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.
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!
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* CardMD, 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).
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.
Savings are here (if you don’t see the sign-up form, please click here):
