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The first thing to know about AIR MILES concerns AIR MILES reward miles.
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 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.
Before collecting AIR MILES miles, you will need to define your earning preference. 100% cash or 100% Dream… or a combination of both.
You can change your earning level whenever you want (the change will take effect at 3:00 AM (EST) the next day).
AIR MILES has severalpartners and about 100 online sponsors.
Miles earning rate will be different for each partner. For example:
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: Effective March 23, 2023, IGA, Marchés Tradition, and Rachelle Béry stores will no longer be linked to the AIR MILES program. See this article on Scene+ which will be the new rewards program for IGA, Rachelle Béry, and Les Marchés Tradition.
AIR MILES has an online shopping portal called airmilesshops.ca.
By going through this portal before shopping with the online retailer, you will get 1 mile / $20 spent. This is called “the basic offer.”
Then, during promotions, comes the “multiplier”of partner shops AND from the whole site airmilesshops.ca.
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:
That’s 5 miles / $20 in purchases.
That’s why AIR MILES indicates 5x the miles.
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:
This means that for 5x the miles with the retailer:
In addition, there is the 10x from the airmileshops.ca portal:
That’s 15 miles for every $20 you spend.
Beyond credit card welcome bonuses, events represent one of the best opportunities to earn hundreds of miles.
Throughout the year, AIR MILES holds promotional events where you can earn many miles.
Let’s discover together all the possibilities of using CASH Rewards for :
AIR MILES Cash miles can be used directly in-store (IGA until March 22, 2023, Jean Coutu until May 2023, Shell…) for an instant discount at checkout.
95 miles = $10, or 10.5 cents / mile.
Update March 10, 2023: **Note: Effective March 23, 2023, IGA, Marchés Tradition, and Rachelle Béry stores will no longer be linked to the AIR MILES program. See this article on Scene+ which will be the new rewards program for IGA, Rachelle Béry, and Les Marchés Tradition.
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
There is also the option to use an electronic voucher to be redeemed online. It’s perfect for giving a gift to someone, for example.
95 miles = $10, or 10.5 cents / mile
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 :
With The Dream Miles, it is possible to book flights directly from the AIR MILES website. It acts as a travel agency.
The best use of AIR MILES Dream Miles is on short-haul flights.
These are short-haul flights (generally destinations less than 2 hours away by flight) like 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.
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:
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 redemption rate for Dream miles will always be the same: 909 miles = $100
Here is, for example, 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
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.
In its awards catalogue, AIR MILES has a “Events and Attractions” section. Available rewards vary with the seasons.
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:
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 / milefor Onyx status members
$535 / 5,742 miles = 9.3 cents / milefor non-status members
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 someone, why not!
As you saw above, there are 2 types of miles… but several valuations!
So, we agree to say:
AIR MILES miles no longer expire.
AIR MILES offers 3 status levels:
Each of these status will offer its own benefits:
The most interesting status to get is the Onyx status which offers:
Simply call a personal assistant and use your Dream Miles to treat yourself to almost anything! Even what is not in the award catalog.
Savings this way:
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