Aeroplan Guide for Indians: Cards, Awards, Status (2026)

Air Canada’s Aeroplan is the most useful airline programme most Indians have never logged into. Its points book Air India, Lufthansa, Swiss, Turkish, Singapore Airlines and the rest of Star Alliance, usually with low taxes, and you can reach it from Axis, HDFC, SBI and Kotak cards. Delhi to Frankfurt in business costs 40,000 points. Here’s how it all works in 2026.

The short version

• Best Indian routes in: Axis Magnus for Burgundy and Burgundy Private (5:4), Axis Atlas (1:2, capped), SBI MILES cards (1:1). HDFC Infinia and Diners Black are 2:1. All cards and limits are on our Aeroplan transfer partners page.
• Best sweet spot: India to continental Europe in business for 40,000 points, which got cheaper in June.
• What got dearer: India to Asia and India to North America in business rose by 5,000–15,000 points.
• Stopovers: 5,000 points, even on a one-way.
• A point is worth about ₹1.30 to us. Don’t buy them to hoard; transfer only when you’ve found the seat.

Getting Aeroplan points from Indian cards

Card	Card points : Aeroplan	Notes
Axis Olympus	1 : 4	Group A cap 1.5 lakh a year
Axis Atlas	1 : 2	Group A cap only 30,000 EDGE Miles a year (60,000 Aeroplan)
Axis Burgundy Private	5 : 4	Cap 3 lakh a year; no transfer fee
Axis Magnus for Burgundy	5 : 4	Cap 2 lakh a year
Axis Horizon	1 : 1	Cap 1 lakh a year
Axis Magnus, Reserve	5 : 2	Cap 1 lakh a year
SBI Card MILES, PRIME, ELITE	1 : 1	Minimum 2,000 Travel Credits; up to 21 days
HDFC Infinia, Diners Club Black, BizBlack	2 : 1	Via SmartBuy; monthly caps apply
HDFC Regalia Gold, BizPower	3 : 1	Poor
Kotak Solitaire, Air+	2 : 1	Poor
Axis Select, Privilege, Rewards	10 : 1	Avoid
Marriott Bonvoy	3 : 1	+5,000 bonus per 60,000 Bonvoy points
HSBC, ICICI, Amex India	No direct transfer	Amex can go via Marriott (1:1, then 3:1)

Marriott to Aeroplan bonus: Aeroplan is giving 15% extra on Marriott conversions this October. We ran the numbers in Marriott to Aeroplan 15% bonus: worth it for Indians?

The award chart from India (from 1 June 2026)

Aeroplan prices partner flights by zone and by the distance you actually fly. India sits in the “Atlantic” zone with Europe, Africa and the Middle East. One-way prices:

Trip (distance)	Example	Economy	Business	First
Within Atlantic, 1,001–2,000 mi	Delhi–Dubai	15,000	22,500	40,000
Within Atlantic, 2,001–4,000 mi	Delhi–Frankfurt, Delhi–Istanbul, Delhi–Vienna	30,000	40,000	75,000
Within Atlantic, 4,001–6,000 mi	Delhi or Mumbai–London	42,500	70,000	100,000
To Asia, 0–2,500 mi	Chennai–Singapore, Delhi–Bangkok	25,000	47,500	55,000
To Asia, 2,501–5,000 mi	Delhi–Singapore, Delhi–Tokyo	40,000	75,000	95,000
To North America, 6,001–8,000 mi	Delhi–Newark	60,000	90,000	150,000
To North America, 8,001+ mi	Most one-stop routes via Europe	75,000	110,000	165,000

What changed in June: India–Europe business up to 4,000 miles fell from 45,000 to 40,000, the best news for Indian readers in years. India–London business rose from 60,000 to 70,000, India–Singapore and Tokyo business from 60,000 to 75,000, and short Asia hops from 40,000 to 47,500.

Sweet spots worth transferring for

1. Delhi or Mumbai to Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna or Istanbul in business: 40,000. Air India, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian or Turkish. We found Air India business from Delhi to Vienna at 40,000 points plus about ₹9,000 in taxes and the CA$39 booking fee. Note: Air India has suspended its Delhi–Vienna nonstop from 31 Oct 2026 (per Aviation Week), so book Delhi–Frankfurt on Air India or Lufthansa, or Vienna via Warsaw on LOT, at the same 40,000. Via Magnus for Burgundy, that’s 50,000 EDGE points.
2. India to the Gulf in business: 22,500. Air India or Gulf Air to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Bahrain, against cash fares of ₹50,000–70,000.
3. Add a city with a stopover. Delhi–Istanbul, stay a few days, then on to Vienna in business: 40,000 plus 5,000 for the stopover, because the whole trip is still under 4,000 miles.
4. India to the US in business: 90,000–110,000. Still fair against ₹3–5 lakh cash fares, and Aeroplan didn’t add fuel surcharges on the Air India flights we’ve checked.
5. Emirates, now in all four cabins. Emirates premium economy is bookable since July. Emirates first is open only to Aeroplan 35K members and above, and prices vary, so compare with Skywards before transferring.

