Introduction
The distinction between CASH and DREAM rewards
***March 10, 2023: BMO has indicated its intention to purchase the AIR MILES program, following the impending bankruptcy of LoyaltyVentures, the owner of the AIR MILES program. More details will be forthcoming but for now, the program features below remain the same.
The first thing you need to know about AIR MILES is about AIR MILES reward miles.
CASH Rewards
CASH miles are used to earn cash rewards for everyday purchases such as gas and groceries.
The value is fixed and it is the easiest currency to use in the AIR MILES program.
DREAM Rewards
DREAM miles are used to earn dream rewards such as travel, theme park tickets or merchandise.
The value is variable and is the currency that can provide the best return in the AIR MILES program.
Choosing between Cash and Dream
Before you can collect AIR MILES Reward Miles you will need to define your accumulation type. 100% cash or 100% Dream… or a combination of both.
- If you prefer concrete and immediate rewards, it will be best to choose the CASH rewards
- If you are more flexible in your dates, it will be advisable to go for the DREAM miles.
You can change the accumulation level whenever you want (the change will be taken into account at 3:00 a.m. (EST) the next day).
Earn points
With purchases from partners
AIR MILES has severalpartners and about 100 online sponsors.
Miles earning rate will be different for each partner. For example:
- IGA: 1 mile / $20 in purchases per week *ends March 22, 2023
- Jean Coutu: 1 mile / $15 per week *ends around May 2023
- Shell: 1 mile for every 10L of Shell V-Power gasoline, 1 mile for every 20L of Shell Bronze, Silver and Diesel fuel and 1 mile for every $5 of car washes or in-store products purchased
Watch for flyers from each AIR MILES Sponsor. By purchasing certain products, you could earn many AIR MILES Reward Miles bonus miles!
*Updated March 10, 2023: **Note: As of March 23, 2023, IGA, Marchés Tradition and Rachelle Béry stores will no longer be connected to the AIR MILES program. See this article on Scene+ which will be the new rewards program of IGA, Rachelle Béry and Les Marchés Tradition.
With airmilesshops.ca
AIR MILES has an online shopping portal called airmilesshops.ca.
By using this portal before shopping online, you will get 1 mile / $20 of purchases. This is called “the basic offer.”
Then, during promotions, comes the “multiplier”of partner shops AND from the whole site airmilesshops.ca.
The multiplier of partner stores
Regularly, AIR MILES partner stores offer mileage earning promotions through a multiplier.
For example, if it is indicated that you will earn 5x the miles, it means that:
- you will get 1 Mile for every $20 you spend (basic offer)
- you will get 4 miles / $20 purchases (bonus offer with the multiplier)
That’s 5 miles / $20 in purchases.
That’s why AIR MILES indicates 5x the miles.
The multiplier on the whole airmilesshops.ca website
What’s interesting is when AIR MILES also offers a multiplier on the entire airmilesshops.ca portal.
In this case, the multiplier offered by the store and the one offered by airmilesshops add up on the basic offer:
For example, if it is indicated that you will earn :
- 5x miles at the shop
- and 10x miles on all airmilesshops.ca stores
This means that for the 5x miles with the store :
- you will get 1 Mile for every $20 you spend (basic offer)
- you will get 4 miles / $20 purchases (bonus offer with the multiplier)
In addition, there is the 10x from the airmileshops.ca portal:
- you will get 1 Mile for every $20 you spend (basic offer)
- you will get 9 miles / $20 purchases (bonus offer with airmilesshops.ca multiplier)
That’s 15 miles for every $20 you spend.
With credit cards welcome bonuses
AIR MILES partners with 2 institutions that offer several AIR MILES credit cards:
- American Express
- BMO
Each of these cards will have a welcome bonus when you apply for it. This is a good way to earn many AIR MILES bonus miles quickly!
AIR MILES and American Express
For individuals
American Express has 2 AIR MILES credit cards for individuals:
For the self-employed, professionals and small businesses
And 2 AIR MILES credit cards for self-employed / professional / small businesses:
AIR MILES and BMO
For individuals
BMO has many AIR MILES credit cards
For the self-employed, professionals and small businesses
BMO also offers two AIR MILES credit cards for self-employed individuals, professionals and small businesses. View their presentation here.
With purchases made on credit cards
To earn AIR MILES reward miles faster, it’s best to use your AIR MILES credit cards(see the choices above) as often as possible!
The miles earning rate will often depend on the issuer and the type of card:
- Between 1 and 3 miles per $25 in purchases for no-fee cards such as the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
- Between 1 mile / $5 in purchases and 1 mile / $10 in purchases for the American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card.
