Air Canada Aeroplan's Revenue-Based System Five Months In: Who's Winning and Losing With the SQC Switch

Five months into Aeroplan's new revenue-based system that took effect January 1, 2026, here's how the SQC framework is shaking out for points travelers. Air Canada overhauled its Aeroplan program at the start of the year, replacing distance-based earning with spend-based math and rebuilding elite status around Status Qualifying Credits (SQCs). Early reactions confirm what the math always suggested: premium-cabin buyers and big spenders are coming out ahead, while economy flyers chasing status through long-haul mileage are watching their old playbook lose value.

The shift puts Aeroplan in line with American AAdvantage and Delta SkyMiles, both of which moved to revenue-based earning years earlier. For Star Alliance loyalists in the US who use Aeroplan as a flexible mileage hub, particularly those crossing over from United MileagePlus, the new system rewards different behavior than the one most strategies were built around.

What changed on January 1

Aeroplan now awards miles based on the dollar amount of your ticket and your Aeroplan elite tier, not the distance flown or fare class. Every member earns a base rate per dollar spent on Air Canada and Star Alliance partner flights booked through Air Canada, with multipliers stacking on top for elite members. A C$2,000 paid business class itinerary now earns far more than a C$800 long-haul economy ticket of equivalent distance, the inverse of how the old miles-based system rewarded those two flyers.

Status qualification moved to a single currency: Status Qualifying Credits. SQCs are earned through a blend of flight spend, Aeroplan co-branded credit card spend, and qualifying activity with select partners. The five elite tiers (25K, 35K, 50K, 75K, and Super Elite) kept their names but rebuilt their thresholds around SQCs rather than Status Qualifying Miles or Status Qualifying Segments. Members can now hit status entirely through credit card spend if they're willing to put enough volume on an Aeroplan Visa or American Express, a path the old program made nearly impossible.

Air Canada also extended an elite status validity grace period for members who held status under the old framework, softening the transition for flyers who qualified in 2025.

What the early data is showing

Five months in, the SQC system is producing the outcomes the math predicted. Members who book premium cabins on revenue tickets are reaching 35K and 50K faster than under the old SQM model. The shift is particularly stark for short-haul premium economy and business buyers, who now get full SQC credit on tickets that used to earn fractional status credit under the old segment-and-distance formula.

The losers are predictable too. Mileage runners who once booked cheap long-haul economy specifically to rack up SQMs have largely given up on the strategy. A C$700 economy ticket to Asia that used to deliver enough SQMs to push someone halfway to 35K now earns a fraction of the SQCs needed.

Members who used to qualify by mixing moderate flying with heavy Aeroplan credit card spend are finding the new system either neutral or slightly favorable. Credit card SQCs were capped under the old program; the new caps are higher and the per-dollar earn rates are more competitive.

How this hits US Star Alliance travelers

For US-based flyers, Aeroplan has long been a backup loyalty home, somewhere to send United-operated flights when MileagePlus elite math didn't pencil out, or a place to redeem flexible partner-transferred points. The revenue-based switch changes that calculus. If you were crediting United flights to Air Canada to chase 35K or 50K, the new system makes that harder unless your tickets are expensive. Distance-based crediting from partner flights is gone. United runs its own revenue-based model, so comparing United MileagePlus and Aeroplan now comes down to which program's credit card spending paths and partner award redemptions fit your patterns.

The award redemption side of Aeroplan, the part most US flyers actually care about, is largely unchanged. The dynamic distance-based award chart still applies, and Star Alliance partner availability hasn't moved in a way tied to the earning changes. Aeroplan still offers some of the best partner award pricing in the alliance for many routes, particularly ANA, Lufthansa, and Swiss flights out of US gateways. That part of the program continues to be a transfer target worth holding flexible points for.

Background and context

Air Canada's move wasn't a surprise. Every major US carrier had already converted to revenue-based earning: American in 2016, Delta in 2014, United in 2015. Air Canada was the largest North American holdout. The 2026 conversion brought Aeroplan in line with the broader market.

The SQC structure borrows from American's Loyalty Points framework. Both consolidate disparate earning paths into a single currency, rewarding spend across the entire loyalty ecosystem, including hotels (Marriott Bonvoy), partner brands, and credit card volume.

This is part of a broader pattern. United tightened its own elite reins in recent cycles, raising Premier Qualifying Points thresholds and trimming benefits at the lower tiers. Alaska's MVP program has held the line on distance-based earning, one of the last meaningful alternatives for flyers who don't fly premium.

Expert read: who wins, who loses

Three groups come out ahead.

Premium-cabin business travelers benefit the most. A flyer booking C$3,000+ business class round-trips now hits 35K or 50K with fewer total flights than the old system required. Companies booking premium for executives effectively get more elite-qualifying credit per trip than they did in 2025.

Heavy Aeroplan credit card spenders also come out ahead. The new SQC earn rates on the Aeroplan Visa Infinite and Aeroplan Reserve cards make it possible to hit 35K through card spend alone, a path that didn't exist before. For high-spending self-employed flyers running business expenses through personal cards, this opens an alternate route to status that doesn't require a punishing flight schedule.

Hybrid flyers, those who blend moderate flying with heavy card spend on Aeroplan co-branded products, generally come out neutral to slightly positive.

Three groups lose. Long-haul economy regulars are the biggest losers. Cheap fares to Asia and Europe used to deliver disproportionate SQMs relative to spend. That's gone. Mileage runners lost their playbook entirely. Discount business and premium economy on partner airlines now earns less than the equivalent Air Canada-operated ticket would, because the old program gave generous distance-based credit on partner-operated premium tickets even when fares were low.

How to adapt your strategy

If status matters to you and you're a US-based flyer with Aeroplan in your loyalty mix, three moves make sense.

Put discretionary card spend on an Aeroplan co-branded credit card if you're chasing a tier. The SQC earn from card spend is now meaningful enough to move the needle. Run the math on your annual spend against the SQC thresholds. For many flyers, hitting 25K or 35K through cards alone is realistic at C$80,000 to C$120,000 in annual category spend.

Book Air Canada metal directly when you can. Partner-operated flights still earn SQCs, but Air Canada-operated flights tend to earn at higher rates, particularly in premium cabins. If your itinerary offers both Air Canada and partner operating options at similar prices, the Air Canada flight typically delivers more SQC value.

Re-evaluate whether Aeroplan is your right status program. For US flyers who fly United frequently, MileagePlus may now offer a better earning curve given that both programs run revenue-based math. The decision now hinges on which program's credit card ecosystem, partner award availability, and elite benefits suit your travel patterns. The old answer of "credit to whichever needs the boost" no longer holds.

Bottom line

Five months in, Aeroplan's revenue-based system is doing exactly what it was designed to do: shift status earning toward higher-spending flyers and dilute the value of cheap long-haul economy. The award chart and partner redemption side of the program, the part most US points travelers care about, remains a strong reason to keep Aeroplan as a transfer target. The elite earning side now requires a different playbook than the one most flyers spent a decade building. The good news is that the new playbook is more honest. The bad news is that it leaves a lot of old strategies on the table.

The Points Party may earn a commission from card issuers and partners when readers apply for products through links on this site, at no cost to you.

Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. We may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you apply through these links. This helps us keep the site running and continue creating free content.