What I’d Do With 100k Aeroplan Miles: Using The Chase Aeroplan Transfer

What I’d Do With 100k Aeroplan Miles: Using The Chase Aeroplan Transfer

Note: The 100K offer originally mentioned in this post has expired. You can find the current Sapphire Preferred information here.

With the addition of Aeroplan as a Chase transfer partner we now have new possibilities for using our points and miles. If I had 100,000 Aeroplan points, how would I use them? In this article, we’ll cover the transfer rules for sending points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Air Canada’s Aeroplan program. We’ll also look at how to earn those miles before jumping into the fun part: what I’d do with those miles.

Chase Aeroplan Transfer – New Partner Now Live

As of last month, Chase added Air Canada’s Aeroplan program as a transfer partner. You can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. The Aeroplan program underwent major changes last year, which we covered here.

With an elevated welcome offer (all-time high) on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, this gives us the ability to essentially earn over 100,000 Aeroplan points. Here’s a look at maximizing this welcome offer and the new points transfer partner.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Benefits

Note: Offers mentioned in this post have expired. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a favorite in this hobby, and that’s with good reason. High up on the list of reasons for people loving this card is the welcome offer. Here are the important details of the all-time highest welcome offer:

• Type of card: personal
• Card issuer: Chase
• Application rules to follow: cannot open this card if you have opened more than 5 credit cards in the last 24 months, no more than 2 credit cards in 30 days from Chase, cannot have any other Sapphire card from Chase right now (see bank rules here)
• Spending requirements: $4,000 in 3 months
• Annual fee: $95
• Learn More

Note: Offers mentioned in this post have expired. 

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card Benefits

  • 5X on Chase Travel
  • 5X on Lyft rides
  • 3X on dining, streaming & online grocery (excludes Target, Walmart & wholesale clubs)
  • 2X Points on travel (flights, buses, hotels, etc.)
  • 2X Points at restaurants
  • 1X Points on everything else
  • Get a 10% back in points anniversary bonus as well.  This happens after you renew and pay an annual fee. It is based off of the money spent on the card.  So if you spent $25,000 in a year, you would get 2,500 points.

  Other Benefits

  • $50 hotel credit every cardmember year
  • 5X Points on Lyft rides
  • $0 delivery fees by signing up for DashPass with DoorDash
  • Additional cards at no additional cost
  • Additional protections like trip insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection, and rental car insurance
  • Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points in the Chase portal or via Pay Yourself Back at 1.25 cents a piece
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Learn More

What I Would Do With 100,000 Aeroplan Points

Note: Offers mentioned in this post have expired. 

So…what would I do with 100,000 Aeroplan points? Technically, you’re going to have more than that. After earning the welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll have a minimum of 104,000 miles (100,000 points from the welcome offer + minimum of 1 point per $1 on the $4,000 you spend to get it). I’ll use 104,000 for our trip planning.

Aeroplan uses a zone-based + distance-based award chart. You can see the image above and consult the award charts here. You pay by which zone you’re flying from and to, and within that there are ranges of points, depending on the distance you fly. It’s important to note that you’ll pay $39 CAD (roughly $30 USD) for redemptions on partner airlines.

Starting in the US, here are some great vacation ideas that you could use to maximize the new Chase Aeroplan transfer availability.

Economy – 4 People to Mexico…Tons Of Possibilities

Are you a college student and want to go to Spring Break in Cancun with friends? Family with 2 kids and you want to check out Dia de los Muertos in Mexico? Maybe you just want to relax on some beaches or even explore Mayan ruins.

With 104,000 Aeroplan points in your account, you’ve got enough for 4 adult round-trip awards to Mexico. If you’re that college student, have your friends give you cash, use your points, and now you’ve got spending money for Spring Break!

Pay 12,500 Aeroplan points per person in each direction. That’s 25,000 per person round trip and 100k for the group of 4 to get to Mexico and back.

You’ll pay $106 per person in taxes and fees, due to the partner award booking fee and Mexico departure fee.

If you’re looking for a great hotel in Mexico, I highly recommend the Andaz Mayakoba Resort near Playa del Carmen. Read my review here.

Business Class – Endless Options In South America

Saw my info about diving in the Galapagos and want to go? Carnival in Rio? Semana Santa festivals throughout South America? Go to Machu Picchu? Following Pablo Escobar sites after you watched Narcos? Tons of options for a round-trip business class flight to South America.

From North America to South America, you can spend 50k Aeroplan points in each direction if you keep the flight distance under 4,500 miles. Here’s a rough guide to what works:

• Southern half of US to middle or norther parts of South America
  • Ft. Lauderdale to Buenos Aires or anywhere north of that
  • Houston or LAX to Ecuador/Peru/Colombia
• Northern half of US to northern parts of South America
  • • DC and Chicago to anything north of the top of Chile
    • Denver or Seattle to Ecuador/Peru/Colombia

For under 100,000 points, fly round-trip to Cartagena on the northern coast of Colombia in business class. The overnight portion is in a lie-flat seat, so you can sleep well.

You’ll pay $132.50 US in taxes and fees for the round-trip booking. This includes the partner award booking fee.

Cartagena has a great Hyatt Regency with a really nice rooftop pool + bar area.

First Class – 3 Options

There are 2 options for first class flights departing the US and pricing at less than 104,000 Aeroplan points.

1. Lufthansa first class on any of their US to Germany routes
2. Singapore Suites first class from New York JFK to Frankfurt FRA
3. Air China first class from Houston to Panama City (this is a continuation of a flight that originations in Beijing)

Unfortunately, options 2 and 3 aren’t running right now.

Option 1 is difficult to find, because Lufthansa only allows partners to book its first class product for flights in the next 2 weeks. You can’t book in advance. (Aeroplan also doesn’t make it easy, since they don’t have flexible dates / calendar search in their website. That’s ridiculous, by the way.)

For 100k Aeroplan points and just $37.50 US in taxes, fly the “everyone raves about it” Lufthansa first class from Chicago to Frankfurt.

Final Thoughts

If you’re maximizing the Chase Sapphire Preferred and its new Aeroplan transfer partner, we looked at some ideas for how to use those points from the welcome offer. Additionally, we talked about the card’s perks and earning structure.

Let us know if you’re excited about this new transfer partner or not.

Note: Offers mentioned in this post have expired. 

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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