American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card Review

American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card Review

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In this post, I want to focus on what’s perhaps the most intriguing card of the Aeroplan credit card collection, the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card.

The good folks at Amex sent me a sample welcome package for the new American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card, and it’s very well done. Those fancy metal cards (13g, according to Amex) always remind me of the first time I was handed one when working retail and was so startled by the unexpected weight that I dropped it.

Aeroplan’s new, sleeker branding works well in a matte, black-on-black format in a way that the previous cute logo – even without the orange – never did.

But enough about the aesthetics, we all know it’s what’s inside that counts.

Welcome bonus

The welcome bonus offering for the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card is certainly more generous than what Aeroplan’s other credit card partners are offering.

New American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Cardmembers can earn up to 90,000 Aeroplan points:

  • Earn 5,000 Aeroplan points for each Additional Aeroplan®* Reserve Card with an annual fee added to your account at time of application, up to a maximum of 2 approved Additional Cards. That could add up to 10,000 Aeroplan points
  • Plus, earn 7,500 Aeroplan points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $2,000 in net purchases on your Card for the first 6 months of Cardmembership. That could add up to 45,000 Aeroplan points
  • You can also earn 35,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $6,000 in net purchases between 13 and 16 months of Cardmembership

Redeem Aeroplan points with Air Canada and their partners

Spend multipliers

Outside of the bonus spend multiplier associated with the welcome bonus, the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card offers the following spend multipliers:

  • 3x points per dollar on eligible purchases from Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations
  • 2x points per dollar on eligible dining and food delivery (but not groceries)
  • 2x points on eligible purchases with Rocky Mountaineer®**
  • 1.25x points per dollar on all other eligible purchases

Earn 3x points on Air Canada purchases with the Aeroplan Reserve Card

Other benefits

Like the prestige-level cards offered by TD and CIBC, which I covered previously, the Reserve Card has SQM rollover benefits, front-of-the-line service for upgrades and standby, and can earn you an Annual Worldwide Companion Pass, among other perks.

The Reserve Card offers a greater ability to share benefits with your travel companions than its competitors, allowing up to nine people traveling on the same reservation with the primary cardholder to access priority check-in, boarding, and baggage handling.

It also carries some parking, valet, and check-in benefits specific to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

Get priority for upgrades with the Aeroplan Reserve Card

Bottom line

It’s worth giving the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card a serious look for the welcome bonus, if nothing else.

That said, the base earn rate is lower than the prestige cards offered by the other partners, and increased earn rates apply more narrowly to travel, dining out, and ordering in. While many of us are doing a fair amount of the latter these days, more of my budget still goes to gas and groceries than to Skip the Dishes.

If I had traveled more than twice this year, I might see some real value in that 3x multiplier for Air Canada purchases. But unless and until the borders reopen and travel normalizes again, it’s difficult to recommend that anyone fork over this kind of annual fee for a suite of benefits that don’t do you much good in your own hometown.

Conversations (9)
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  1. Peter Young Guest

    You did not mention that the original Aeroplan Platinum Card is , or was, a charge card and the new Reserve card is a credit card.

  2. Steve C Guest

    In my experience this card is simply a ripoff. There are no benefits worth $599 a year that other cards like the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite don’t have. I had occasion to call customer service for the first time in years a few weeks ago and it is abysmal. Reps that sound like they’re in training, promising to call back within 24 hours and they never did. When I called back two days later, it...

    In my experience this card is simply a ripoff. There are no benefits worth $599 a year that other cards like the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite don’t have. I had occasion to call customer service for the first time in years a few weeks ago and it is abysmal. Reps that sound like they’re in training, promising to call back within 24 hours and they never did. When I called back two days later, it was simply the same nonsense from a different rep. I’m canceling mine and would recommend anyone not getting the signup bonus to do a realistic cost-benefit analysis.

  3. RM Guest

    *meant 2 points per dollar on amex

  4. RM Guest

    @Canphoenix strongly disagree, earn on that card isn't good (great for no fee), but with this card you can 3 x points on Air Canada and Air Canada vacations (which is the highest in Canada for travel not booked through Expedia, amex plat and gold are only 1 per dollar).... also getting into Air Canada Café / maple leaf lounges is good... probably the best part is exclusive rates on aeroplan redemptions combined with whatever status you hold

  5. Canphoenix Guest

    The ONLY card that Canadians should consider is the no-fee CIBC base aeroplan card. All other new aeroplan cards are borderline worthless.

  6. Tigris23 Guest

    Yes it would help to mention whether this is open to U.S. residents, but seemingly it's on CA residents.

  7. Cedric Member

    Just cancelled mine (my aeroplan platinum was automatically converted to this card). The redemption ration goes from 1.5/1$ to 1/1$... CIBC has a top tier card that offers 1.25, if you spend like I do (business spending) then its a no brainer to get the CIBC even if the bonus is much smaller.

  8. GoAmtrak Gold

    Maybe a different suite of US products is coming?

    Also, the term "buddy pass" is a serious misnomer for anyone familiar with the proper usage. It would seem to imply that you DON'T need to accompany the secondary pax for their flight benefit, when in fact this is just a companion cert. I assume they think they're being creative with the term.

  9. Ben Member

    Is this card only available in Canada? I don't see it in your review, but it doesn't seem like a card available to Americans like the British Airways Chase card would be.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Peter Young Guest

You did not mention that the original Aeroplan Platinum Card is , or was, a charge card and the new Reserve card is a credit card.

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Steve C Guest

In my experience this card is simply a ripoff. There are no benefits worth $599 a year that other cards like the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite don’t have. I had occasion to call customer service for the first time in years a few weeks ago and it is abysmal. Reps that sound like they’re in training, promising to call back within 24 hours and they never did. When I called back two days later, it was simply the same nonsense from a different rep. I’m canceling mine and would recommend anyone not getting the signup bonus to do a realistic cost-benefit analysis.

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RM Guest

*meant 2 points per dollar on amex

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