Aeroplan

Aeroplan is the loyalty program of Air Canada and one of the most-watched in North America because of its unusual ownership history. The program was spun off to the company Aimia, then repurchased by Air Canada, which relaunched it under airline control in November 2020. Bringing the program back in house let Air Canada align the currency with its own commercial goals rather than a third party's.

From January 2026 Aeroplan became a spend-based program on both axes. Members earn at least one Aeroplan point per dollar on Air Canada base fares, with elite multipliers up to six times, and status now depends on Status Qualifying Credits, a revenue metric, rather than miles or segments flown. Tiers run 25K, 35K, 50K, 75K, and Super Elite.

The lesson for an enterprise operator is that owning your loyalty currency is a strategic decision, not just an accounting one. When Aeroplan sat outside Air Canada, the airline could not freely reshape earning, pricing, or status. Repurchasing it, then rebasing earning and status on spend, gave Air Canada full command of a major revenue and retention engine. Operators that have outsourced their loyalty economics should weigh what control they gave up, and what regaining it would let them do.