How to get Air Canada Aeroplan status

In the US, the Chase Aeroplan Card offers an easier entry into status: new primary cardmembers get Elite 25K automatically, covering the calendar year the account opens and the following calendar year, with no minimum spend required. Keeping 25K going after that takes $15,000 in purchases within a calendar year, which extends the status through the following calendar year. The card also builds Status Qualifying Credits toward higher tiers — a 5,000 annual bonus, another 10,000 at $25,000 in spend, and a further 10,000 at $50,000, capped at 25,000 SQC per year across all Aeroplan cards.

That same card can also take you straight to Elite 35K: spend $75,000 in purchases in a calendar year and Chase confers 35K status for the rest of that year plus the next one, a rule effective January 1, 2026. It replaced the prior Level Up benefit, which had upgraded cardholders one tier at $50,000 in spend.

The only way into Air Canada Aeroplan Elite 50K runs through the Amex Air Canada Card, and it isn't something you apply for — it's invite-only, extended to Canadian cardmembers. Both the basic cardmember and any supplementary cardmember on the account each receive Elite 50K automatically, covering the first two Elite Status benefit years.

After those first two years, holding onto the status stops being free: you need $50,000 CAD in net purchases on the card in the 12 months before each card anniversary to retain it. That's the whole picture for reaching Elite 50K right now — one invite-only card, a no-cost start, and a real spend bar to keep it going once the free years end.