SQC with Air Canada are accumulated based on how much members spend, and the type of fare purchased. SQC are accumulated on Standard fares and above only, with Flex and above accumulating twice the SQC. There is no limit to the number of SQC you can accumulate for travel with Air Canada or Air Canada Vacations.

• 4 SQC/$1 spent on base fare and carrier surcharges (excluding applicable taxes, fees, and third-party charges) are awarded on Flex fares and above
• 2 SQC/$1 spent on base fare and carrier surcharges (excluding applicable taxes, fees, and third-party charges) are awarded on Standard fares & eUpgrade Add-ons
• 1 SQC/$1 spent is awarded on Air Canada Vacations packages

There are also other ways to recognize activity across Air Canada and Aeroplan:

• Spending on Aeroplan premium and core credit cards can award up to a combined total of 25,000 SQC per member per year
• Accumulating Aeroplan points with over 40 partners, including eligible partner airlines and travel & everyday partners, can also contribute up to an additional 25,000 SQC per member per year
• We’re introducing a new perk for Aeroplan premium credit cards in 2027: at the start of each benefit year in February, eligible Aeroplan Premium Credit Cardholders who requalify for Aeroplan Elite Status will get a 10% Head Start toward qualification, based on the total SQC they accumulated the year before.

To reach Aeroplan Elite Status for 2027 and beyond, members will need to accumulate SQC between January 1^st and December 31^st. Upon meeting the SQC requirements for a Status in a given calendar year, members will unlock Core Benefits for that Status for the remainder of that year and until the end of the following year: 

• Aeroplan 25K Status = 25,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 35K Status = 35,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 50K Status = 50,000 SQC
• Aeroplan 75K Status = 75,000 SQC
• Aeroplan Super Elite Status = 125,000 SQC

For information on achieving 2026 Aeroplan Elite Status based on 2025 activities, visit this page.

Core Benefits such as Priority Check-in, Priority Boarding and Maple Leaf Lounge access will be awarded upon status qualification, and for the duration of status validity. eUpgrade credits are also awarded as a Core Benefit and the amount received differs depending on the Aeroplan Elite Status.

• Aeroplan 25K: 5 eUpgrade credits
• Aeroplan 35K: 10 eUpgrade credits
• Aeroplan 50K: 15 eUpgrade credits
• Aeroplan 75K: 20 eUpgrade credits
• Aeroplan Super Elite: 30 eUpgrade credits

For details on the Core Benefits offered for each status, visit the Core Benefits page.

In addition, Milestone Benefits allow Aeroplan Elite Status Members to unlock extra perks throughout the year:

• For every 10,000 SQC up to 200,000 SQC, and for every 20,000 SQC accumulated thereafter, Aeroplan Elite Status Members can unlock additional benefits to complement their Core Benefits.
• All SQC accumulated by the member count toward those rewards, including those from Aeroplan partners and Aeroplan credit cards.
• Milestone Benefits either consist of a choice benefit, an auto-issuance of eUpgrade credits, or a combination of both.
• Only Aeroplan Elite Status Members are eligible for Milestone Benefits, from the moment they qualify for a Status onwards, as they cross SQC Milestones.

To learn more about Air Canada Million Mile qualification and benefits, visit the Air Canada Million Mile page.

No, they are not the same.

While both can be accumulated with Air Canada, Aeroplan credit cards and everyday partners like Uber, LCBO, Starbucks and others, they are separate:

Aeroplan points can be exchanged for rewards such as flights, hotel stays, and more.

SQC are accumulated within a calendar year and enable Aeroplan Elite Status qualification and Core Benefits such as Complimentary Checked Bags, Priority Boarding, and lounge access when you travel. They also unlock Milestone Benefits for status members. SQC are not redeemable or exchangeable.

Yes – for travel on or after January 1, 2026:

*The amount spent includes base fare and airline surcharges but excludes applicable taxes, fees and third-party charges on eligible Air Canada flights.

