How to Earn Aeroplan Points Without Flying or Signing up for Cards
Most Aeroplan content assumes you either fly Air Canada constantly or are ready to apply for a new credit card. Neither of those things needs to be true for you to start building a real points balance.
Aeroplan has quietly built one of the most extensive everyday earning ecosystems of any Canadian loyalty program. Coffee, rideshares, food delivery, hotel stays, even helicopter flights out of downtown Vancouver, all of it can earn Aeroplan points if you know where to link your accounts. None of it requires a new credit card and none of it requires stepping onto an Air Canada plane.
Here is every way to build your Aeroplan balance passively, starting today.
Step 1: Sign Up for Aeroplan (If You Have Not Already)
This costs nothing and takes about a minute. Go to aircanada.com, create an Aeroplan account, and you have a membership number ready to link to everything below.
The Aeroplan eStore: Your Biggest Untapped Source
This is the most overlooked way to earn points and it costs you absolutely nothing extra. The Aeroplan eStore lets you earn points by shopping with over 250 partner brands, with a browser extension you can download and configure to earn points automatically on your online purchases.
Here is how it works in practice. Before you shop online anywhere, check whether the retailer is listed on the Aeroplan eStore first. If it is, click through the eStore link, complete your purchase exactly as you normally would, and Aeroplan credits you points based on how much you spent.
Earn rates vary by retailer, up to 20 points per dollar with some partners, and installing the Aeroplan Shopping Button browser extension makes this automatic so you never forget to click through before checking out.
The genuinely powerful part is stacking. Pay with an Aeroplan credit card while shopping through the eStore and you earn points twice on the same purchase, once from the eStore itself and again from your card's earn rate. Even without a dedicated Aeroplan card, the eStore rate alone on a purchase you were making anyway is free points for zero extra effort.
Action step: Install the Aeroplan Shopping Button browser extension today. It sits quietly in your browser and reminds you to activate eStore earning before you check out anywhere online.
Starbucks: Turn Your Coffee Habit Into Points
If you are a regular Starbucks customer this is one of the simplest wins available. Link your Aeroplan and Starbucks Rewards accounts to earn 100 Aeroplan points for every $75 or more loaded onto your digital Starbucks Card.
The setup takes about two minutes inside the Starbucks app. Once linked, every time you reload your Starbucks balance by $75 or more you automatically pick up 100 Aeroplan points on top of whatever Starbucks Stars you are already earning. For a regular Starbucks customer in Vancouver this adds up meaningfully over a year without a single change in behaviour.
Uber and Uber Eats: Earn on Rides and Food You Are Already Ordering
This is one of Aeroplan's most generous everyday partnerships and it covers two things most Vancouver residents already use constantly.
On Uber rides:
Earn 1 point per dollar spent on eligible rides with Uber. Airport rides and premium ride categories carry elevated rates, with some premium airport rides earning up to 3 points per dollar.
After you link your Aeroplan and Uber accounts, you also earn an Air Canada flight credit for every 10 Uber rides you take in Canada, with the credit appearing in your Aeroplan dashboard within 6 to 8 weeks.
On Uber Eats:
Earn 1 point per dollar spent on food orders of $40 or more through Uber Eats. If your household regularly orders delivery on a Friday night, linking your accounts turns that habit into a steady points stream at no extra cost. Plus, if you stack this with the AMEX Cobalt, you will be churning out points!
How to link: Open the Uber or Uber Eats app, go to your account settings, and follow the prompts to connect your Aeroplan membership number. You can only link one Uber account per Aeroplan account, so make sure you are linking the account you actually use.
LCBO: Earn on Every Bottle in Ontario
Scan your physical or digital Aeroplan card at LCBO checkout to earn points on your purchase, with earning now available both in-store and through the LCBO mobile app. This one is Ontario-specific and does not apply to BC residents given that liquor retail works differently here, but worth knowing if you have family or regularly travel to Ontario. Additionally, the LCBO will have promotions where you buy certain drinks and earn even more points. Keep an eye out in the stores for these promos.
Journie Rewards: Gas Station Earning
Aeroplan links with Journie Rewards, the Petro-Canada loyalty program, allowing you to earn Aeroplan points on fuel purchases without needing an Aeroplan-branded credit card at the pump. If Petro-Canada is your regular gas station, linking your Journie Rewards account to Aeroplan adds a passive point stream to spending you are doing weekly regardless.
Helijet: The Uniquely BC Earning Opportunity
This one is genuinely unique to British Columbia and worth knowing if you have ever taken or considered Helijet's helicopter service between downtown Vancouver, Victoria, and Nanaimo.
