You book a stretch of Hyatt nights this fall, check out, and those same nights are now doing two jobs: earning Air Canada flights and pushing you toward Hyatt’s top elite tier at once.
Aeroplan and World of Hyatt linked their programs on July 15, 2026, and the tie-up runs both ways.
The part everyone will notice is the point swapping and the cross-program redemptions. The part worth your attention is quieter: a status fast-track that trades a year of hotel nights for a run of about 20.
Link the two accounts and the perks stack quickly, but a few of them look better than they pay out. Sorting the real wins from the filler is the whole game here.
What Air Canada and Hyatt Announced
Together, Aeroplan and World of Hyatt cover more than 1,300 destinations and 1,500 hotels.
Air Canada and Hyatt unveiled the deal at a Park Hyatt Toronto launch event, framed as years in the making. It fills a long-standing gap in Aeroplan’s lineup: strong airline value with no premium hotel tie-in.
How Aeroplan Credit Cards Earn at Hyatt (and Why the US Is Different)
For Canadians, the standout feature is dual earning: link accounts as a co-branded Aeroplan cardholder, and Hyatt spending earns World of Hyatt Bonus Points and accelerated Aeroplan points at once. That’s a first for a co-brand card.
Every Aeroplan card gets a rate bump at Hyatt, shown below. The Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card sees the biggest jump: 1.25 to 2 Aeroplan points per dollar, plus 2 World of Hyatt Bonus Points per dollar, at Hyatt.
One catch: those World of Hyatt Bonus Points do not count toward Hyatt elite tier status. They pad your balance, not your path to Globalist.
| Card Type | WoH Bonus Points / CA$1 | Aeroplan Points / CA$1 | Total / CA$1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeroplan Premium | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Aeroplan Premium Business | 2 | 2.5 | 4.5 |
| Aeroplan Core | 1 | 1.5 | 2.5 |
| Aeroplan Core Business | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Any member, linked or not, can instead take a flat 500 Aeroplan points per eligible Hyatt stay. It rarely wins, since the double-dip or simply earning Hyatt points beats it, except on a low-rate single night, where the flat 500 can edge it out.
The US picture is a real catch: holders of the US Chase-issued Aeroplan® Credit Card are excluded from dual earning entirely.
They are better off earning up to 9 points per dollar with the World of Hyatt Credit Card or World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, which outruns the combined Canadian earning anyway. For US hotel spend, stick with Hyatt-branded cards.
Converting Points Between Aeroplan and World of Hyatt
Points move between the programs at a fixed 2:1 ratio both ways. World of Hyatt to Aeroplan needs no linking: any member can convert, with a 5,000-point minimum in 1,000-point increments.
Aeroplan to World of Hyatt is restricted to linked Aeroplan Elite Status members, with a 500-point minimum and caps of 100,000 points per day and 250,000 per week.
| Direction | Ratio | Minimum | Increment | Cap | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World of Hyatt → Aeroplan | 2:1 | 5,000 WoH points | 1,000 points | None stated | Any member, no link needed |
| Aeroplan → World of Hyatt | 2:1 | 500 Aeroplan points | – | 100,000/day, 250,000/week | Linked Aeroplan Elite members only |
At roughly 1.5¢ per Aeroplan point and 1.7¢ per World of Hyatt point, a 2:1 conversion cuts your value close to half either way: 50,000 Hyatt points (about $850) become 25,000 Aeroplan points (about $375).
Use conversion only to top off a balance for one redemption already chosen, never as a bulk transfer.
Redeeming Aeroplan Points for Hyatt Free Nights—and Hyatt Points for Flights
You can redeem Aeroplan points directly for World of Hyatt Free Night Awards without converting first, at two fixed prices. A Category 1–4 award costs 25,000 Aeroplan points, and a Category 1–7 award costs 75,000, set by category band rather than demand.
Run the numbers and the value leaks. A Category 1–4 standard night runs 3,500–15,000 Hyatt points, a Category 1–7 tops out around 30,000, and peak pricing reaches 55,000.
