American Express
$120 for 2 Aeroplan points a dollar with Air Canada and 1.5 on Canadian restaurants. The best mid tier Aeroplan earn rate, from the issuer people forget offers one.
Rates and features verified 2026-08-18Full terms and conditionsHow we research cards
What we like, and what we don’t
Worth having
- 2 Aeroplan points a dollar with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations
- 1.5 points a dollar at Canadian restaurants and on food delivery
- $5,000,000 of emergency medical cover and rental car collision damage
- Up to 45,000 Aeroplan points in the welcome offer
- Aeroplan is the most valuable mainstream points currency in Canada
Watch out for
- The 1.5x dining rate applies in Canada only, so restaurant spending abroad earns the base rate
- 10,000 of the 45,000 welcome points arrive in month thirteen, after a second $120 fee
- Emergency medical runs 15 days and stops at 65
- No lounge access, no free checked bag and no priority boarding at this tier
- Additional cards cost $50 each
- American Express acceptance is narrower than Visa or Mastercard
What this card earns
- Dining and restaurants
- 1.5x
- Everything else
- 1x
- Bonus categories at once
- 1 you choose which
- What we value a point at
- 2¢
The earning fine print
Air Canada co-brand. AT THE PARTNER: 2 Aeroplan points per $1 on eligible purchases made directly with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations. ELEVATED CATEGORY: 1.5 points per $1 at restaurants and on food delivery in Canada (note the 'in Canada' restriction. Dining abroad earns the base rate). EVERYWHERE ELSE: 1 point per $1. No annual earn cap is published. Air Canada purchases through third-party travel agents or OTAs do not qualify for the 2x rate.
The welcome offer
- Welcome bonus
- 35,000 points after you spend $7,500, within 6 months
- Second tier
- 10,000 points after you spend $1,000, within 13 months
What the offer actually requires
Up to 45,000 Aeroplan points: 35,000 after spending $7,500 in the first 6 months, plus 10,000 after spending $1,000 in month 13. Amex states the offer is for new American Express Aeroplan Cardmembers only. Current and former holders of this card are not eligible. No end date published.
Fees and interest rates
- Annual fee
- $120
- Additional card
- $50
- Foreign transaction fee
- Not published by the issuer
- Purchase APR
- 21.99%
- Cash advance APR
- 21.99%
Who can get this card
- Minimum personal income
- Not published by the issuer
Insurance and benefits
- Travel medical
- $5,000,000 first 15 days of a trip, age 65 and under
- Trip cancellation
- $1,500
- Trip interruption
- $1,500
- Flight delay
- $500
- Baggage delay
- $500
- Rental car damage waiver
- Included
- Purchase protection
- Included
- Extended warranty
- Included
- Annual travel credit
- $0
What the benefits really mean
From Amex Canada's Aeroplan compare-cards page: Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical up to $5,000,000 for the first 15 consecutive days, for cardmembers under 65; Trip Cancellation up to $1,500 per insured person ($3,000 combined maximum); Trip Interruption up to $1,500 per insured person ($6,000 combined maximum); Flight Delay up to $500; Baggage Delay up to $500; Lost or Stolen Baggage up to $500 per trip; Hotel Burglary up to $500; Car Rental Theft and Damage on vehicles up to $85,000 MSRP for rentals of 48 days or less; Travel Accident $500,000; Buyer's Assurance and Purchase Protection up to $1,000 per occurrence. Air Canada benefits: free first checked bag for the cardmember and up to eight companions on the same reservation, Status Qualifying Credits toward Aeroplan Elite Status, and access to preferred flight reward pricing. Supplementary cards are $50 each per year, or $0 for the no-fee supplementary version. Amex does not publish a minimum income or a foreign transaction fee for this card on the pages that could be loaded, both recorded as NOT PUBLISHED. OVERLAP FLAG: Aeroplan co-brands are also issued by TD and CIBC and are likely inside the big-six researcher's scope. This Amex-issued version is the one big-six coverage would miss, but de-duplicate on issuer before publishing. The 1.5x dining rate applies only to restaurants and food delivery IN CANADA. 10,000 of the 45,000 welcome points do not arrive until month 13, so you must pay a second $120 annual fee to collect them. Travel medical is capped at the first 15 consecutive days and cuts off at age 65. Useless for longer trips or older travellers. Trip cancellation and interruption are only $1,500 per person, low for a $120 travel card. Amex does not publish a foreign transaction fee for this card on accessible pages; do not assume it is zero. Amex acceptance in Canada is materially narrower than Visa/Mastercard, especially at grocers. Relevant given the flat 1x base rate. Welcome offer is closed to current and former cardholders.
Our verdict
Most people looking for an Aeroplan card go to TD or CIBC and never find out that American Express issues one. At $120 with 2 points a dollar on Air Canada and 1.5 on Canadian restaurants, this earns better than the equivalent bank cards at the same price, and Aeroplan points at our valuation make that roughly 3% on dining.
What you do not get at this tier is the airline experience: no checked bag, no lounge, no priority boarding. Those live on the Reserve card at $599. Read the welcome offer carefully too, because the last 10,000 points do not arrive until month thirteen, which means paying a second annual fee to collect them.
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Where this came from. American Express Canada Aeroplan cards page and Aeroplan compare-cards page (fees, supplementary fees, 21.99% preferred rate on purchases and cash advances, per-card insurance limits, earn rates, welcome bonus); Air Canada's Amex personal cards page corroborates the earn and bonus structure. Verified open to applications 18 Aug 2026.. We take every figure from the issuer’s own pages, never from another comparison site, and we leave a field blank rather than guess at it.