Free tool · Rules checked 2026-10-12
How close are you to Aeroplan status?
Since January 2026, Aeroplan Elite Status runs on one number: Status Qualifying Credits. Enter a year of Air Canada fares, Aeroplan card spend and partner earning to see your SQC, the tier it reaches, and the cheapest way to the next one.
Enter one calendar year, January to December: what you’ve already done this year plus what’s still planned.
Air Canada flights, before taxes
2 SQC per dollar of base fare and carrier surcharges. eUpgrade Add-ons count here too. Basic fares earn nothing.
4 SQC per dollar: Economy Flex, Comfort and Latitude, Premium Economy and Business.
Aeroplan credit cards (primary cardholder)
1,000 SQC per $20,000: TD or CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite or Business, Amex Aeroplan Card.
Everything else
1 SQC per 5 points: Star Alliance flights not ticketed by Air Canada, hotels, car rentals, Uber, Starbucks, LCBO. Not eStore, bonus or converted points. Air Canada rounds each transaction, so your account can differ slightly.
1 SQC per dollar of your own portion, taxes and fees included. A $12,000 package for four travellers is $3,000 each.
Deposited for premium cardholders who requalify: 2025 rollover converted in March 2026, or from 2027 a 10% Head Start. Check your Aeroplan account.
Not yet Elite
16,000 SQC
That’s 9,000 short of Aeroplan 25K, the first tier.
| Air Canada flights | 8,000 |
|---|---|
| Aeroplan credit cards | 6,000 |
| Partners | 2,000 |
| Total | 16,000 |
To reach Aeroplan 25K, any one of these closes the 9,000 SQC gap:
- $2,250 more on Flex fares or higher
- $4,500 more on Economy Standard fares
- $45,000 more on a premium Aeroplan card
- 45,000 more base points from partners
A second route to 25K: Everyday Status Qualification grants Aeroplan 25K to anyone who earns 100,000 qualifying points in a calendar year from Aeroplan cards, the eStore and everyday partners, without any SQC. Welcome bonuses and points converted from other programs don’t count. More in our elite status guide.
An estimate from Air Canada’s published rules. The SQC total in your Aeroplan account is the official count. Card SQC arrive in 1,000-credit steps per card; flights redeemed with points earn none.
What each tier takes
The SQC for each tier, and what that means in Air Canada fares alone. The last column assumes a premium Aeroplan card already at its 25,000-SQC cap, which takes $125,000 of spend.
| Tier | SQC | eUpgrade credits | Standard fares only | Flex fares only | Flex, with a capped premium card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeroplan 25K | 25,000 | 5 | $12,500 | $6,250 | $0 |
| Aeroplan 35K | 35,000 | 10 | $17,500 | $8,750 | $2,500 |
| Aeroplan 50K | 50,000 | 15 | $25,000 | $12,500 | $6,250 |
| Aeroplan 75K | 75,000 | 20 | $37,500 | $18,750 | $12,500 |
| Super Elite | 125,000 | 30 | $62,500 | $31,250 | $25,000 |
Fares are base fare plus carrier surcharges, before taxes and airport fees. Partner earning can stand in for up to another 25,000 SQC on any row. Together with a capped premium card, that is how a member who books hotels and car rentals through Aeroplan can reach 50K with almost no flying.
Where the SQC come from
Air Canada flights are the only uncapped source, and fare type matters more than distance. Flex earns twice Standard per dollar, and every extra dollar spent moving from Standard to Flex earns at least 4 SQC: twenty times a premium card’s 1 SQC per $5.
Aeroplan credit cards top out at 25,000 SQC a year combined, enough for 25K on their own. A premium card gets there on $125,000 of spend; a core card would need $500,000, so for status the premium cards are the only ones that move the needle. Compare them in our best Aeroplan credit cards ranking, or read the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege and Amex Aeroplan Reserve reviews.
Partners add up to 25,000 more, at 1 SQC per 5 base points. Paid Star Alliance flights ticketed by another airline land here too, and they share the cap.
Whether status is worth chasing is a separate question, and our Aeroplan elite status guide works through it: lounge access starts at 50K, and below that the benefits are eUpgrades, priority services and better reward pricing. To see what your points will fly you to, try the Aeroplan points calculator; and if an account in the family has sat untouched, the expiry checker dates it before November 30.
Frequently asked questions
How many SQC do I need for Aeroplan Elite Status?
25,000 SQC for Aeroplan 25K, 35,000 for 35K, 50,000 for 50K, 75,000 for 75K and 125,000 for Super Elite, all earned between January 1 and December 31. Everyday Status Qualification is a second route to 25K only.
How do Air Canada flights earn SQC?
By what you pay, not how far you fly: 4 SQC per dollar of base fare and carrier surcharges on Economy Flex, Comfort, Latitude, Premium Economy and Business, and 2 SQC per dollar on Economy Standard fares and eUpgrade Add-ons. Taxes and airport fees don't count, Economy Basic earns nothing, and neither do flights booked with points. Star Alliance flights earn the same rates when the ticket is issued by Air Canada (ticket numbers starting 014). There is no cap.
Which Aeroplan credit cards earn SQC?
Premium cards earn 1,000 SQC for every $5,000 spent: the TD and CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege, the American Express Aeroplan Reserve and the Amex Aeroplan Business Reserve. Core cards earn 1,000 SQC for every $20,000: the TD and CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite, the TD and CIBC Aeroplan Visa Business, and the Amex Aeroplan Card. The TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum and CIBC Aeroplan Visa earn none. Only the primary cardholder earns SQC, and the total from every Aeroplan card a member holds stops at 25,000 a year.
Do partner flights and everyday partners earn SQC?
Yes, at 1 SQC for every 5 Aeroplan base points, up to 25,000 SQC a year. That covers Star Alliance flights ticketed by another airline as well as hotels, car rentals, Uber, Starbucks, the LCBO and Aeroplan's other partners. Points from the eStore, promotional bonuses and points converted in from other programs don't count. The partner cap is separate from the 25,000 card cap, so the two together can reach 50,000 SQC without a paid Air Canada flight.
How long does Aeroplan status last?
From the day you reach the SQC for a tier until the end of the following calendar year. Reach 35K in October 2026 and it lasts through December 31, 2027.
What are rollover SQC and the 10% Head Start?
Deposits for primary cardholders on a premium Aeroplan card who requalify for status. In 2026, Status Qualifying Miles from 2025 above what the member's tier needed were converted at 5 to 1, up to 40,000 SQC, and deposited by the end of March. From 2027 the Head Start replaces that: 10% of the previous year's SQC, deposited by the end of March, for members approved for the card by December 15 of the previous year and holding status on the determination date in February. Both count toward the year's total; enter what your account shows in the calculator.
What is Everyday Status Qualification?
A second route to Aeroplan 25K that ignores SQC: earn 100,000 qualifying Aeroplan points in a calendar year from Aeroplan credit cards, the eStore and everyday partners. Welcome bonuses and points converted from other programs don't count. It only ever gives 25K.
Rules checked 2026-10-12 against Air Canada’s Aeroplan Elite Status page, whose four sample scenarios the calculator reproduces exactly, and the TD, CIBC and American Express Aeroplan card benefit pages. Aeroplan’s terms and conditions are the full rules.