This is the Aeroplan card I'd look at first for a small business that already buys Air Canada flights and pays its own internet, phone and shipping bills. Those last three earn 1.5 points per dollar here, which is unusual on an airline card, and the free first checked bag covers you, your employees and up to 8 companions on the same booking.
What holds it back, from what I can tell, is the insurance and the cap. There is no travel medical coverage at all, which the personal CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite includes at $5 million, and every bonus rate stops once the account hits $80,000 in total purchases a year. With two fee-free years on the current offer, though, the cost of trying it is low.
Welcome offer
CIBC is advertising up to 75,000 Aeroplan points for applications submitted and approved between October 14, 2026 and January 11, 2027, verified on the CIBC page on October 13, 2026. It arrives in three pieces: 10,000 points after the first purchase, 25,000 points for $7,500 in net purchases in the first 3 monthly statement periods, and 40,000 points for $40,000 in the first 12, which CIBC credits in two amounts (25,000 and 15,000).
The offer also rebates the annual fee for the first two years: $180 then $200 on the primary card, and $50 then $55 for each authorized user added at application (up to nine). CIBC values the points at up to $1,500 in travel and the whole package at up to $2,600, a figure that folds in bags, lounge passes, fee rebates and a Skip+ membership. Aeroplan can withhold the bonus if you have already received welcome points on an Aeroplan card of the same category type from CIBC or another issuer.
Add your employees as authorized users on the application, not afterwards. The two-year fee rebate only covers cards set up at the time you apply, and their purchases land on the same account, which helps with the $40,000 top tier. If $40,000 in a year is out of reach, the realistic offer is 35,000 points for $7,500 in three statement periods, plus two fee-free years.
Fees & eligibility
The card runs $180 a year, rising to $200 on January 12, 2027, and additional cards are $50 each ($55 from the same date), for up to 9. Under the current welcome offer both are rebated for the first two years, provided the authorized users are added when you apply. Fees post as soon as cards are issued, whether or not they are activated.
The income bar is a $35,000 individual minimum, lower than the $60,000 on CIBC's personal Aeroplan Visa Infinite, and the card carries a minimum credit limit. The applicant must be a signing officer of the business, and approval rests on personal credit: the primary cardholder and the business are jointly and severally liable for the balance. Purchase interest is set at 12.99%, 15.99% or 18.99% based on your personal credit bureau, cash advances at 14.50%, 17.50% or 21.50%, and foreign currency purchases carry a 2.5% conversion fee. As with any rewards card, the value only holds if the balance is paid in full.
Earning rewards
The earning is built around business spending rather than household spending. Purchases made directly with Air Canada, including Air Canada Vacations, earn 2 Aeroplan points per dollar, and so do stays at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts.
A broad business band earns 1.5 points per dollar: travel (airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruises, travel agencies), transportation (transit, trains, ferries, taxis), dining, and shipping, internet, cable and phone services. Everything else earns 1 point per dollar. The primary cardholder also collects 1,000 Status Qualifying Credits for every $20,000 in net purchases, up to 25,000 a year, and authorized users' purchases count toward that total.
Redeeming rewards
Points go into the primary cardholder's own Aeroplan account, and Aeroplan is a real airline program rather than a fixed-value bank currency. Every Air Canada seat for sale is bookable with points, cardholders pay no additional airline surcharges on Air Canada flight rewards, and primary cardholders can often book flight rewards for fewer points. From January 12, 2027, that becomes a fixed 15% reduction on the base-fare points for eligible Air Canada flight rewards booked through Air Canada.
CIBC values the welcome offer at about 2 cents per point (cpp) when redeemed for flights, based on its own cardholder data; actual value depends on route and cabin. Hotel redemptions get a 4th night free for every three nights booked with points, and from January 12, 2027 car rentals booked with points get a 4th day free. A business owner should note the linking rule: from January 12, 2027 you must link your own personal Aeroplan number, and linking any other loyalty number is prohibited.
Perks & benefits
The headline perk is the free first checked bag on Air Canada for you, your authorized users and up to 8 companions on the same reservation, which adds up quickly for a team that travels together. Authorized users keep the airline benefits when flying without you, once they link their own Aeroplan number.
Lounge access is earned, not included: the account collects one Maple Leaf Lounge One-Time Guest Pass for every $10,000 in net purchases in an account year, up to 4 a year, valid in Canada and the U.S. only. Other extras are a complimentary upgrade to Avis Preferred Plus, 1 World of Hyatt Bonus Point per dollar at Hyatt, and up to 9 employee cards with individual spending limits you set and change by phone. From January 12, 2027 the primary cardholder also gets a $25 Air Canada Flight Benefit every six months, up to $50 a year. There is no foreign transaction fee waiver.
Insurance
The insurance covers trips and purchases but not your health. There is no emergency travel medical coverage, so you or your employees need a separate policy for travel outside your home province. Trip cancellation pays up to $1,000 per person and $5,000 per trip, and trip interruption up to $2,000 per person, on travel charged to the card or booked with its points.
Rentals get primary collision and loss damage coverage for up to 48 days on cars with an MSRP up to $85,000, and the certificate states it covers business use of the rental. Flight delays over 4 hours pay up to $500, delayed bags over 6 hours up to $500 per person, and new purchases are covered for 90 days with manufacturer warranties extended by up to one year, to a $60,000 maximum per cardholder across all CIBC cards. There is no mobile device insurance.
My take
I'd get this card for a small business that flies Air Canada and pays its own telecom and shipping bills; I'd skip it if your staff travel abroad often and you want medical cover built in.
The appeal is in the details a business actually uses: 1.5x on shipping, internet and phone, free bags for the whole team, employee cards with limits, and two years without a fee if you apply by January 11, 2027. Against the personal CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite, it asks for a lower $35,000 income and adds spend-earned lounge passes, but it costs more ($180 against $139) and drops the travel medical coverage entirely.
The $80,000 cap on bonus earning matters for a busy account, since every purchase on every card counts toward it. If your business spends well past that, or sends people overseas regularly, I'd weigh a richer card or plan on a separate travel medical policy.
The good
- 1.5x on shipping, internet, cable and phone, not just travel
- Free first bag for you, employees and up to 8 companions
- Two years of fee rebates on the current offer
The catch
- No emergency travel medical insurance
- All bonus earning stops at $80,000 of total purchases
- Fee rises to $200 on January 12, 2027