Qualifying for Aeroplan Elite Status

Aeroplan Elite Status can be reached in two different ways:

Earn Status Qualifying Miles (SQM), Status Qualifying Segments (SQS) and Status Qualifying Dollars (SQD) when you fly on an eligible Air Canada or Star Alliance flight.

Earn Everyday Status Qualification currency (EDQ) on everyday purchases.

Qualification requirements

Qualification requirements to reach Elite Status

The Status Qualifying currency thresholds shown below must be achieved within a calendar year to get the corresponding Elite Status. Upon achieving a new qualification threshold, members will immediately get access to the benefits associated with their new Status. The new Status achieved will be valid through the following year.

Qualify with	25K	35K	50K	75K	Super Elite
Flight activity	25,000 SQM or 25 SQS AND $3,000 SQD	35,000 SQM or 35 SQS AND $4,000 SQD	50,000 SQM or 50 SQS AND $6,000 SQD	75,000 SQM or 75 SQS AND $9,000 SQD	100,000 SQM or 100 SQS AND $20,000 SQD
Everyday activity	100,000 EDQ	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

SQM, SQS, SQD and EDQ are separate from Aeroplan points, which can be redeemed for Aeroplan rewards and tracked in your Aeroplan dashboard.

Earning Status Qualifying Miles and Status Qualifying Segments

SQM and SQS are earned on all flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge in fares Standard and up, including Air Canada Vacations packages, Star Alliance member airlines and select partner airlines. SQM with Air Canada are earned as a percentage of the distance flown, based on a minimum distance of 250 miles.

Fare	Economy Basic	Economy Standard	Economy Flex	Economy comfort	Economy Latitude	Premium Economy	Business
SQM	x	50%	100%	115%	125%	125%	150%
SQM earned with Air Canada Vacation Packages	x	50%	50%	50%	50%	125%	150%
SQS	x	1	1	1	1	1	1
SQD	x

Fare	SQM	SQM earned with Air Canada Vacation Packages	SQS	SQD
Economy Basic	x	x	x	x
Economy Standard	50%	50%	1
Economy Flex	100%	50%	1
Economy comfort	115%	50%	1
Economy Latitude	125%	50%	1
Premium Economy	125%	125%	1
Business	150%	150%	1

Accelerate your journey to status with an Aeroplan credit card

With Status Qualification Boosts and rollover SQM, eligible Aeroplan credit cards are the perfect complement to Aeroplan Elite Status, as they enhance existing status benefits, and make it that much easier to requalify, or even achieve a higher tier, in years to come.

Status Qualification Boosts on everyday spend

Primary Cardholders will earn 1,000 SQM and 1 SQS for every eligible spend threshold they make using their eligible credit card.

Rollover SQM

Primary Premium Aeroplan Cardholders who alsoreach Aeroplan Elite Status can roll over up to 200,000 SQM beyond the status level for which they’ve qualified from the prior qualification year to qualify for status the next year. For clarity, here are some examples:

Status currency earned in previous year	Highest tier earned	Rollover SQM
21K SQM5 SQS$1K SQD	N/A	N/A
28K SQM8 SQS$3K SQD	25K	3,000
80K SQM45 SQS$25K SQD	75K	5,000
150K SQM120 SQS$25K SQD	Super Elite	50,000
55K SQM150 SQS$25K SQD	Super Elite	N/A

Learn more about Aeroplan credit cardsShow less.

Earning Status Qualifying Dollars

SQD are tracked based on the date of travel and awarded only after your travel is completed. Aeroplan Members earn 1 SQD for every dollar spent on the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges (Y, YQ and YR) on their ticket, flight passes and eUpgrade add-on’s.

Ticket

Earn SQD on eligible flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge^™.
Earn SQD on flights with Star Alliance^™ member airlines ticketed on Air Canada ticket numbers beginning with “014”.

