DansDeals will receive compensation if you are approved for a credit card via a link in this post. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers, visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Update, 1/15/25: This transfer bonus ends tonight!
Update, 12/4/24: Alive again through 1/15/25!
This is fully stackable with the 10% bonus for 50K+ Chase transfers for Aeroplan® Credit Cardholders. That means 50K Chase points will convert into 65K Aeroplan miles for cardholders. You can earn up to 25K bonus points per calendar year with the extra 10% bonus. There is no limit on the 20% bonus.
Cardholders can use Pay Yourself Back for any paid travel at a rate of 1.25 cents each, which is 1.625 cents per Chase point after the 30% bonus! For 2024, this is uncapped. For 2025, you can use up to 200K points to cover $2,500 in travel charges.
Update, 6/16: Alive again through 7/31!
Note that United now blocks a lot of saver award space from partners, so be sure to check for availability before transferring!
HT: Eluzer K.
Update, 1/15/24: This bonus offer ends tonight at 11:59pm!
I used this bonus twice during the promotion. One was for a positioning flight from Cleveland to Newark on United last month, which took 5K Chase points that transferred into 6K Air Canada points, which is what they charge for short-haul awards. Surprisingly, it took 3 days for that bonus to post, but I was able to still book that award. Air Canada also makes it easy to edit your mileage number, so I changed it to United and was able to get upgraded for free with my United status.
From NYC, we flew JetBlue MINT business class to Paris using 78K Avios, which I had previously transferred using 56K AMEX points with a 40% bonus. We had Aer Lingus business class tickets nonstop from Dublin-Cleveland booked with 88K United miles as that made them fully refundable, but Lufthansa First Class availability has been opening at 96 hours before departure. That opened up when we were on the chunnel train to London, so we had to wait until we arrived to book. Luckily, the 84K Chase points transferred instantly to 100K Air Canada miles this time, and we were able to book First Class from Vienna-Frankfurt-Chicago-Cleveland in the 747-8s front row in the plane’s nose, which is a glorious experience.
If you do have a use for the miles in the near future, it can be worth transferring points now.
Have you taken advantage of this bonus?
Originally posted on 12/5/23:
Get A 20% Or 30% Bonus When You Transfer Chase Points Into Air Canada Aeroplan Miles!
For many years, Chase didn’t have any transfer bonuses. Chase executives told me when they launched Ultimate Rewards point transfers to airlines that they decided to focus on strong partners with easy to understand transfer ratios and not on assorted transfer ratios and transfer bonuses.
But times have changed and Chase is back with another transfer bonus to Air Canada. You will get a 20% bonus, or 1,200 Air Canada Aeroplan miles for every 1,000 Chase points transferred through 1/15/24. It’s not quite as lucrative as last year’s 30% bonus, but it’s still a great offer.
This is stackable with the 10% bonus for 50K+ Chase transfers for Aeroplan® Credit Cardholders. That means 50K Chase points will convert into 65K Aeroplan miles for cardholders. You can earn up to 25K bonus points per year with the extra 10% bonus.
AMEX and Capital One points also transfer to Air Canada. There haven’t been any Capital One to Air Canada bonuses, but AMEX offered a 15% bonus to Air Canada in September 2022.
In general, I don’t recommend transferring miles to airline programs without an immediate redemption due to the risk of devaluation, but this bonus may be good enough to justify transfering miles that you might need for the near future thanks to the airline’s use of a stable partner award chart.
Air Canada brought the Aeroplan program in-house 3 years ago and eliminated fuel surcharges from their program. Alas, they do charge a C$39 booking fee (currently US$28.70) on all partner awards.
Air Canada miles are quite valuable for partner award travel, especially for last minute tickets. They also have expanded award availability on products like Singapore long-haul business class that are blocked from partners like United.
With United devaluing their miles, other Star Alliance miles like Air Canada become more and more valuable.
Air Canada can book Star Alliance awards and awards on other partner airlines like Aer Lingus, Air Mauritius, Air Serbia, Azul, Canadian North, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, GOL, Gulf Air, Oman Air, SriLankan, Virgin Australia, and Vistara. Plus, unlike US carriers, they are committed to keeping award charts.
For example, while United now charges 15K miles for a last-minute Cleveland to Newark flight, Aeroplan charges just 6K miles as per their short-haul award chart.
Air Canada also allows stopovers for 5K miles and you can build round-the-world tickets and more.
A big benefit of booking with Air Canada is free lap child awards within the US/Canada and just C$25 (currently $18.40) for a lap child anywhere in the world on Air Canada or partner airlines! That’s a real bargain compared to the 10% of the full fare that US airlines charge, which can make lap children tickets cost prohibitive on a premium cabin award ticket.
Air Canada also allows families to pool their miles together!
Here are Air Canada’s award charts.
If you just want to search for the award cost between 2 cities, you can search here.
Air Canada broke the world down into 4 regions, North America, South America, Atlantic, and Pacific:
There are 10 award charts to sift through.
Overly complicated? Definitely.
But it’s a very interesting approach to award chart pricing. It allows Air Canada to accurately price every journey, something that is very difficult for a region based award chart and for a distance based award chart.
In other words using United’s region based award pricing, it can be too expensive to book some awards. Using BA’s distance based award chart it can also be too expensive to book some awards, NYC to Tokyo for 217K miles in business class is ridiculous and adding a connection makes it even more cost prohibitive.
By using a hybrid region and distance based award chart, Air Canada creates valuable award pricing for every route.
Each region has a distance based award chart for travel within that region and to other regions.