- 1 mile / $12 in Card purchases for the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*
With promotional events
Apart from the credit cards welcome bonuses, events are one of the best opportunities to earn hundreds of miles.
Throughout the year, AIR MILES runs promotional events during which you can earn many miles.
Redeem points
Redeem Cash reward miles
Let’s discover together all the possibilities of using CASH Rewards for :
- in-store discount
- electronic certificates
For in-store discounts
AIR MILES Cash miles can be used directly in store (IGA until March 22, 2023, Jean Coutu until May 2023, Shell…) for an instant rebate at checkout.
95 miles = $10, or 10.5 cents / mile.
Update March 10, 2023: **Note: As of March 23, 2023, IGA, Marchés Tradition and Rachelle Béry stores will no longer be connected to the AIR MILES program. See this article on Scene+ which will be the new rewards program of IGA, Rachelle Béry and Les Marchés Tradition.
Promotions
Sometimes banners like Jean Coutu and IGA run promotions to encourage you to use your Cash Miles.
Thus, it is common to be able to use only 85 miles for $10.
Like 85 miles = $10 or a value of 11.8 cents / mile
For electronic certificates
There is also the option of using an electronic voucher to be picked up online. It’s perfect for a gift for someone, for example.
95 miles = $10, or 10.5 cents / mile
Redeem DREAM miles
A little more complex to use than CASH rewards, Dream Miles can however get you a better return on your miles.
Here are all the possibilities of using the DREAM miles for the :
- flights
- Car rentals
- vacation packages and cruises
- Hotels
- events and attractions
- Products
Free flights
With The Dream Miles, it is possible to book flights directly from the AIR MILES website. It acts as a travel agency.
Short-haul flights: the best deal
The best use of AIR MILES Dream Miles is on short-haul flights.
That is to say, local flights (usually destinations within 2 hours flight) such as Montreal to New York, Boston, Toronto, Halifax, St John…
The number of miles required depends on membership status (Blue, Gold or Onyx). In addition, the cost in miles now varies according to market fare prices.
15% discount on flight
A single AIR MILES credit card in Canada provides a one-time, annual 25% discount, up to a maximum of 750 miles. This is the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*.
This card also offers excellent travel insurance.
It allows you to accumulate 1 AIR MILES mile / $12 in purchases, everywhere, including Costco.
In addition, for a limited time, it is offered the first year .
For car rentals
AIR MILES reward miles can be redeemed for car rentals.
Here is an example of a compact size car rental for a week in Orlando.
On the AIR MILES website, a compact car rental in Orlando costs 2,970 DREAM miles and $10.33 CAD ($10 AIR MILES reservation fee + taxes).
On the Costco Travel website, this same compact car rental in Orlando costs US$ 571 at Budget (or $733 CAD).
To find out the value of an AIR MILES mile, here is the calculation.
Thus:
- CA$733.88 (cost of the car if paid in $) – CA$ 10.33 (AIR MILES reservation fee) = CA$ 723.55 net
- CA$ 723.55/ 2,970 miles requested = $0.24/ mile
For holiday packages and cruises
AIR MILES allows Dream Miles to be used on its travel portal, thanks to Redtag.
With your miles, you can purchase all-inclusive vacations, cruises or theme park tickets (such as the popular Disney and Universal Studios parks).
The Dream Miles redemption rate will always be the same: 909 miles = $100
Here is an example of an all-inclusive week in Mexico:
It is possible to apply miles to save several hundred dollars. For example, I could use 8,181 miles from my account to save $900.
Here, 1 Dream mile = 11 cents
For hotels
It is also possible to redeem Dream Miles to book hotel nights.
The value is not always optimal, but these miles can help you have a relaxing, inexpensive vacation.
For events and attractions
In its awards catalogue, AIR MILES has a “Events and Attractions” section. The rewards available vary with the seasons.
For merchandise
Finally, it is possible to redeem Dream Miles on AIR MILES’ rewards catalogue to buy products.
On the Dream Rewards catalogue , there are discounts based on status:
- up to 5% fewer miles for Gold members
- and up to 10% fewer miles for Onyx members
Let’s take the example of an easily comparable item, for someone with an Onyx status. All taxes and shipping are included.
To compare the price, let’s take the same product on amazon.ca. The price is $535.27, including taxes:
To find out the valuation of the AIR MILES mile, here is the calculation:
Cash Price / Number of miles used
535 / 5,158 miles = 10.4 cents / mile
for Onyx members
535 / 5,742 miles = 9.3 cents / mile
for members without status
This purchase by an Onyx member is close to our 10.5 cent/mile valuation. However, an AIR MILES member without status would lose out.