** Aeroplan Elite Status Member will earn bonus Aeroplan points with the Elite Points Multiplier Core Benefit when the flights are ticketed/issued by Air Canada (014 ticket stock) and operated by a Star Alliance member airline

*** Aeroplan Elite Status members will also accumulate SQC when the flights are ticketed/issued by Air Canada (014 ticket stock) and operated by Air Dolomiti, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, and Lufthansa City, Olympic Air, and Virgin Australia (for Domestic Australia flights only).

If you book a ticket using a Limited-Credit Flight Pass, the price of the pass will be distributed equally across all your flight credits, and you will get SQC for each flight individually. However, while the sales taxes are paid upfront at the time of purchase, other fees—such as government-imposed taxes and airport fees—are only calculated when you book a flight using your credits. These fees vary depending on the specific flight and route you choose, which means the exact dollar value attributed to the base fare and carrier-surcharges will be determined at the time of booking. As a result, the exact number of SQC you get will also depend on the flight(s) you select. The SQC will be deposited into your account after the completion of the flight.

For an Unlimited Flight Pass, you'll earn Aeroplan points based on the pre-tax amount of your monthly installment. The SQC will be deposited into your account at that time.

Please note there are no additional Aeroplan Base points, Status Qualifying Credits (SQC), Lifetime Qualifying Miles (LQM) or Everyday Qualification (EDQ) credited for individual flight activities booked with an Unlimited Flight Pass.

Yes, you will accumulate SQC based on the total cost of the Air Canada Vacations package per member, including taxes and fees. Each Aeroplan Member will be awarded 1 SQC per $1 dollar spent on their individual portion of the trip. There is no limit to the SQC you accumulate with Air Canada Vacations packages.

SQC will be deposited once the last flight of the entire package is flown, however the activity date associated will be that of the first flight.

For example, for an Air Canada Vacations package with its first departing flight on June 15, 2026, and its last return flight on June 22, 2026, the SQC will be credited on June 22, 2026, with an activity date of June 15, 2026.

For added clarity, Air Canada Vacations packages with their first departing flights in 2026 and last return flights in 2027 will accumulate SQC with an activity date of 2026, and any related adjustments to status will be retroactive and automatic.

Yes, members will accumulate 2 SQC per $1 spent on eUpgrade Add-ons. SQC will be credited based on the date of travel and be awarded to the person who sponsored the upgrade – i.e., the member whose account the eUpgrade credits were deducted from. Members will accumulate SQC for their own individual eUpgrade add-ons, and not for the add-ons of travel companions that they sponsor.

Yes, you will continue to accumulate 1 EDQ for every eligible Aeroplan point you earn. Upon reaching 100,000 EDQ, you will qualify for Aeroplan 25K Status.

However, accumulating SQC is the only path to reaching a higher Aeroplan Elite Status and unlocking Milestone Benefits.

You will accumulate both SQC and EDQ for eligible Aeroplan travel and everyday partner activities, as they track to different qualification paths:

• Accumulate 1 SQC for every 5 base Aeroplan points earned, per transaction, with travel partners such as our member-exclusive booking platform for hotels and car rentals, Mariott and Avis, and with everyday partners such as Uber, Starbucks, LCBO and Bell.
  
  SQC that may be accumulated in this category is limited to 25,000 SQC annually, per member. These SQC will be added to your total and will help you reach any Aeroplan Elite Status and its associated Core Benefits and will unlock Milestone Benefits.
  
  Aeroplan points converted from another program or earned through the Aeroplan eStore, through bonus offers or through promotions, are not eligible for SQC unless otherwise specified.
• Accumulate 1 EDQ for every 1 eligible Aeroplan point earned with Aeroplan partners, including the Aeroplan eStore. Once you accumulate 100,000 EDQ in a calendar year, you will reach Aeroplan 25K Status and its associated Core Benefits. However, even as an Aeroplan 25K Member, you will not unlock Milestone Benefits unless you cross an SQC Milestone. 