As of November 12, 2025, Helijet became the first helicopter carrier in the world to partner with Aeroplan, allowing passengers to earn Aeroplan points on eligible scheduled and charter flights.
Aeroplan members currently earn a flat 250 points on an eligible Helijet scheduled or charter flight, regardless of fare paid. It is not a large amount on its own, but for BC residents who use Helijet for business trips to Victoria or scenic charter flights, it is genuinely free points on a service you already use, with zero additional cost or effort beyond linking your Aeroplan number to the booking.
It is not currently possible to redeem Aeroplan points to book a Helijet flight, only to earn them, though Air Canada has suggested this may become available in the future.
Hotel Partners: Marriott, Hilton, and IHG
Even without an Aeroplan credit card, your hotel stays can contribute to your Aeroplan balance.
Aeroplan's hotel partners are Marriott, Hilton, and IHG. You can earn points when you pay for a room, use points to pay for stays, or in some cases convert hotel loyalty points directly into Aeroplan points.
Aeroplan also operates its own HotelSavers booking platform with over 300,000 properties worldwide, where you can earn points on bookings and pay with points, cash, or a combination of both, sometimes at a discount of up to 30% off the points needed to book through select partners.
A newer addition worth watching: World of Hyatt became an Aeroplan partner as of July 15, 2026, with a flat 500-point earn rate per stay, and premium Aeroplan credit cardholders receiving an additional 2 Hyatt points and 2 Aeroplan points per Canadian dollar spent at Hyatt properties. If you stay at Hyatt properties for work or leisure, linking your accounts is worth doing immediately.
How to earn: For most hotel partners, simply add your Aeroplan membership number to your reservation at the time of booking. No credit card required, though pairing with an Aeroplan card when you do have one doubles your earning on the same stay.
Car Rentals: A Smaller But Real Source
Aeroplan partners with several car rental companies including Avis, where you can earn up to 2 Aeroplan points for every dollar spent. If you regularly rent cars for weekend trips out of Vancouver, adding your Aeroplan number at the counter or during online booking is a simple way to capture points you are otherwise leaving on the table.
Airport Parking: Points From a Purchase You sometimes Cannot Avoid
If you park at YVR or fly through other Canadian airports regularly, several parking services are Aeroplan partners. Park'N Fly offers up to 150 Aeroplan points per reservation. This is a genuinely painless way to earn points since airport parking is a purchase you are making anyway every time you travel.
Putting It All Together: A Realistic Example
Here is what passive earning might look like for a typical Vancouver resident over a year, with zero new credit cards and zero additional flying:
Estimated annual points Aeroplan eStore on regular online shopping 2,000 to 5,000
Starbucks reloads 500 to 1,500
Uber rides and Uber Eats 1,000 to 3,000
Hotel stays (2 to 3 per year) 1,000 to 1,500
Car rentals and airport parking 200 to 500
Total realistic annual earning 4,700 to 11,500 points
That is not a business class trip to Tokyo on its own. But it is genuinely free points on spending you would be doing regardless, and it stacks directly on top of any credit card earning you may already have. For someone not ready to apply for a new card, or someone who already has one and wants to squeeze out every additional point available, this is meaningful incremental value at zero extra cost.
The Simple Setup Checklist
Do these five things today and you will be earning passively on autopilot going forward:
Sign up for a free Aeroplan account if you have not already
Install the Aeroplan eStore Shopping Button browser extension
Link your Starbucks Rewards account to Aeroplan
Link your Uber and Uber Eats account to Aeroplan
Add your Aeroplan number to any Marriott, Hilton, or IHG loyalty profile
Every one of these takes two minutes or less and none of them require a credit card application or a change in how you already live your life.
The Honest Reality
None of these methods will get you to a business class seat to Europe on their own. The real acceleration in Aeroplan earning still comes from the right credit card combination, which is why we cover that extensively elsewhere on YVRPoints.
But if you are not ready for a new card, or you already have one and want to know every additional lever available, everyday partners genuinely add up over a year. And unlike credit card spending, none of it costs you anything beyond what you were already going to spend.
If you want to know when new Aeroplan partnerships launch, like the recent Helijet and Hyatt additions, or when limited-time bonus earning promotions go live with any of these partners, subscribe to YVRPoints below. We track every update so you never miss free points sitting on the table.
As mentioned earlier in this post, a great card to help earn points for Aeroplan is the AMEX Cobalt. It will earn you AMEX Membership Reward points that you can then transfer 1:1 for aeroplan points.
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