But if you have a goal in mind or a gift to give to please, why not!
Manage
The value of miles
As you saw above, there are 2 types of miles… but several valuations!
So, we agree to say:
- 1 Cash mile = between 10.5 cents and 11.8 cents
- 1 Dream mile = between 9 cents and 25 cents
This means that the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*, the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®* or BMO® AIR MILES® Business Mastercard®* welcome Bonus is worth between $270 and $750.
Transfer miles
It is impossible to transfer miles from a Cash account to a Dream account and vice versa.
It is possible – but very expensive – to transfer miles from one AIR MILES member to another AIR MILES member: 15 cents/mile!
The expiration of miles
AIR MILES miles no longer expire.
Status
AIR MILES has 3 levels of status:
- Blue
- Gold
- Onyx
Each of these status will offer its own benefits:
The most interesting status to get is the Onyx status which offers:
- a personal assistant service to use Dream Miles
Simply call a personal assistant and use your Dream Miles to treat yourself to almost anything! Even what is not in the award catalog.
Video
FAQ
How do I enroll in the AIR MILES Reward Program?
Create your Collector Profile on the AIR MILES website or request an enrollment form at the customer service desk of any AIR MILES Partner.
How do I collect AIR MILES miles?
Swipe your AIR MILES card when making in-store purchases at over 120 partners (IGA until March 22, 2023, Shell, Jean Coutu until May 2023, etc.).
Register your card number on the airmileshops.ca shopping portal before you shop.
Use Bank of Montreal and American Express credit cards affiliated with AIR MILES. Take advantage of their welcome and purchase bonuses.
Finally, participate in small or large promotions.
What is the difference between Dream Miles and Cash Miles?
CASH MILES are used to earn cash rewards for everyday purchases like gas and groceries.
DREAM miles are used to earn dream rewards such as travel, theme park tickets or merchandise.
How do I use AIR MILES Cash Miles?
AIR MILES Silver miles can be used directly in-store at participating partners for an instant rebate at checkout (IGA until March 22, 2023, Jean Coutu until May 2023, Shell, etc).
95 miles = $10, or 10.5 cents / mile.
You can also use the same strategy for e-vouchers for these same partners on the AIR MILES website.
How do I use AIR MILES Dream Miles?
With the search tool, directly on the AIR MILES website.
Search for your favorite destination and use your miles to fly, stay in hotels, book an all-inclusive trip, rent a car, buy tickets for various attractions or purchase various items.
Can I transfer Cash Miles to Dream Miles (and vice versa) in my account?
This is impossible.
However, you can change your percentage allocation preference from now on. If you prefer concrete and immediate rewards, it will be best to choose the CASH rewards
If you are more flexible with your dates, it is advisable to go for the DREAM miles.
Do AIR MILES miles expire?
No, AIR MILES miles do not expire.
How do I claim missing AIR MILES miles?
As a general rule, base points are paid out after 60 days and special offer points (bonus, promotion) after 120 days.
If you still don’t have them after that time, apply at airmiles.ca.
What is the value of the AIR MILES miles in my account?
A good valuation is measured as follows: 1 Cash Mile = 10.5 cents to 11.8 cents and 1 Dream Mile = 9 cents to 25 cents
I forgot to present my AIR MILES card at the cashier. How do I claim my miles?
Ask at the customer service desk, with your bill and your AIR MILES card.
Depending on the partner, you may need to have your receipt initialized before leaving the store, or you may have a maximum of a few days at the same store to claim your missing miles. Other partners simply can’t give it back to you.
If I request a refund for a transaction at an AIR MILES partner, will the AIR MILES miles earned be removed from my account?
Yes Returned miles will be prorated to your refund.
What is the best strategy to collect the most AIR MILES miles?
Take advantage of one-time promotions, partner store multipliers on Airmileshops, sign up for the AIR MILES newsletter to receive targeted offers and take advantage of credit card welcome bonuses with American Express and Bank of Montreal.
Are gift card purchases considered eligible purchases for earning AIR MILES?
No, except in the case of very rare specific promotions.
Why aren't my AIR MILES showing up on my bill?
Base and bonus miles can take up to 60 days to be credited to the account and 120 days if they are special offers.
How can AIR MILES miles help me pay for a trip to a Disney park?
With Dream Miles: useful for airfare, park tickets, possibly hotels or car rentals.
With Cash Miles: Redeem 95 Silver Miles for a $10 discount at IGA or Jean Coutu. Deposit the amount you save into a Disney World savings account.