Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back
We knew it was coming, but I am still sitting here a bit flabbergasted at how good it actually is. The Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back feature is now best in class at Chase, at least for this year. It makes me wish I was under Chase 5/24, argh! I will go over the details of the Chase Aeroplan credit card and the newest improvement and why it is extra amazing this year.
Chase Aeroplan Credit Card Details
The Current Welcome Offer Is As Follows:
- Earn 70,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of card membership.
- This card has a $95 annual fee, which is not waived in the first year.
- Our Review With Our Affiliate Links
Chase Aeroplan Mastercard Earning Structure:
- 3x miles at grocery stores
- 3x on dining, including takeout and delivery
- 3x on purchases directly with Air Canada
- 1x on all other purchases
- 500 bonus miles per $2,000 spend per month, up to 1,500 bonus miles ($6,000) per month
- Our Review With Our Affiliate Links
Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back Details
Starting tomorrow, 1/13/23, Chase Aeroplan credit cardholders will have another redemption option in their tool bag. They will now be able to “Pay Yourself Back” at 1.25 cents per point. This is the same rate you now redeem points at with the Chase Sapphire Reserve (after Chase torpedoed redemption rates) but it has a much lower annual fee.
The Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Categories Are As Follows (Travel Purchases):
- Airlines
- Hotels
- Timeshares
- Car rental agencies
- Cruise lines
- Travel agencies
- Discount travel sites
- Campgrounds
- Trains
- Buses
- Taxis
- Limousines
- Ferries
- Toll bridges and highways
- Parking lots and garages
They also have some exclusions:
Some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel category.
Why This Is Pretty Amazing, This Year Especially
That is a pretty great list of approved expenses and basically covers you for all of your travel needs. It is a much better list of options than we see on the Chase Sapphire Reserve and other Chase cards. This essentially makes the 70,000 point welcome offer worth $875 in travel (net of $780 after the annual fee).
For this year there is no cap on redemptions but there will be a 50,000 point redemption cap in future years. That means make hay while you can, if it interests you at least.
The Aeroplan program offers a lot of value but it is a bit buggy and not the easiest program to find sweet spots in. That probably drove some away from the Chase Aeroplan credit card. Having this option may be more inviting to many out there though, especially this year with no redemption cap. I will say you will likely get a better redemption rate if you use the miles in the program though. Having said that, remember that how you use your points is up to you. Either option is a good redemption in my book.
The Potentially Interesting Opportunity To Keep An Eye On
We won't know how this acts in the wild until tomorrow, but what about points already in your account? Maybe they were even transferred in from other transferrable currencies (Aeroplan is a promiscuous transfer partner). Will those be available to Pay Yourself Back too, or do they have a way to see where points came from? That could offer the chance to “cash out” other currencies at the 1.25 cents per point rate. We will have to see how that develops and if there are any potential pitfalls there. Stay tuned!
Chase Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back: ToP Thoughts
I have to admit, I am pretty jealous right now. This change makes the Chase Aeroplan credit card a travel eraser credit card at worst and a valuable option for award flights at best. People get to choose how they use their miles and the card offers some nice bonus earning categories, plus a juicy 70K welcome offer. That rockets this card up towards the top of the personal card Chase rankings in my book. I wouldn't mind $780 in free travel of any kind myself and potentially way more if you book flights in their program.
I am really surprised how good this is for a co-branded card, especially when compared to Chase's own homegrown Ultimate Rewards earning products. Hopefully we see this option roll out to more co-branded cards.
What do you think of these changes? Does it make the card more valuable in your opinion? Let us know in the ToP Facebook Group!
HT: harry_hotspur via DoC
