes announced by Aeroplan:

In Section 6, we clarified that Aeroplan Points will only be credited to the Aeroplan Account of the Aeroplan Member who conducts a transaction with an Aeroplan Partner, and will not be credited to the Aeroplan Account of another Aeroplan Member. Similarly, with respect to Aeroplan Credit Cards, Aeroplan Points will only be added to the Aeroplan Account of the primary Aeroplan Credit Cardholder used in a transaction with an Aeroplan Partner and will not be added to the Aeroplan Account of any other Aeroplan Member. This section has also been amended to include new provisions for the conversion of points earned under other loyalty programs into Aeroplan Points.

In fact, Aeroplan reserves the right to take action on any suspect Aeroplan account.

This can be by:

• Limiting the number of welcome bonuses received from TD, CIBC and American Express during a given period
• Paying a Welcome Bonus only to a member who has not already received the same bonus on the same Aeroplan credit card
• Detecting people who quickly open and close Aeroplan credit cards after receiving a welcome bonus
• Targeting people who abuse of eStore purchases and returns.
• Targeting excessive behavior by individuals who willfully circumvent the new Program Terms and Conditions

Here are the changes announced by Aeroplan:

From time to time, Aeroplan and the financial institutions that issue Aeroplan co-branded credit cards (an ” Aeroplan Credit Card “), and their respective affiliates and business partners, may offer a bonus or an award of Aeroplan Points (a ” Welcome Bonus “) as an incentive for a Member to become an Aeroplan Credit Cardholder or to purchase products or services (” Products and Services “) offered from time to time under the Aeroplan Program by such parties.

In connection with a Welcome Bonus being made available for becoming a holder of an Aeroplan Credit Card, such Welcome Bonus is intended as an incentive for a Member to become a holder of an Aeroplan Credit Card where that Member is not then a holder of the specific type of Aeroplan Credit Card for which the Welcome Bonus is being offered. Similarly, in connection with bonus or incentive Aeroplan Points being offered as an incentive related to Products and Services, such bonus Aeroplan Points incentives are intended for a Member who has not previously received bonus Aeroplan Points for the same Products or Services, to acquire such Products or Services.

Aeroplan may, in its sole discretion, decide to limit the number of Welcome Bonuses or similar bonuses or rewards a Member may receive in any given period and, in addition to the other remedies provided in these Terms and Conditions, reserves the right to suspend, revoke or terminate the Account of any person who engages in excessive use of the Welcome Bonus offers. Such behaviours include but are not limited to: (i) applying for multiple Aeroplan Credit Cards across one or more product types or across one or more financial institutions that issue an Aeroplan Credit Card; (ii) a pattern of cancelling, or disengaging in, an Aeroplan Credit Card shortly after receiving a Welcome Bonus or similar bonus or incentive; and (iii) a pattern of purchasing and then cancelling or returning any product or service for which Aeroplan Points were issued.

Finally, the Aeroplan program clarifies the actions that are taken if a member is caught at fault.

There are three options:

• Suspend the member’s account while waiting for the outcome of an investigation
• Refuse to give or redeem Aeroplan Points
• Close the account without notice and the accumulated points will be lost

Here are the changes announced by Aeroplan:

Aeroplan Membership is a privilege that can be suspended, revoked, or terminated at any time, for any reason, and without compensation. Reasons for suspension, revocation or termination include, but are not limited to: (i) a circumstance where a Member intentionally engages in a pattern of activity or behavior that, in the reasonable opinion of Aeroplan, is intended to circumvent or work around these Terms and Conditions, or the terms and conditions of any Aeroplan partner; (ii) any abuse by a Member of any of these Terms and Conditions, any additional applicable terms and conditions or any benefit, privilege or reward associated with the Aeroplan Program; (iii) any misrepresentation by a Member to Aeroplan, its affiliates, participating partners or suppliers or to any entity associated with or participating in the Aeroplan Program; and (iv) any other actions or conduct of a Member deemed by Aeroplan, in its sole discretion, to be damaging to Aeroplan, the Aeroplan Program or the interests of Aeroplan’s affiliates, participating partners or suppliers, including, but not limited to: (i) applying for multiple credit cards across different product types (e.g., Entry, Core, Premium), across multiple financial institutions that issue an Aeroplan Credit Card in order to circumnavigate these Terms and Conditions or the terms and conditions of any such financial institution issuing an Aeroplan Credit Card thereby receiving multiple Welcome Bonuses; and (ii) a behaviour of cancelling, or disengaging in, an Aeroplan Credit Card shortly after receiving a Welcome Bonus.

Where, in the reasonable opinion of Aeroplan, a Member has violated these Terms and Conditions, Aeroplan may, at any time and in its sole discretion, take one or more of the following actions: (i) freeze the Account of any Member while Aeroplan investigates suspected activity on the part of that Member; and (ii) refuse to credit the Account of any Member, or debit the Account of any Member.

In the event a Member’s participation in the Aeroplan Program is terminated by Aeroplan in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, all accumulated Aeroplan Points will immediately be forfeited.

Aeroplan reserves the right to restrict or refuse Aeroplan Membership in the Aeroplan Program for any reason, in its sole discretion, including, if you do not meet the requirements set forth in these Terms and Conditions, if you are suspected of fraud or illicit conduct or have had an Aeroplan Membership previously revoked or terminated by Aeroplan.

Unauthorized reproduction of any Aeroplan Membership card or number, or fraudulent misrepresentation of an Aeroplan Membership is prohibited and can result in legal action. Aeroplan Membership cards and Membership numbers belong to Aeroplan and may be revoked at any time in its sole discretion.

People testing the limits of the program are once again targeted by these changes. These amended Aeroplan terms and conditions give the program administrators more power to act on abuse.

A member and Aeroplan credit card holder who behaves normally has nothing to worry about. Here are some examples of normal behavior:

• Use your Aeroplan credit card regularly to pay for purchases
• Keep your Aeroplan Credit Card for at least one year
• Don’t close your Aeroplan credit card right after you’ve earned the Welcome Bonus.

We will always say that earning points is a marathon, not a sprint.

Therefore, with these new Aeroplan terms and conditions, it is not recommended to have two Aeroplan credit cards, even if they are issued by different institutions or are of different types (base, core or premium). However, it will, of course, be possible to get an Aeroplan business credit card in addition to your consumer card. Such as the American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Business Reserve Card.

Just as it will always be possible to get multiple American Express Membership Rewards credit cards and transfer Membership Rewards points to your Aeroplan account. For example, since the American Express Cobalt^® Card, the American Express^® Gold Rewards Card or the American Express Platinum Card^®.

Or even Marriott Bonvoy credit cards: you can convert 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points into 25,000 Aeroplan points. As, for example, from the Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card and the Marriott Bonvoy^® Business American Express^®* Card.

See our complete guide and comparison of American Express cards that earn Aeroplan points.

Finally, if you are a family, it will still be possible for each family member to get an Aeroplan credit card and access your mutual points through the Aeroplan Family Sharing feature.