Flight Passes

For Unlimited Flight Passes, SQD will be credited based on the payment of each monthly installment. The total amount of SQD received will correspond to the price paid before sales taxes.
For eligible Limited Credit Flight Passes, SQD will be credited after each flight is flown. Government-imposed taxes, fees and surcharges are excluded based on each itinerary booked. In the case where there is more than one traveller, the SQD value will be credited to the person who travels, not to the purchaser.
Learn more about Aeroplan Flight Passes

eUpgrade Add-ons

Earn SQD for eUpgrade add-ons based on the monetary value of the purchase. SQD will be credited based on the date of travel.
Learn more about eUpgrade add-ons

Everyday Status Qualification

No need to be a frequent traveller to reach Aeroplan Elite Status. With Everyday Status Qualification (EDQ), you can get to enjoy the benefits of Elite Status just by doing what you do every day. Earn 1 EDQ for every eligible Aeroplan point you earn*, whether through spending with Aeroplan credit cards, flying with Air Canada and partner airlines, or with any of our travel and retail partners. If you earn 100,000 EDQ within a calendar year, you will achieve Aeroplan 25K Status.

Frequently asked questions

I used a promotion code to book my flight and the amount of SQD received as a result was lower. Why is that?

Members earn Status Qualifying Dollars when using a discount code to purchase their ticket; however, SQD will be calculated based on the adjusted base fare paid.

I recently flew with Air Canada. Why did I not get any SQD following my flight?

Certain airline tickets and purchases are not eligible for the accumulation of SQD. Members will not earn Status Qualifying Dollars on the following types of fares/flight activities:

Aeroplan flight rewards, including Points + Cash reservations
Economy Basic fares for Air Canada flights
Specialty fares and tickets, including but not limited to promotional tickets and promotional Flight Passes, and other special fares
Fares on flights marketed by Air Canada, but operated by airlines that are not Star Alliance partners
Codeshare flights marketed and operated by other airlines
All-inclusive vacation packages (i.e., flights and hotel) purchased through Air Canada Vacations, or other websites offering vacation packages
Refunded, void, or unused tickets, including unused non-refundable tickets
Charter flights on Air Canada Jetz or other single-entity charter flights, unless otherwise specified

Additionally, members will not earn Status Qualifying Dollars on the following types of purchases:

Baggage service charges
A Maple Leaf Club membership
Last Minute Upgrade purchases
Standard or Preferred seat selection charges
Air Canada Bistro purchases
AC Bid Upgrade purchases

When comparing the amount of money I paid for my ticket with the amount of SQD I received, it doesn’t match. Why did I not get the full SQD amount?

The following do not count toward your SQD balance:

The amount you successfully bid to obtain an upgrade as part of the AC Bid Upgrade program
The government-imposed taxes, fees and surcharges associated with ticket purchases

I am missing some SQD in my account. What should I do?

If your Status Qualifying Dollars have not been posted in your account after completing an eligible activity, you can request missing SQD in 2 ways:

If the flight activity has not been posted in your account at all, request credit for your flight. This will trigger crediting for your SQD, along with your SQS, SQM, and Aeroplan points
If the flight activity has been posted but you’re noticing a discrepancy, you can fill out our online form to report it. Please ensure a minimum of 14 days have passed since your flight departure, as adjustments are not possible within the 14-day window

I flew with a partner airline 2 weeks ago and I still don't see the SQD credited in my account. Why is that?

Please note that due to data exchange processes between Air Canada and its partners, there can sometimes be a delay between the time of travel and the posting of SQD. This can occur as soon as 24 hours after your Status Qualifying Miles (SQM) have been posted, but in some cases can take up to one month.

Terms & conditions

*Points eligible for Everyday Status Qualification are those posted to your Aeroplan account within the calendar year (between January 1 and December 31). Points obtained through sign-up or welcome bonuses associated with Aeroplan credit cards, through conversion from other programs, accumulated as a benefit of Aeroplan Elite Status, including but not limited to the Aeroplan Elite Status bonus with partner airlines, or bonuses earned through the Aeroplan eStore for holding Aeroplan Elite Status, accumulated as part of a flight activity not operated by Air Canada, Canadian North, Air Creebec, or the Star Alliance member airlines, purchased, or received as a gift, transferred between member accounts, reinstated following account inactivity, redeemed as part of a Points + Cash reservation or accumulated as part of contest prizes, or for participating in Aeroplan research are not eligible.

Aeroplan Credit Cards allow you to reach Aeroplan Elite Status more quickly by earning Aeroplan points on net purchases charged to your card. Please note that these are deposited to your Aeroplan account at the end of the next credit card account billing period. As a result, it is possible that transactions charged to your card towards the end of a calendar year will translate into Aeroplan points deposits that will count towards Status Qualification of the following year.