CIBC Aeroplan Promotion: Bonus points on foreign currency transactions

To the point This winter, you can earn 3x Aeroplan Points on foreign currency purchases with the CIBC Aeroplan promotion!

Eligible credit cards Offer conditions

Is it a good promotion? Bottom Line

CIBC Aeroplan credit cardholders will be able to earn 3X Aeroplan Points on all foreign currency spending from December 13, 2023 to January 31, 2024 as part of the CIBC Aeroplan promotion.

CIBC and Aeroplan - Eligible credit cards

Holders of the following CIBC credit cards are eligible for the CIBC Aeroplan promotion:

Don’t forget to register via the link sent to you by e-mail to activate the offer!

Offer conditions

The credit card account must be open, active and in good standing. The same applies to your Aeroplan account.
The offer must be activated using the link provided in the e-mail.
Members will receive 3X the Aeroplan Points for each foreigncurrency transaction made outside Canada.
The maximum amount of eligible expenses is the equivalent of 1,000 Canadian dollars.
Online purchases are not eligible for this offer.
Bonus points will be paid out up to 8 to 10 weeks after the end of the offer period.

CIBC and Aeroplan - Is it a good promotion?

CIBC credit cards charge a 2.5% conversion fee for foreign currency transactions, unlike credit cards with no FX fee.

However, by earning 3 times the Aeroplan points per dollar, you could get a lot of value out of this CIBC Aeroplan promotion depending on how you use those points.

So, with a CIBC Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card^MD, you earn 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar of purchase as your base rate. In the case of this promotion, you’ll earn 3.75 points per Canadian dollar equivalent of foreign currency purchases.

On Milesopedia, we give a valuation of 2¢ per Aeroplan point. Consequently, one dollar would generate the equivalent of 7.5¢ ($1 = 3.75 points x 2¢ = 7.5 ¢ = a 7.5% return).

When the 2.5% conversion fee is taken into account, the net return is a positive 5% (7.5% – 2.5%). This is a very good accumulation rate, considering that it will be the same for all your travel expenses up to a maximum of 1,000 Canadian dollars!

You can compare this with one of the best no-conversion-fee credit cards in Canada, the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card.

With this card, you earn 1 or 2 Scene+ points per dollar of purchases, i.e. a return of 1 or 2%. Except that when you use a CIBC credit card with the CIBC Aeroplan promotion, you earn Aeroplan points, not Scene+ points!

To choose the right card for travel, you need to consider the type of rewards you want to earn too.

Then, in certain situations, this CIBC Aeroplan promotion is even more attractive. For example, if your goal with Aeroplan points is to fly business class or even first class, the value of a point can climb to over 5¢ per point!

In this case, one dollar would give you a value of 16.25¢ ($1 = 3.75 points x 5¢ = 18.75 ¢ = 18.75%). So your net return could be 16.25% (18.75% – 2.5%) with the CIBC Aeroplan Promotion, despite the conversion fee.

Finally, you will also get the best exchange rate since Visa will charge you the daily rate (adding a conversion fee).

Bottom Line

Don’t forget to register for this promotion!

Is it more beneficial to use a CIBC credit card with the CIBC Aeroplan promo or a credit card with no conversion fee on foreign currency purchases?

It all depends on your earning goals and how you use the points you earn. It’s up to you to make your own calculations based on your situation.