Air Canada now measures status with one number: the Status Qualifying Credit. It replaced the old split of miles and dollars, and it changed how fast people climb. Here is how the tiers work, where credits come from, and what the milestones add on top.
For years, status meant chasing two targets at once: a distance number and a spending number. The current system folds both into a single Status Qualifying Credit. You earn SQC and you watch one total climb toward a tier.
The simplification is real, but for some travellers the math got harder, not easier. The way credits are earned per trip changed, and a route that once pushed you over a threshold may now fall short. If your climb feels slower than it used to, you are not imagining it.
The elite tiers are named for their SQC thresholds. Each one stacks more benefits on the last.
| Tier | SQC to reach | Headline benefits |
|---|---|---|
| 25K | 25,000 | First eUpgrade credits, priority check-in, free bags |
| 35K | 35,000 | More credits, priority boarding, better upgrade priority |
| 50K | 50,000 | Star Alliance Gold, lounge access, more credits |
| 75K | 75,000 | Top published tier, highest upgrade priority |
Super Elite sits above 75K for the most frequent flyers. The 50K tier is the one many people target, because it brings Star Alliance Gold and the lounge access that comes with it.
Two sources count toward status. Everything else earns points, which is a different currency entirely.
Air Canada and eligible Star Alliance partner flights earn SQC based on the fare and the route. Premium cabins and higher fare classes earn more. This is the backbone of status and the only realistic path to the top tiers.
An Aeroplan co-branded card earns SQC on spend, and some cards grant a block of SQC when you hit a spend threshold or on your card anniversary. This is the main lever for people who do not fly enough to qualify on flights alone, and it is most useful for reaching the lower tiers.
This is where the per-trip math surprises people. SQC on a flight is based on the price of the fare, the base fare plus carrier surcharges, multiplied by a factor set by your fare class. It is not based on how far you fly. A short expensive ticket can earn more than a long cheap one.
Whose ticket it is also matters. An Air Canada or Aeroplan issued ticket, the kind whose number starts with 014, earns on the fare price regardless of which Star Alliance airline operates the flight. A ticket issued by another airline behaves differently: on Air Canada metal it still earns on the fare, usually a small amount, while on a partner airline it earns on distance flown instead.
Above the published tiers sit two milestones that work differently. They are not status levels. They are checkpoints where you choose a reward.
Status is only worth the chase if the benefits you actually use are worth more than what it costs you to qualify. That cost is real: extra flights you would not otherwise take, a routing chosen for credits instead of convenience, or spending pushed onto a card to hit a threshold. Run the trade honestly.
Status earns its keep when you already fly enough that you would hit the tier anyway, or close to it. Then the benefits are a bonus on flying you were doing regardless. It also makes sense if you genuinely value upgrades and lounges and fly often enough to use them many times a year.
If you are booking flights you do not need, or routing inefficiently, purely to reach a tier, the cost usually outweighs the perks. For occasional flyers, a premium Aeroplan card covers the benefits most people actually use, the free bag and a path to lounge access, without the chase. Spending your effort on better redemptions tends to return more than spending it on status.
Through an Aeroplan credit card. Card spend earns SQC, and some cards grant a block of SQC at a spend threshold or anniversary. That works for the lower tiers; the top tiers still lean on flying. Cars, hotels, and store purchases earn points, not SQC.
Generally no. Those earn Aeroplan points, not Status Qualifying Credits. SQC comes from Air Canada and eligible partner flights and from card spend. Confirm the current rules, since they change.
Four elite tiers named for their thresholds: 25K, 35K, 50K, and 75K, with Super Elite above. Each adds eUpgrade credits, priority, and access. At 50K you reach Star Alliance Gold and its alliance-wide benefits.
At the 80K SQC milestone, not the 75K status tier. The 80K and 90K milestones let you choose extra rewards, and the Priority Reward, which halves the points cost of one redemption, is the 80K headliner.
Likely a corporate tour code on the fare. Some booking tools attach a code that drops status earning to a small fraction of the fare with no multiplier. SQC is based on the fare price times your fare-class multiplier, so a discounted or tour-coded ticket can credit far less than expected. Check before relying on a corporate booking to reach a tier.
No. A flight booked with points earns no Status Qualifying Credits, and neither does an eUpgrade co-pay or an upgrade bid. SQC comes from paid flying and from card spend.
Come in for a free conversation. We can map your flights and card spend against the thresholds and tell you whether the next tier is worth the push.