Use our award chart tool to compare Aeroplan with KrisFlyer, Avios and Maharaja Club for your route, and the Partner Finder to see which airlines you can book. More ideas in our business class sweet spots guide.

Fees and routing rules

Item	Rule
Partner booking fee	CA$39 per ticket (about ₹2,600); payable in points. Phone bookings add CA$30.
Change	CA$75 online (CA$100 by phone); free on flexible fares
Cancel and redeposit	CA$150 online (CA$175 by phone); at least 2 hours before departure or the ticket is lost. Free for Super Elite.
Stopover	5,000 points, up to 45 days, one per direction; not in Canada, the US or China
Routing	Up to 6 flights per direction, no more than twice the direct distance, connections up to 24 hours
Infants on lap	CA$25 or 2,500 points per direction

Aeroplan status in 2026, and two hotel shortcuts

Since 1 January 2026, Aeroplan status is earned on money spent with Air Canada, counted as Status Qualifying Credits (SQC): 4 SQC per CA$1 on Economy Flex and above, 2 on Economy Standard, none on Basic fares or award tickets.

Tier	Star Alliance status	Key extras
25K	Silver	Priority check-in and boarding, 5 eUpgrades
35K	Silver	10 eUpgrades; can book Emirates first
50K	Gold	Star Alliance lounges (Air India, Lufthansa, Singapore and more), extra bag, 15 eUpgrades, Marriott Gold
75K	Gold	20 eUpgrades, Marriott Gold
Super Elite	Gold	30 eUpgrades, no change or cancellation fees on awards

Flying enough Air Canada from India to earn this normally is unrealistic. But two hotel programmes now offer a shortcut:

You hold	How it works	You get
World of Hyatt Explorist	Earn 8,000 SQC on Air Canada within 90 days (from 14 Oct 2026)	Aeroplan 25K
World of Hyatt Globalist	Earn 8,000 / 12,000 / 17,000 / 25,000 SQC in 90 days	25K / 35K / 50K / 75K
Marriott Titanium or Ambassador	Link accounts and register; no flying needed	Aeroplan 25K
Aeroplan 50K or above	Link and register	Marriott Gold

What 50K costs a Hyatt Globalist: 17,000 SQC at 4 per CA$1 is CA$4,250 of base fare and surcharges, about ₹2.84 lakh. One Delhi–Toronto or Vancouver round trip in business, on a fare that isn’t the cheapest, can get you there, and that buys Star Alliance Gold until January 2028. In economy (Standard fares earn half), forget it.

Points expiry, family pooling and buying

• Expiry: after 18 months with no earning or redeeming. A card transfer counts as earning.
• Family sharing: up to 8 people can pool points, but Aeroplan has temporarily stopped new pools. Existing pools can still add members.
• Buying points: a new sale with up to a 90% bonus runs until 29 October 2026. Only the 90% tier (80,000+ points) is worth it, at about ₹1.35 a point, or about ₹1.14 if you pay with Axis Magnus for Burgundy in a month you’ve crossed ₹1.5 lakh. Our full maths on the 90% sale. The rule still applies: top up only for a seat you’ve found.
• Hyatt links: you can convert Hyatt points to Aeroplan at 2:1, and Aeroplan elites can go the other way. Neither keeps value; use them only to fill a gap.

How to book

1. Open a free Aeroplan account. Make sure the name matches your passport and your bank or Marriott account exactly.
2. Search the award on aircanada.com first. Search one flight at a time if a full trip doesn’t show.
3. Only when you see the seat, transfer from your card. Axis transfers usually take a few days; SBI can take up to 21 days.
4. Book online to avoid the phone fee. Pay the CA$39 booking fee in cash; paying it in points is poor value.

DealUni take

Aeroplan is the best Star Alliance programme you can reach from India, and June’s chart made India–Europe business cheaper, not dearer. Earn through Axis Burgundy cards, Atlas (within its cap) or SBI MILES, book Europe at 40,000 with a stopover, and ignore the points sales. If you’re already a Hyatt Globalist flying to Canada, the new challenge is the cheapest way to Star Gold we’ve seen. New to Hyatt? Start with our World of Hyatt guide for Indians. For costs in rupees and which hotel route suits you, read Aeroplan status via hotels: Hyatt challenge vs Marriott match.

Seat pehle dhoondo, points baad mein bhejo. (Find the seat first, transfer the points after.)

Read next: KrisFlyer and Aeroplan sweet spots from India, our Marriott Bonvoy guide and round-the-world awards from India.

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Sources: Aeroplan flight reward chart; Aeroplan: 2026 chart update; flight reward policy; Aeroplan status tiers; Air Canada: new status rules; status challenge for Hyatt members; Aeroplan and Marriott; Marriott and Air Canada status FAQ; Aeroplan family sharing; Emirates rewards; Aeroplan terms. Card ratios from DealUni’s transfer data (Oct 2026); Axis caps from Axis Bank’s 23 Sep 2026 changes.