Air Miles and Aeroplan cards are two of Canada’s most popular loyalty programs. Both programs allow you to earn points through everyday spending. And both have an extensive network of partners that include major airlines, car rental companies, and hotel chains. However, they have some differences. Let’s look at the difference between the Air Miles and Aeroplan cards in this blog post.

Aeroplan Credit Cards

Aeroplan cards are credit cards that let you earn Aeroplan Points on all your purchases. When you frequently fly with Air Canada, you can save money by participating in this Aeroplan program. You can redeem these points for travel on eligible Air Canada flights and more than 25 partner airlines and hotels. Popular Aeroplan co-branded credit cards include the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite and the American Express Aeroplan Card. These two cards are accessible to every Canadian because they have no minimum income requirement.

Air Miles Credit Cards

The Air Miles credit card allows you to earn miles on every purchase made. One of Canada’s most popular Air Miles credit cards is the American Express Air Miles Reserve Card.
You’ll earn Air Miles reward miles as you spend on your Air Miles credit card. Most cards earn 1 mile for every $10 spent. Depending on your card, the rate at which you earn Air Miles is capped at a certain amount of dollars spent per month or per year. But with a little planning and budgeting, it’s not hard to max out your earnings each year. At that point, you can redeem them for travel (hotels and flights), merchandise from select brands, gift cards, or event tickets.

Air Miles and Aeroplan Reward Redemption

Air Miles and Aeroplan cards offer miles that you can redeem for various types of travel and merchandise. But how you make a redemption through Air Miles and Aeroplan is very different.

Air Miles allows you to redeem your miles for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. You simply go to the Air Miles website or mobile app and select the reward you want to book. Depending on which option is available for that reward, you’ll be asked to pay with either cash or miles. If you have enough miles in your account, you’ll receive a code that you can use to redeem your reward online or over the phone with Air Miles customer service agents.

Aeroplan uses a similar approach when making redemptions — but there’s one big difference: With Aeroplan, you can only use your points to book flights on Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners’ airlines.

Aeroplan is a points-based program, meaning that you can earn points by flying with one of Air Canada’s partners. You can also earn points on your everyday purchase such as gas and grocery. Once you earn enough points, you can redeem them for any kind of travel or merchandise.

With Air Miles, the redemption process is different. You don’t earn miles per flight but rather how much money you spend through their partner retailers.

What is the difference?

The best way to think about the difference between Air Miles and Aeroplan is that one is a cashback program, and the other is a rewards program.
The number of miles you earn with Air Miles depends on how much you spend. They offer discounts for different types of purchases, like gas or groceries.
With Aeroplan, you earn miles based on your flying habits. You can redeem for flights directly through Aeroplan or through their partners, which include many airlines across Canada and around the world. As long as you fly with one of their partners, you’ll earn points no matter what kind of ticket you buy.

In conclusion: Which one is right for you?

Aeroplan credit cards and Air Miles credit cards are similar, but they’re not the same. If you want to earn points that can be redeemed on any airline, the Air Miles credit card is the way to go. But if you frequently fly with Air Canada or its Star Alliance partners, choose an Aeroplan card instead.
It’s worth noting that you can earn rewards with both programs. But when picking a credit card, go with the one that offers you the most perks.