Air Miles

Comparison of the AMEX Air Miles Reserve and BMO Air Miles World Elite Cards

ByMatt June 13, 2017June 12, 2017

As requested by one of our readers, we will be comparing the American Express AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card and the BMO AIR MILES World Elite MasterCard. A second question was whether Air Miles is worth a second look considering the upcoming end of the Aeroplan and Air Canada partnership. Feel free to share any other suggestions in the comment section below!

Before we get into the comparison, let’s start with some of the highlights of each card:

American Express Air Miles Reserve Card

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

Thieves Stealing Air Miles?

ByMatt March 24, 2017March 24, 2017

Another day, another negative Air Miles news article. Basically, Air Miles is warning its members that thieves managed to steal “cash miles” from some collections. To protect its members, Air Miles temporarily halted the option that allowed members to use their cash miles to buy products at participating retailers.

Reader Question

Ban on Expiry of Loyalty Miles and Points Has Passed in Ontario

ByMatt December 10, 2016December 13, 2016

It took some time to digest this information, as I can’t actually believe that the government has decided to step in to regulate loyalty programs. Not only that, this bill passed unanimously. Did they open pandora’s box? Are loyalty programs really going to sit there and let the government push them around like this?

Grant this is not the first time that the Ontario government stepped in to regulate the industry. In 2007, they also banned expiration dates on gift cards.

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

AIR MILES Cancels Expiry

ByMatt December 2, 2016December 1, 2016

Seriously Air Miles? They decided to take a page out of Aeroplan’s book. Remember when Aeroplan introduced a 7 year hard expiry on its points? Basically, your miles would have expired 7 years from the day they were deposited, regardless of activity. But just before the expiry was about to kick in, they backed out. The same thing is happening now with Air Miles, they were going to introduce a hard expiry of 5 years after miles were deposited, to be effective on December 31, 2016.

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

Best Air Miles Reward Redemption

ByMatt November 28, 2016November 24, 2016

One thing that I haven’t done is talk about what are the top reward redemption to choose from, assuming they are available, *cough cough. But let’s assume that the award is available. Below is a list of what I think are the top reward redemptions.

Top Loyalty Programs in Canada (updated November 13, 2016)

ByMatt November 13, 2016April 10, 2020

This post is long overdue for an update. Last time around, I still listed Air Miles as one of the top 5. With the upcoming controversial expiry policy (which may be altered anyway by a new legislation), they will temporary be bumped out of the top 5.

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

Changes to the Air Miles Reward Redemption

ByMatt October 6, 2016October 5, 2016

According to a report by CBC News, it looks like Air Miles decided to change up their reward options. Air Miles has been accused of hiding reward options for certain members. Apparently, Air Miles finally admitted that they previously gave members access to different rewards based on their individual personal preferences. Whatever that means??

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

Class-action Lawsuit Launched Against Air Miles

ByMatt September 16, 2016

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Air Miles. CBC wrote up an article on the matter. But here is a quick summary.

The claim is against LoyaltyOne (owner of Air Miles) to “remedy harm caused by the Air Miles program to its users.” The main points are:

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

Air Miles Taking a Beating

ByMatt September 13, 2016September 12, 2016

This Air Miles expiry policy coming into effect on December 31, 2016 is really damaging their reputation. Basically, effective December 31, 2016, Air Miles reward miles that are more than 5 years old will begin to expire on a quarterly basis (March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31). The program started back in 1992, and if people haven’t redeemed since then, they are probably panicking to redeem them now.

Air Miles (Bank of Montreal)

What to do when a Loyalty Program Changes its Expiry Policy (i.e. Air Miles)

ByMatt July 25, 2016August 1, 2016

CBC has been on a tear this month of July, writing one article after another about the Air Miles program: … I am probably missing some article links. Anyway, I thought I’d share some thoughts about this matter, as it seems that according to CBC, lots of people are frustrated with Air Miles.