Aeroplan credit card battle settled with TD, CIBC deal

TD Bank Group , Aimia Inc. and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce have reached agreements covering the Aeroplan loyalty credit card programs.

The three companies have been in negotiations for weeks, following Aimia's decision to pick TD as the primary issuer of Aeroplan Visa credit cards for a 10-year term, starting Jan. 1, 2014.

CIBC had been the primary Aeroplan Visa credit card issuer for more than 20 years and proposed an alternative deal that allows it to keep about half of the portfolio of its Aeroplan customers.

TD will pay $162.5 million to acquire about half of CIBC's Aeroplan credit card portfolio, including $50 million when the deal closes and the rest over three years.

TD says it expects to acquire approximately 550,000 cardholder accounts, representing approximately $3 billion in card balances and $20 billion in annual retail spending.