To the point
AIR MILES is Canada's best-known reward program and you need to know about it to save a lot of money on your travels or every day!
Table of contents
Open an AIR MILES account
To open an AIR MILES account, it’s easy: you’ll have to go to the AIR MILES website and follow the instructions (whether you already have a loyalty card or not).
The distinction between CASH and DREAM rewards
The first thing to know about AIR MILES is about reward miles.
There are two kinds:
- CASH rewards
- DREAM Rewards
CASH Rewards
With CASH Rewards, members earn cash rewards for everyday purchases like gas and groceries.
The value is fixed and 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.
Value is variable and it is the currency that can deliver the best return in the AIR MILES program.
The choice of accumulation between Cash and Dream
Before earning AIR MILES reward miles you’ll need to define your type of earning. 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 with your dates, it is better for you the DREAM rewards.
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 miles
Whether you choose to use your miles for Cash or Dream rewards, you’ll need to earn them!
Let’s discover together all the possibilities of accumulation with :
With purchases from partners
AIR MILES has more than 120 partners and 100+ online sponsors.
Miles earning rate will be different for each partner. For example:
- ACE: 1 mile / $20
- Best Western: 20 miles per stay
- Staples: 1 mile / $40
- IGA: 1 mile / $20
- Jean Coutu: 1 mile / $15
- and much more!
Watch for flyers from each AIR MILES Sponsor. By purchasing certain products, you could earn many bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles.
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 :
- 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 is a partner with 2 financial institutions offering a lot of 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 collect AIR MILES Reward Miles faster, the best way is to use your AIR MILES credit card as often as possible!
The miles earning rate will often depend on the issuer and the type of card:
- 3 miles/$25 in purchases at AIR MILES Partners(1 mile/$25 everywhere else) 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 AIR MILESMD* American ExpressMD Platinum credit card.
- 3 miles /$12 in purchases at AIR MILES Partners and $1 mile /$12 everywhere else for the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*
With promotional events
Throughout the year, AIR MILES runs promotional events during which you can earn many miles.
Apart from the credit cards welcome bonuses, events are one of the best opportunities to earn hundreds of miles.
Redeem Cash reward miles
Let’s discover together all the redemption possibilities with CASH miles:
- For in-store discounts
- For electronic certificates
For in-store discounts
AIR MILES CASH rewards can be redeemed directly in-store (IGA, Jean Coutu, Shell…) for an instant discount at the checkout.
95 miles = $10, or 10.5 cents / mile.
Gift cards
Throughout the year, brands like Jean Coutu run promotions to encourage you to redeem your CASH reward miles.
So you can use only 75 or even 85 miles for $10.
Like 85 miles = $10 or a value of 11.8 cents / mile
For electronic certificates
As we have seen above, with some stores you can redeem your CASH rewards miles DIRECTLY at the checkout.
For others, it will be necessary to use an electronic exchange voucher to be retrieved online.
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 Dream Miles, it is possible to obtain airline tickets directly on the AIR MILES website.
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 (generally destinations less than 2 hours away) such as Montreal to New York, Boston, Toronto, Halifax, St John, etc.
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
Only one AIR MILES credit card in Canada offers a 15% discount on all AIR MILES reward tickets (in North America), the BMO® AIR MILES® World Elite®* Mastercard®*.
Beginning July 04, 2022, this discount will change to a one-time, annual 25% discount, up to a maximum of 750 miles.
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
You can redeem Dream Miles on AIR MILES’ travel portal, powered by 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 8,181 miles 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
The mileage rate will vary depending on the items and your status.
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!
Managing your miles
Now you know how to earn and use your AIR MILES reward miles.
Now let’s see how to manage them… every day!
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
That means 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.
Conclusion
AIR MILES is the must-have loyalty program in Canada due to its footprint in many partner stores.
It appeals to all audiences:
- those who prefer cashbacks will get Cash rewards
- those who want to afford travel or activities will get Dream rewards
Finally, to ease the accumulation process,there are about ten credit cards affiliated to the AIR MILES program , enough to get thousands of miles!
This post was not sponsored. The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
Come to discuss that topic in our Facebook Group!
