How to use your AIR MILES miles

To the point

Many members of the milesopedia Facebook group often ask this question: What to do with our AIR MILES miles? Let's give them an answer!

This article is a summary of our much more comprehensive guide to the AIR MILES Program.

Table of contents

AIR MILES Cash Rewards

It’s the easy solution for many: 95 AIR MILES = $10.

It’s money that can be credited on a bill:

grocery store (IGA)
gasoline (Shell)
pharmacy (Jean Coutu)

Or for an electronic voucher from other AIR MILES Partners.

This is a simple process and gives a real value to AIR MILES miles: $0.105/mile.

It’s also a great way to use AIR MILES bonus miles to purchase gift cards at Jean Coutu. For example, some people buy Disney gift cards to save money on their Disney trip!

cartes cadeaux disney chantal — L'échange de milles ARGENT pour des cartes-cadeaux Disney

Don’t miss the best AIR MILES credit cards at the end of this article!

Les stratégies

Vous débutez avec les points et cartes de crédit? Voici nos stratégies qui vous permettront d'économiser beaucoup d'argent sur vos voyages!

AIR MILES DREAMS Rewards

If you travel, our advice is to toggle your cursor on 100% Dreams… because that’s where you can get the most value from AIR MILES miles!

The Dreams Account Trips

In the Travel section, you will be able to book plane tickets, hotels, cruises, car rentals,

and flight tickets with AIR MILES miles

BMO^® AIR MILES^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®* cardholders benefit from a 15% discount on these reward tickets in North America.

rabais bmo we air miles amerique du nord

Pleasenote that the short-haul destinations often represent the best deal!

To find out more about how to book a flight reward with AIR MILES, we invite you to read this very comprehensive article on the subject.

Know that the BMO^® AIR MILES^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®* is probably the best AIR MILES credit card in Canada for several reasons:

The first year is free with this offer
With this offer, you can earn up to 3,000 AIR MILES
2 annual passes for airport lounges are offered (including the National Bank lounge in Montreal or the VIP lounge in Quebec City)
Excellent insurance for your travels
Accepted at Costco
Earn 1 mile for every $10 in purchases.

All-inclusive packages with AIR MILES miles

AIR MILES Dream Miles may apply for all-inclusive packages through Redtag Travel Agency.

Here, you’ll use 909 Dream Miles to save $100.

Check out this article to save on your all-inclusive trip, or on a cruise with AIR MILES bonus miles!

Events and attractions of the Dreams Account

AIR MILES offers a series of events and attractions, often exclusive to AIR MILES members, through the Dream Account.

Whether it’s a round of golf, a day at the spa or access to a culinary event like YULEAT, there’s plenty of options to use your AIR MILES.

Don’t forget amusement parks in the United States. Given the weakness of the Canadian dollar, there are sometimes good finds on that side (although AIR MILES has adjusted its prices accordingly).

We had already written an article on the subject, which we invite you to read again. Depending on the event or amusement park, this can be a wise choice to use your AIR MILES, especially if they will soon expire!

Miscellaneous items in the Dreams account

Here, if you are a GOLD or ONYX member of AIR MILES, you will have access to promotions that may be of interest.

What caught our attention here is the Sony wireless Ear Go speaker. It’s offered for 1,200 miles instead of 2,400.

We have not seen it for sale on any online store in Canada. On the other hand, this product is offered in the United States for US$168 (CA$220).

So 1,200 miles would be used to buy a product worth CA$220 (excluding taxes).

As a reminder, with CASH Rewards, you can redeem 95 miles for a $10 discount. So 1,200 miles would be worth $126.32 CDN. You are clearly a winner here since you would get $17.42 for 95 miles!

But in this cas, we can thank our GOLD member status for this excellent deal. So do your research and calculations to use your miles wisely!

The Dreams Account Raffles

Here, you use your miles to get 1 participation in a competition to win a prize.

In our opinion, raffles are not a good way to use your AIR MILES.

Earn AIR MILES miles easily

AIR MILES credit cards and their welcome offers allow you to earn miles quickly.

In just a few weeks, we were able to earn thousands of AIR MILES miles thanks to the promotions for both credit cards listed below. More than long-standing collectors!

They also allow you to move closer to GOLD or ONYX status, entitling you to exclusive rewards.

An AIR MILES credit card for cash rewards

There are many AIR MILES credit cards, both with American Express and BMO.

BMO AIR MILES Credit cards

The best of them all, the BMO^® AIR MILES^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®*, earns 1 AIR MILES mile / $10 in purchases at all merchants (including Costco).

In addition, for Dream Rewards, it allows you to get 15% off on rewards flights in North America. See its detailed presentation here.

There are many other BMO AIR MILES credit cards and you canearn the Welcome Bonus on any one of them even if you currently hold another BMO AIR MILES card, or have held a BMO AIR MILES card in the past.

In addition, there are also 2 BMO AIR MILES credit cards for self-employed individuals, professionals or small businesses.

American Express AIR MILES Credit cards

American Express also offers many AIR MILES cards, including the best one, the American Express^® AIR MILES^®* Platinum Credit Card, which offers a very good welcome bonus.

In particular, it allows you to earn 1 AIR MILES mile / $5 in purchases for:

food and drink,
expenses at gas stations
transit

We present it in this article.

There are also other American Express AIR MILES credit cards:

Tip: If you shop at one of the AIR MILES affiliated stores, you can double up by paying with your AIR MILES credit card and presenting your AIR MILES Loyalty Card to collect miles!

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