TD Aeroplan Business Visa Card: A Review

I signed up for the TD Aeroplan Business Visa Card. After calculating how many Aeroplan points I currently have and how many Aeroplan points we would need for our my dream trip to the Maldives (we bought a Travelzoo Voucher that expires before the end of 2022 to the Maldives), I realize we would need something like 350,000 to 440,000 points for return flights to Asia for all four of us.

Travel hacking four full fare tickets is much more difficult than for one or two tickets! We are less than half way there, points accumulation wise. It’s looking a bit dire. We might have to save these Aeroplan points for another trip or just end up paying for it using “Points + Cash” if I can’t get the desired number of points.

After finding out that Air Canada is allowing Buddy Pass holders to convert their Buddy Pass to 30,000 Aeroplan points, I signed up for another Aeroplan card.

The Buddy Pass option became a game changer. You can only have one Buddy Pass per ‘category’ of Aeroplan card. For example if you have a CIBC Aeroplan Personal Visa card and you also have a TD Visa Infinite Aeroplan you can’t get two Buddy Passes. But if you have a TD Aeroplan Business Visa you can still qualify for the Buddy Pass.

TD Aeroplan Business Visa Welcome Offer

You can get 10,000 Aeroplan Points on your first purchase.

If you spend $1000 within 90 days of account opening, you can get a free Buddy Pass.

A Buddy Pass is a free second ticket when you book and pay for an economy ticket in North America. You only have to pay the taxes and fees.

However, Air Canada recently announced that instead of the Buddy Pass you can redeem it for 30,000 Aeroplan points. This is great for people who do solo travel and like the flexbility.

Finally, the last welcome offer with the TD Aeroplan Business Visa is 15,000 Aeroplan points if you spend $5000 within 90 days of account opening.

TD Aeroplan Business Visa Annual Fee

The annual fee for the TD Aeroplan Business Visa is $149 per year, but it is first year free if you apply before May 30, 2021.

For additional cardholder cards it is $49 per card. However, the promotion is that the first two additional cardholders can get an annual fee rebate too!

Annual Income Requirement

There is no annual income requirement, to be eligible you have to be the age of majority and be a Canadian resident.

Requirements Before Applying

There are a few things you will need before applying for this card.

You will need your business license number (for sole proprietorships or corporations)

You will need your Partnership Agreement if you have a business partnership.

If you have a corporation, you will need the Articles for Incorporation.

In case they ask, you will also need to have available the last two years of Notice of Assessment and business financial statements.

Features of the TD Aeroplan Business Visa

There are some additional perks that are not part of the welcome offer.

You can get a free checked bag when you are traveling on Air Canada. This isn’t just for a ‘reward flight redemption’ too. The free checked bag is available for 9 others who are traveling on the same reservation too.

You can also get a free Maple Leaf Lounge guest pass too, up to a max of 4 per year. However you need to spend $10,000 to get one guest pass.

Finally (and this seems to be a frequent benefit I’ve been seeing) there’s a free Nexus application rebate of up to $100 CAD on a renewal or a new Nexus application every 48 months. Before COVID, I felt that the $50 Nexus fee was sooo worth it.

Earning Aeroplan Points

You can earn 2 Aeroplan points for every $1 spent on reservations made directly through the Air Canada website, including Air Canada Vacations.

You earn 1.5 Aeroplan points for every $1 spend on travel, dining, and select business categories such as shipping, internet, cable and phone services.

For everything else, you get 1 Aeroplan points for each $1 spent.

Also until November 2021, they have a promotion with Starbucks where you can get 2.25 bonus points for each $1 you spend at Starbucks (and it can’t be through Uber Eats or anything).

TD Aeroplan Business Visa Insurance Benefits

• $2 million in travel medical insurance for the first 15 days if you are under 65. If you are older than 65, it is for the first 4 days of travel
• Auto Rental Collision/ Loss Damage Insurance for up to 48 consecutive days though it wouldn’t work for a rental like Turo.
• $2500 of Hotel/ Motel Burglary Insurance for yourself and your family you are traveling with
• Flight Delay Insurance of up to $500 if the flight is over 4 hours late
• Delayed and Lost Baggage Insurance of up to $1000 if the baggage is delayed by more than 6 hours or is lost
• Mobile Device Insurance of up to $1000 for 24 months (maximum two claims in this time period) for if your phone is lost, stolen, has accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown.
• Purchase Security and Extended Warranty Protection if something you buy on the card is stolen or damaged within 90 days or purchase. It also extends warranties by another 12 months.

Genymoney.ca’s verdict

Applying online was straight forward. I had to wait a few weeks and then I got a call from TD asking for further verification, some were painstaking questions including all the other credit cards I currently have and their estimated limits (it was kind of embarrassing, as someone who has been applying to too many cars it was like acknowledgement that I have a credit card hacking problem).

After these questions are answered they input it into the ‘system’ for an on-the-spot approval or not, they can verify whether you can be approved or would need additional information for verification and approval.

The potential 55,000 Aeroplan bonus is very attractive, though spending $5000 is going to be quite difficult so I don’t think I’ll be able to achieve that, 40,000 Aeroplan points is still excellent considering it is “FYF” or first year free.

You may also be interested in:

• Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Do you have the TD Aeroplan Business Visa? What do you think of it?