Air Canada Introduces Status Match for US Members

Now that Canada’s borders are open to fully vaccinated travellers from the US, Air Canada has partnered with Destination Canada and StatusMatch.com to offer a unique status match offer for US-based Aeroplan members.

Until December 31, 2021, eligible travellers who hold status with select US airlines may earn a complimentary status match to Aeroplan Elite Status, with the ability to retain it through December 2022 simply by taking a trip with Air Canada. 

Aeroplan Elite Status Match for US Members

This Air Canada status match is powered by StatusMatch.com, and you’ll find all the information on the dedicated promotion page.

The status match is available to US-based Aeroplan members who hold one of the following status tiers with a US airline:

As you can see, elite status from American Airlines, Delta, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, and Hawaiian Airlines are all eligible for matching to Aeroplan Elite Status.

(United Airlines elite members are understandably excluded, given the close existing partnership with Air Canada and both airlines’ membership in the Star Alliance.)

Generally speaking, Air Canada is matching elite members to a “lower step” than their current status levels:

• Mid-tier status levels like AAdvantage Platinum, Delta SkyMiles Gold, and Alaska MVP status are only being matched to Aeroplan 35K.
• Upper-mid-tier status levels like AAdvantage Platinum Pro, Delta SkyMiles Platinum, and Alaska MVP 75K status are only being matched to mid-tier Aeroplan 50K (which grants Star Alliance Gold).
• Top-tier status levels like AAdvantage Executive Platinum and Delta SkyMiles Diamond are only being matched to upper-mid-tier Aeroplan 75K.
• Only select invitation-only status levels like AAdvantage Concierge Key and Delta SkyMiles 360˚ are being matched to top-tier Aeroplan Super Elite.

To be eligible for this status match promotion, you need to be a US resident. I imagine this will be checked based on the address in your Aeroplan account, so make sure to put down your valid and verifiable US address if you’re signing up for the status match.

To register, simply enter your full name, email address, and Aeroplan number on the promotion page to begin the process. 

You’ll be asked to enter your membership number and existing status tier with one of the eligible programs. 

Then, you’ll be asked to submit proof of your existing status tier. This can take the form of a photo of a physical membership card or a screenshot of your account dashboard. The information will be electronically verified with your existing elite status program.

If approved, your matched Aeroplan Elite Status level will be valid through December 31, 2021. And if you take a round-trip flight with Air Canada before midnight on January 15, 2022, your status will be extended through to December 31, 2022.

The campaign itself ends on December 31, 2021, or until a “limited number of complimentary Air Canada Aeroplan Status Matches” is reached.

Therefore, if you’re interested in signing up for this status match, I’d recommend putting through your registration as soon as possible.

How Good Is This Status Match Offer?

Air Canada’s status match offer is fairly generous for US-based frequent flyers. Even though the matched status is one step lower than your existing status, it’s still fairly rare to see a prominent Star Alliance airline offering a no-strings-attached status match policy, along with a very easy way to retain status for at least one year’s time.

Indeed, for US flyers based near the Canadian border, a simple round-trip flight with Air Canada should cost you in the region of US$250 or less, which can be a very fair price to pay for extending your matched Aeroplan Elite Status by a year (especially if you’ve matched to a higher tier).

Even if you only wanted the free status match for the duration of 2021, however, there are instantaneous benefits to taking advantage of the status match.

For example, if you matched to Aeroplan 25K status, you’d earn a set of 25 eUpgrade credits for 2021, which you could use to upgrade an economy class fare into business class (whether booked with cash or Aeroplan points) for a flight to Canada or a long-haul flight with Air Canada via a Canadian gateway airport. 

In addition, since Alaska Airlines is also currently offering a status match promotion, you could even initiate a chain of status matches that eventually culminates in Aeroplan Elite Status.

For example, let’s imagine you’re a loyal Marriott Bonvoy member who holds Titanium Elite status, but you have no airline status. Marriott Titanium Elite gets you United Silver status as an automatic benefit, which can then be matched to Alaska MVP status, and then onwards to Aeroplan 25K status!

What About Canada/US Dual Residents?

For Canadians who have strong ties on both sides of the border and can claim some measure of US residency, there are some fairly interesting implications too.

My eyes are drawn in particular to the Southwest Companion Pass, which can be matched to Aeroplan 75K status. That’s because every other eligible status tier for this promotion requires you to fly to earn it, whereas the Southwest Companion Pass can be earned purely based on credit card welcome bonuses and points earned from spending.

If you’re fairly deep into the US credit card game and eligible for credit cards issued by Chase (while still remaining under the “5/24 Rule”), then the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards would be your key to unlocking a Companion Pass.

Earlier promotions on the Chase Southwest cards had offered an automatic Companion Pass as part of the welcome bonus, whereas current offers get you partway towards the 125,000 Rapid Rewards points needed to earn a Companion Pass, with the shortfall needing to be earned based on credit card spend.

For Canadian-based travellers, there was previously very little reason to earn a Southwest Companion Pass, since its primary benefit is to unlock unlimited companion tickets on domestic Southwest flights within the United States. But now, we’re seeing that a Southwest Companion Pass can be matched to Aeroplan 75K status for the rest of 2021, no questions asked. 

And I do wonder, too – if you had all your ducks in a row and could match a Southwest Companion Pass to Aeroplan 75K status before November 30, 2021, then surely you’d be able to link up this status match with the ongoing Spend Your Way to Status promotion on the Canadian side?

As long as you had held your Canadian-issued premium Aeroplan credit card prior to the promotion’s launch on July 12, 2021, this would open the door to bumping your matched Aeroplan 75K status to Aeroplan Super Elite in 2022!

Conclusion

Air Canada, Destination Canada, and StatusMatch.com are putting on a very generous and creative promotion for US-based frequent flyers to match to Aeroplan Elite Status, as well as incentivizing Americans to travel up to Canada for the fall and winter season – all while elevating Aeroplan’s stateside standing as it prepares to launch the Chase Aeroplan Mastercard this fall.

For elite members of the major US airline programs, this is as generous of a status match promotion as it gets, as we rarely see major Star Alliance airlines putting on carte-blanche status match promotions like these.

Simply by taking one round-trip flight with Air Canada before January 15, 2022, you’ll get to extend your status through all of 2022, with potentially more status-match opportunities in the future that you might qualify for. 

And for Canadians who maintain a presence in the US, there are some interesting avenues to explore as well. Either way, the promotion only has a limited number of matches available, so it’d be best to take action sooner rather than later if you’re interested in matching over to Aeroplan Elite Status.