Air Canada Aeroplan Introduces Revenue-Based Award Miles & Changes Status Qualification from 2026

Air Canada Aeroplan isn’t a frequent flyer program we at Travel-Dealz report on very often—and that’s not likely to change. The program has announced significant changes, making it even less attractive for readers based in Europe.

These changes will apply to all flights from January 1, 2026. From then on, award miles for all flights with Air Canada will be awarded based on the ticket price, not flight distance. At the same time, the system for earning status is changing, with much higher spending requirements on Air Canada.

Up to 84% Fewer Award Miles for Air Canada Tickets (Revenue-Based)

Currently, mileage earning for Air Canada flights depends on the distance flown and the fare class. Between 10% (for domestic Basic Economy) and 150% (for Business Class) of the flight distance is credited as miles.

In the future, the number of miles earned will be based solely on the ticket price. As a rule, there will be 1 mile per CA$1 (~€1) of base fare. With Aeroplan status, you’ll earn more—between 2 and 6 award miles per CA$. In other words, it makes no difference whether you’re flying from Frankfurt to Toronto or from Toronto to Halifax—if the ticket costs the same, the miles earned will be the same. More details are available on Air Canada’s website.

This applies to all flights operated by Air Canada, regardless of which airline issued the ticket. It also applies to flights on Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Austrian, Copa, and United, if ticketed by Air Canada. For all other Star Alliance flights, no changes (yet).

Here are three examples of Air Canada flights, based on current round-trip fares:

• Example 1: Frankfurt – Vancouver in Economy Basic (€535, incl. €165 taxes):
  • Previously: 2,505 miles (10,020 mi × 0.25)
  • New – No status: 593 miles (593 CA$ × 1)
  • New – Aeroplan 25K: 1,186 miles (593 CA$ × 2)
  • New – Aeroplan 50K: 2,372 miles (593 CA$ × 4)
  • New – Aeroplan SE¹: 3,558 miles (593 CA$ × 6)

¹ Aeroplan SE = Aeroplan Super Elite (highest status)

• Example 2: Frankfurt – Vancouver in Economy Standard (670€, incl. 165€ taxes):
  • Previously: 5,010 miles (10,020 mi × 0.5)
  • New – No status: 809 miles (809 CA$ × 1)
  • New – Aeroplan 25K: 1,618 miles (809 CA$ × 2)
  • New – Aeroplan 50K: 3,236 miles (809 CA$ × 4)
  • New – Aeroplan SE: 4,854 miles (809 CA$ × 6)
• Example 3: Frankfurt – Toronto – New York in Business Lowest (2,199€, incl. 196€ taxes):
  • Previously: 12,857 miles (8,578 mi × 1.5)
  • New – No status: 3,373 miles (3,373 CA$ × 1)
  • New – Aeroplan 25K: 6,746 miles (3,373 CA$ × 2)
  • New – Aeroplan 50K: 13,492 miles (3,373 CA$ × 4)
  • New – Aeroplan SE: 20,238 miles (3,373 CA$ × 6)

For European members who often fly long distances on relatively cheap tickets, this new system is clearly a disadvantage. Only those with Aeroplan 50K status (equivalent to Star Alliance Gold) or higher might earn miles similar to before. But earning that status is also about to get harder:

New System for Earning Frequent Flyer Status

Currently, Aeroplan status qualification is quite complex. It requires a certain number of segments (SQS) or distance-based miles (SQM), plus a minimum spend on Air Canada flights (SQD). Depending on the status, this ranges from CA$3,000 (~€1,835) to CA$20,000 (~€12,234). Only the 25K status can be earned without flying.

Going forward, the system will be completely overhauled. The only thing that matters will be Status Qualifying Credits (SQC). You’ll need:

• Aeroplan 25K: 25,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 35K: 35,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 50K: 50,000 SQC (= Star Alliance Gold)
• Aeroplan 75K: 75,000 SQC
• Aeroplan Super Elite: 125,000 SQC

Ways to earn SQC include:

• Air Canada Economy Basic: 0 SQC
• Air Canada Economy Standard & higher: 2 SQC per CA$
• Air Canada Economy Flex & Business: 4 SQC per CA$
• Star Alliance flights: 1 SQC per 5 award miles²
• Air Canada Vacations bookings: 1 SQC per CA$
• Shopping partners (Uber, Marriott, etc.): 1 SQC per 5 award miles²
• Aeroplan credit card: 1,000 SQC per CA$5,000 in spend²

² capped at 25,000 SQC per calendar year

Just like for award miles, only the base fare in Canadian dollars counts, excluding “real” taxes. Fuel surcharges do count toward the fare. The table from Air Canada provides more details on how SQCs are awarded depending on the ticketing airline.

SQC from Air Canada, Star Alliance & Partners

As mentioned, you can earn a maximum of 25,000 SQC per year from Star Alliance partners. But even that is difficult. A round-trip Frankfurt–San Francisco on United in Business Class would yield 17,000 miles = 3,400 SQC.

To reach Aeroplan 50K (Star Alliance Gold), you’d need:

• 7 United Business Class round-trips to San Francisco
  and
• Air Canada tickets worth CA$12,500 (= ~€7,800) or CA$6,250, depending on fare class
  (Economy Basic tickets are completely excluded)

Flying with Star Alliance is no longer worthwhile

If you fly only with Air Canada, you’d need to spend CA$12,500 (~€7,646) to CA$25,000 (~€15,293) (Basic fares excluded). That might be achievable for a business traveller flying in Business Class, but for leisure travellers, it’s nearly impossible.

Previously, just 3 United Business round-trips to San Francisco and CA$6,000 (~€3,670) in spend with Air Canada sufficed. And even that wasn’t easy. Other options like Uber rides or credit card spending are hardly relevant for Europeans. So, earning meaningful status from Europe is becoming virtually impossible.

Conclusion

From a European perspective, Aeroplan was once a relatively attractive program for earning and redeeming miles. But now, with strict spending requirements on Air Canada, frequent flyer status is hardly worth pursuing.

Going forward, it will become even harder—almost impossible—for Europeans to achieve any meaningful status. And that, in turn, negatively impacts the number of award miles earned on Air Canada. Without status, you’ll only get about 1.6 miles per euro spent, which is lower than almost any other program.

For members in Canada or the U.S. who can earn miles through credit cards, Uber, shopping, etc., the new system may still have some appeal. But for Europeans, Aeroplan is effectively dead from 2026 onward. United MileagePlus, American AAdvantage, and Delta SkyMiles have all taken similar steps in recent years—but none quite as drastic as this.

Translated by Ditmar

Cover Picture: CC0-Lizenz / Pixabay-User corgaasbeek