Even that peak Category 7 night (about $935) costs 75,000 Aeroplan points (about $1,125) at the fixed price. That’s value lost even at the top end, useful only if you’re already committed to that property.
Going the other way, linked members can redeem 50,000 World of Hyatt points for a 30,000-point Aeroplan flight certificate toward Air Canada and Star Alliance awards. Unused points are forfeited once travel begins if your flight costs less; if it costs more, you top up the difference.
The value read is the same as the conversions: 50,000 Hyatt points (about $850) for a certificate worth about $450 in Aeroplan points is a poor trade. US members have a cleaner route: Aeroplan is a 1:1 transfer partner of Amex, Chase, Capital One, and Bilt, so moving 30,000 flexible points beats burning 50,000 Hyatt points for the same certificate.
Fast-Tracking Elite Status With the 90-Day Hyatt Challenge
This is the best thing in the deal: Aeroplan Elite members and eligible premium cardholders can run an annual 90-day World of Hyatt status challenge. The tiers run 4 nights for Discoverist, 10 for Explorist, and 20 for Globalist.
Register with no status or Discoverist and you get temporary Explorist status for the 90-day window. Whatever you earn stays valid through the rest of the registration year plus 14 more months, so finishing it now carries status into early 2028.
Globalist usually needs 60 elite nights a year; this challenge cuts that to 20 nights in 90 days.
The 10-night Explorist tier is the sweet spot for most travelers, with a 13-month award booking window.
Globalist adds complimentary breakfast for up to four, room upgrades as available, and 4:00 PM late checkout.
Eligibility extends to Marriott Bonvoy Titanium or Ambassador members, whose Marriott–Air Canada partnership grants Aeroplan 25K status and unlocks this Hyatt challenge too. Aeroplan Premium cardholders get more: complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status while the card is open, plus 5 Tier-Qualifying Night credits and 2 status-challenge attempts each year toward Explorist or Globalist.
Benefits run the other way too: any linked World of Hyatt elite member, at any tier, gets an annual flight credit worth about $14 (roughly 20 Canadian dollars) through the Aeroplan portal, valid about 12 months from deposit. A matching Aeroplan status fast-track for Hyatt elites is coming later in 2026, but tiers and criteria aren’t published yet.
Where This Fits
Canadians with a premium Aeroplan card come out ahead in this deal. US Chase-Aeroplan holders don’t, since the earning pillar that makes this exciting in Canada is off the table for them.
The tilt runs by program as well as by geography. Aeroplan elite members and premium cardholders get an active 90-day status challenge and richer Hyatt earning rates starting today, while World of Hyatt members mostly get a one-time annual flight credit worth about $14 (roughly 20 Canadian dollars) and a status fast-track that isn’t published yet.
There’s no sign that Aeroplan status will become a Hyatt Milestone Rewards option, the way American’s status already slots into Hyatt’s own chart.
What to Know Before You Link Your Accounts
Linking is required for most benefits, except World of Hyatt to Aeroplan conversion and the flat 500-point earning option, which work unlinked.
Names on both accounts must match, only one Aeroplan account can be linked, and de-linking triggers a 30-day wait before you can re-link.
Some spending doesn’t count as made at a Hyatt property (non-hotel-operated outlets, certain vacation-club stays), so check official terms before counting on a redemption.
The Verdict
Linking is a no-brainer if you belong to both programs: it costs nothing and switches on the status challenge and the $20 credit right away. If you do one thing with this partnership, make it the 90-day challenge: Explorist at 10 nights for most people, Globalist at 20 if you already travel heavily.
For Canadians, dual earning at Hyatt is the second real prize. Everyone else should skip the point conversions and cross-program redemptions, or use them only as top-off tools for a redemption already picked.
The sharpest line is the border: Canada wins big, while US Chase-Aeroplan holders should ignore the earning angle and lean on their Hyatt cards instead.
Are you linking your accounts for the status challenge, or does the Canadian tilt leave you on the sidelines?
