To the point
BMO is updating one of the benefits of BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*. See how this will affect collectors.
Milesopedia recommends this card from BMO
Change to the flight benefit
BMO has announced a change to its Flight Benefit program.
Currently, you receive a 15% discount on flights within North America at all times, with no maximum. So if a flight ticket costs 2,000 AIR MILES Reward Miles, the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®* credit cardholder only pays 1,700 miles.
As of July 4, 2022, you will receive a 25% discount on one worldwide flight booking. However, the maximum discount will be 750 AIR MILES Reward Miles and can only be used once.
Is this a good or bad change?
The 25% discount is applicable to one booking (single or multiple tickets) per calendar year.
If there are multiple tickets on this reservation, the discount will be split equally on each ticket, up to a maximum of 750 miles.
For example, if your reservation includes 2 flights costing 3,000 Miles each for a total of 6,000 Miles. Thus, each ticket entitles you to a discount of 375 Miles (2 x 375 miles = 750 miles).
You will need to calculate what percentage will be best for you, before and after the change.
Example
Take for example a couple wanting to go to Florida during the holiday season.
Two round trip tickets to Miami cost 11,770 Miles and $409.
Depending on the date, this is what it would cost them with the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*:
| Miles required for the flight | Discount | Final total | |
| Before the change 15% | 11,770 miles | 1,765 miles | 10,005 miles |
| After the change 25 % | 11,770 miles | 750 miles (maximum reached) | 11,020 miles |
The difference is 1,015 miles. Booking before July 04, 2022, would be much better. So this new change is not very beneficial in this specific case.
For example, let’s take the same couple who want to go to the Magdalen Islands next September.
Two round trip tickets cost 2,800 AIR MILES Reward Miles and $253.
Depending on the date, this is what it would cost them with the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*:
| Miles required for the flight | Discount | Final total | |
| Before the change 15% | 2,800 miles | 420 miles | 2,380 miles |
| After the 25% change | 2,800 miles | 700 miles | 2,100 miles |
In this example, using the 25% discount is much better. However, you don’t get the full benefit of your 750 miles annual maximum. The remaining 50 miles are then lost.
In fact, the AIR MILES member has the right to decide which reservation gets the 25% discount or not. During the transaction, a message will appear to accept the discount now or postpone it for later.
Conclusion
AIR MILES changed its flight search tool last November. It offers more flexibility, but the miles charged vary according to dynamic pricing.
Since then, the promises made by AIR MILES have been rather disappointing and we haven’t found any good deals for flights with AIR MILES.
Combine that with this update to the BMO® AIR MILES® Mastercard®* World EliteWe have mixed feelings about this news.
If you have any upcoming flight bookings with your AIR MILES Reward Miles to make in 2022, you may want to do your math.
Also, check your account. Some members received an email announcing this action and an additional “BMO Thank You Miles” bonus to celebrate the news. Perhaps AIR MILES wants to help some people get over the hump?
The best will always be to take your Dreams Miles for car rentals, where the value remains excellent.
Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
