Air Canada and Hyatt are using loyalty to direct customers towards each other’s businesses, extending their partnership beyond the exchange of airline miles and hotel points.
The collaboration connects Aeroplan, Air Canada’s travel loyalty program, with more than 10 million active members, with World of Hyatt’s 66 million members. Together, the programmes cover more than 1,300 flight destinations and 1,500 hotels, giving each company access to a large pool of travellers already identified by their spending, travel frequency and loyalty status.
How Members Can Use Points Across Both Programmes
First, members can redeem their points for fixed rewards. Aeroplan members can use 25,000 Aeroplan points for a Hyatt free-night award, while Hyatt members can use 50,000 World of Hyatt points for a flight certificate worth 30,000 Aeroplan points.
Separately, members can convert points directly between the programmes. A minimum of 5,000 World of Hyatt points converts into 2,500 Aeroplan points. Eligible Aeroplan elite members can transfer points in the other direction, with 500 Aeroplan points converting into 250 World of Hyatt points.
These options increase the usefulness of both loyalty currencies. However, the broader commercial opportunity lies in how the partnership uses credit cards and elite status to influence where members spend.
How Credit Cards and Status Can Generate Hotel Demand
Canadian Aeroplan cardholders who link their accounts can earn rewards in both programmes when they stay at participating Hyatt hotels. Premium consumer cardholders receive two World of Hyatt points and two Aeroplan points for every eligible Canadian dollar spent, while premium business cardholders receive two Hyatt points and 2.5 Aeroplan points. Core cardholders receive lower dual-earning rates.
As a result, Air Canada’s co-branded cards become part of Hyatt’s hotel proposition. Hyatt gains an additional incentive to attract Aeroplan cardholders, while Air Canada gives customers another reason to use its cards even when they are not purchasing flights.
The relationship deepens further through elite benefits. Premium Aeroplan cardholders receive complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status and five qualifying-night credits each calendar year. These benefits immediately place Air Canada customers within Hyatt’s status system, where additional stays can unlock higher tiers and stronger benefits.
From there, status challenges give Hyatt a more direct mechanism for converting airline loyalty into room nights. Eligible Aeroplan elite members and premium cardholders can earn Hyatt Discoverist status after four nights, Explorist after 10 nights and Globalist after 20 nights within 90 days. Premium cardholders receive two opportunities each year to complete the challenge.
How the Benefits Work in Both Directions
Hyatt Discoverist, Explorist and Globalist members receive an annual C$20 Air Canada flight credit after linking their accounts. Later in 2026, eligible Hyatt Explorist and Globalist members are expected to gain access to offers that accelerate Aeroplan elite status.
For Hyatt, the most beneficial opportunity is to convert Air Canada’s frequent flyers and premium cardholders into hotel guests. Conversely, Hyatt’s 66 million members give Air Canada a pool of travellers who can be brought into Aeroplan, its credit-card ecosystem and eventually its flight network.
The partnership follows a broader redesign of Aeroplan. From January 2026, members began earning points on eligible Air Canada flights according to money spent rather than distance flown. Air Canada also introduced Status Qualifying Credits, allowing members to progress towards elite status through flights, Aeroplan card spending and activity with programme partners. Hyatt consequently fits into an Aeroplan model that increasingly measures loyalty across a customer’s wider travel expenditure.
For Hyatt, this extends an established airline strategy. Its relationship with American Airlines began offering linked earning and status challenges in 2019 and was reworked from March 2025 to include selectable hotel and airline rewards. The Air Canada agreement takes that model into another major airline ecosystem while giving co-branded cards a larger role.
Ultimately, Air Canada and Hyatt have created an arrangement in which loyalty benefits also function as distribution incentives. Points allow members to move value between flights and hotels, but credit cards and status upgrades are what can turn that flexibility into incremental bookings for both companies.