If you requalified for your Aeroplan 75K or Super Elite Status for 2026, and you nominated a friend for Aeroplan Elite Status in 2025, your friend's status was extended through the duration of the 2026 benefit year. This is meant to help the transition to Milestone Benefits introduced in 2026. For example:

• If an Aeroplan Super Elite Status Member selected Aeroplan 50K Status for a Friend as part of their 2025 Select Benefits, and requalified for their 2026 Super Elite Status, their friend's Aeroplan 50K Status was extended accordingly.
• If an Aeroplan 75K Status Member selected Aeroplan 35K Status for a Friend as part of their 2025 Select Benefits and requalified for 2026 Aeroplan 75K Status or Super Elite Status, their friend's Aeroplan 35K Status was extended accordingly.
• Friends of Aeroplan Super Elite status members who were gifted status through a Chase credit card benefit in 2025 also had their status extended, provided the gifting member requalified for their 2026 Super Elite Status.
• The friend’s status was not extended if a member:
  • Did not choose Status for a Friend in 2025; or
  • Did not share Status for a Friend in 2025; or
  • Did not requalify for their status in 2026.

Banked Aeroplan Super Elite Status provides an automatic one-year status extension of Aeroplan Super Elite Status the first time your status falls below that level, allowing you to continue enjoying Core Benefits, including Concierge Service and 6x Aeroplan points on Air Canada flights.

When a Banked Super Elite Status earned prior to December 31, 2025, is used to extend your status, you’ll also receive additional perks, deposited by February of that year:

• 20 eUpgrade credits; and
• The ability to nominate a friend to Aeroplan 50K Status*.

However, Banked Aeroplan Super Elite Statuses chosen through Milestone Benefits in 2026 and beyond will not include these additional perks when used to extend status

For example:

• If your Banked Aeroplan Super Elite Status was granted on or before December 31, 2025, you’ll receive Super Elite Core Benefits, an additional 20 eUpgrade credits and the opportunity to nominate a friend to Aeroplan 50K Status*.
• If your Banked Aeroplan Super Elite Status was chosen through Milestone Benefits on or after January 1, 2026, you’ll receive the Super Elite Core Benefits only.

*The nomination must be completed by December 30th of the year in which the benefit was awarded; once nominated, the recipient’s status will remain valid through the end of that benefit year.

Our teams are working hard to make sure our members can enjoy fast, free Wi-Fi as soon as possible. We plan to expand complimentary Wi-Fi to international routes by the end of 2026.

Aeroplan 75K and Aeroplan Super Elite members who selected the Aeroplan Elite Wi-Fi 12-month plan as part of their 2025 Select Benefits, and who requalified for their status in 2026, had their Wi-Fi plan automatically extended through 2026.

For example:

• If an Aeroplan Super Elite Status Member selected the Aeroplan Elite Wi-Fi plan as part of their 2025 Select Benefits and requalified for 2026 Aeroplan 75K Status or Super Elite Status, their plan was extended.
• If an Aeroplan 75K Status Member selected the Aeroplan Elite Wi-Fi plan as part of their 2025 Select Benefits and requalified for 2026 Aeroplan 75K or Super Elite Status, their plan was extended.
• The Aeroplan Elite Wi-Fi plan was not extended if the member:
• Did not choose Aeroplan Elite Wi-Fi in 2025; or
• Did not requalify for Aeroplan 75K or Super Elite Status in 2026.

Your Aeroplan premium and core credit card spend (and the spend from any secondary Aeroplan Credit Cardholders on your account) directly contribute to your progress towards reaching Aeroplan Elite Status and unlocking Milestone Benefits.

Aeroplan premium credit cards are the perfect complement to Aeroplan Elite Status. These cards offer SQC for eligible net purchases made on an Aeroplan premium credit card, at a rate of 1,000 SQC for every $5,000 of eligible spend, up to a combined maximum total of 25,000 SQC per Aeroplan member per calendar year. This total is cumulative across all Aeroplan credit cards and issuers.

Plus, starting in 2027, Primary Credit Cardholders of an Aeroplan premium credit card with Aeroplan Elite Status will receive a 10% Head Start. Please refer to the Get a 10% Head Start with an Aeroplan premium credit card section for more details on the 10% Head Start.