While BA’s distance based award chart dings you for every connection made, Air Canada won’t charge separately for connecting segments. You can create awards with out of the way stopovers, which can be quite lucrative.
Here is the distance chart for flights within North America. Prices listed on all of the award charts chart are one-way, but sample routes below are priced as round-trips.
- A round-trip flight from LaGuardia to Toronto or Montreal on Air Canada starts at 12K miles in coach or 30K miles in business as it’s between 0-500 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Cleveland to Newark on United is 12K miles in coach or 30K miles in business as it’s between 0-500 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Chicago to LaGuardia on United is 20K miles in coach or 40K miles in business as it’s between 501-1,500 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Newark on United is 25K miles in coach or 50K miles in business as it’s between 1,501-2,750 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Miami to Vancouver on United is 45K miles in coach or 70K miles in business as it’s 2,751+ miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Honolulu on United is 45K miles in coach or 70K miles in business as it’s 2,751+ miles.
- A round-trip flight from Toronto to Honolulu on Air Canada starts at 35K miles in coach or 70K miles in business as it’s 2,751+ miles.
If you’re flying from North America to Europe, Africa, India, or the Middle East, you’ll have to consult this chart:
- A round-trip flight from Newark to London on United is 70K miles in coach or 120K miles in business as it’s between 0-4,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Frankfurt on Lufthansa is 70K miles in coach, 120K miles in business, or 180K miles in first as it’s between 0-4,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Tel Aviv on United is 80K miles in coach or 140K miles in business as it’s between 4,001-6,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Cape Town on United is 110K miles in coach or 180K miles in business as it’s between 6,001-8,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Cape Town on United is 140K miles in coach or 220K miles in business as it’s 8,001+ miles.
If you’re flying from North America to the Far East or Oceania, you’ll have to consult this chart:
- A round-trip flight from Seattle to Tokyo on ANA is 70K miles in coach, 110K miles in business, or 180K miles in first as it’s between 0-5,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from JFK to Tokyo on ANA is 100K miles in coach, 150K miles in business, or 220K miles in first as it’s between 5,001-7,500 miles.
- A round-trip flight from JFK to Singapore on Singapore is 120K miles in coach, 170K miles in business, or 260K miles as it’s between 7,501-11,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Sydney on United is 120K miles in coach or 175K miles in business as it’s between 7,501-11,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Perth on United and Air New Zealand is 150K miles in coach or 230K miles in business as it’s 11,001+ miles.
If you’re flying from North America to South America, you’ll have to consult this chart:
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Bogota on United is 40K miles in coach or 80K miles in business as it’s between 0-2,500 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Lima on United is 60K miles in coach or 100K miles in business as it’s between 2,501-4,000 miles.
- A round-trip flight from Newark to Sao Paulo on United is 80K miles in coach or 120K miles in business as it’s between 4,501+ miles.
Want to earn Aeroplan miles?
You can earn miles with the Chase Aeroplan Card.
You can instantly transfer AMEX, Chase, Or Capital One points to Air Canada at a 1:1 ratio or Marriott points at a 60K:25K ratio.
If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card’s 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card’s 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 90K signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a $750 signup bonus in the form of 75K points for spending $6K in 3 months, and earns 1.5 points per dollar on business purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a $350 signup bonus in the form of 35K points for spending $3K in 3 months and another $400 signup bonus in the form of 40K bonus points for spending another $3K in 6 months for a total of 75,000 Chase Ultimate points, plus if you have a Chase business checking account open on the card’s first anniversary you will get a 10% points bonus on all earnings from card spending, this card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
- Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus that earns an extra 1.5% cash back in the form of 1.5 points per dollar everywhere on up to $20K of spending during your first year, on top of at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
Capital One cards with transferable points include:
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, Hertz President’s Circle status, free lounge access and status for free additional cardholders, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture X Business is offering 150,000 bonus miles for spending $30K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Enhanced Priority Pass Lounge membership, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, transfer points to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $95 annual fee. Read more here.
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is offering 20,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in 3 months, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No annual fee.
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business is offering 50,000 bonus miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, Global Entry/PreCheck, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- New offer: Capital One Spark Cash Plus is offering $2,000 cash back (convertible to 200,000 miles) for spending $30,000 in 3 months, plus get another $2,000 cash back for every $500K spent in your first year, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, annual fee refund when you spend $150K/year, and more. $150 annual fee.
AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points to miles include, select benefits require enrollment via your AMEX account. Terms apply to offers on this page:
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is offering a rare bonus to earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership and offers 2 points per dollar spent on up to $50K spending annually 1 point per dollar thereafter, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. Terms apply. Read more here.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is offering a 150K bonus for spending $20,000 in 3 months and offers monthly credits, lounge access, and much more. Terms apply. Read more here.
- American Express® Business Gold Card is offering a 100K bonus for spending $15,000 in 3 months, monthly business credits, Walmart+ membership, up to 4 points per dollar spent with a $150K annual spend cap, and more benefits. Terms apply. Read more here.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express is offering an 80K bonus for spending $8,000 in 6 months and offers monthly credits, lounge access, and much more. Terms apply. Read more here.
- American Express® Gold Card is offering a 60K bonus for spending $6,000 in 6 months, monthly credits for Uber and Grubhub, and more. Terms apply. Read more here.
- AMEX Green Consumer Card is offering a 40K bonus for spending $3,000 in 6 months and offers up to $199 in annual CLEAR Plus® credits, $100 LoungeBuddy credit, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. All information about the AMEX Green Card has been collected independently by DansDeals.
Will you transfer points to Chase with a 20% or 30% bonus?