Aeroplan Elite Status Members who hold an Aeroplan premium credit card also enjoy Extended eUpgrade Validity of 24 months from the date of issuance and higher priority on the upgrade and standby lists at the airport.

Aeroplan Elite Status is designed to recognize frequent flyers, and unlimited SQC accumulation is an exclusivity of Air Canada flights and Air Canada Vacation packages.

Eligible everyday activities accumulate SQC up to a cap and help directly unlock Aeroplan Elite Status and Milestone Benefits.

10% Head Start is a new annual benefit beginning in 2027 that will reward Primary Aeroplan Premium Credit Cardholders who hold Aeroplan Elite Status. Eligible Aeroplan Elite Status Members who hold a Primary Aeroplan premium credit card will receive SQC equivalent to 10% of their total SQC accumulated in the previous calendar year, with no limit on the number of SQC that can be granted under this benefit, by end of March 2027.

The 10% Head Start is replacing the previously existing Rollover SQM benefit.

To illustrate the difference between the Rollover SQM benefit and the new 10% Head Start, consider the following scenario:

• A Primary Aeroplan Premium Credit Cardholder who requalified for Aeroplan Elite Status in 2025 and ended the 2024 calendar year with 51,000 SQM and at least $6,000 SQD would have received 1,000 Rollover SQM by end of March 2025.
• In 2027, a Primary Aeroplan Premium Credit Cardholder who has requalified for Aeroplan Elite Status in 2027 and is ending the 2026 calendar year with 51,000 SQC will receive 5,100 SQC by end of March 2027.

We will consider all the SQC you accumulated in the previous calendar year, and deposit 10% of that into your Aeroplan account in the current calendar year as a Head Start. This calculation includes your total year-end SQC, including previous 10% Head Start activity.

To qualify, you must have been approved for a Primary Aeroplan premium credit card by December 15^th of the previous year and hold Aeroplan 25K Status or higher on February 15^th of the current Elite year. For greater clarity, to receive the 10% Head Start in 2027, you must have been approved for a Primary Aeroplan premium credit card by December 15, 2026, and hold Aeroplan Elite Status on February 15, 2027.

The rollover SQM benefit for Aeroplan Premium Credit Cardholders will be integrated into our new SQC-based qualification requirements and will be deposited by the end of March 2026. As a one-time activity, we will consider any extra SQM you have at the end of 2025, beyond the SQM amount required for your highest qualified status (up to 200,000 SQM), and these will be converted to SQC at a rate of 5 Rollover SQM to 1 SQC.

Starting in 2027, the rollover SQM benefit will be replaced by the 10% Head Start.

For example:

• If you accumulated 27,000 SQM and $4,500 SQD by the end of 2025, you qualified for Aeroplan 25K Status in the 2026 Elite year and you will receive 400 SQC by the end of March 2026:
  • (27,000 SQM - 25,000 SQM) / 5

• If you accumulated 240,000 SQM and $6,200 SQD by the end of 2025, you qualified for Aeroplan 50K Status in the 2026 Elite year and you will receive 38,000 SQC by the end of March 2026
  • (240,000 SQM - 50,000 SQM) / 5

• If you ended 2025 with 28,000 SQM but did not have sufficient SQD to qualify for Aeroplan Elite Status, you will not receive any SQC under this benefit as you are not eligible for the rollover SQM benefit.

For information on achieving 2026 Aeroplan Elite Status based on 2025 activities, visit this page.

For the 10% Head Start Benefit:

If you cancel or downgrade your Aeroplan premium credit card, your 10% Head Start will be removed from your Aeroplan account and any status and/or benefits given as a result of the 10% Head Start may also be rescinded.

For Credit Card SQC:

If your credit card account is not in good standing, if you close your account or if you change to a different product, you will no longer accumulate any SQC, or you may accumulate SQC at a different construct depending on the card product you hold. All previously accumulated SQC will remain in your Aeroplan account and will reset at the close of each Elite Year.