AIR MILES redemption promotion: 30% back

The AIR MILES rewards program is not one we often cover, at least not since they killed their great redemption option of the more lucrative type (for flights) a few years back. But it must be said that since BMO’s recent acquisition of the failing program, they’ve really had interesting offers and promotions (well, on everything except the welcome bonuses on their cards).

This week, there’s one of the best-ever AIR MILES redemption promotions: you can get 30% back on eligible Dream Miles and/or Cash Miles redemptions! So essentially, redemptions can cost 30% fewer miles! Very good if you already have AIR MILES Miles!

Here are the details of one of the best-ever AIR MILES redemption promotions.

Basics of AIR MILES

You probably know this program, but just in case, AIR MILES is a reward program with many retail partners across Canada, but that is now owned by BMO.

Like almost all reward programs, anyone can create an account for free and earn… but the fastest way to earn is always with credit cards. Read that and the other 5 most important things in Flytrippers’ infographic with all the basics of travel rewards.

There are now 4 AIR MILES credit cards in Canada, but 2 require actual businesses (unlike “business” cards from American Express, which are available for all).

Best credit cards for AIR MILES Rewards
BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* MasterCard®*
Min. income (card): $80k or $150kMinimum personal income of $80,000 or minimum household income of $150,000
Min. spend (bonus): $3k in 3 mos. + 8 fill-ups (optional)
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION)	SEE MORE ends November 30th
≈ $249Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus (Miles): 2,000 pts (≈ $210) Earn on min. spend: 375 pts (≈ $39) Card fee: 1st year free (-$0)
Rewards: ≈ $249
Card fee: $0 $120
AIR MILES Miles: 2,375 Miles with welcome bonus & AM elite status
BMO AIR MILES®† MasterCard®*
Min. income (card): $15kMinimum personal income of $15,000
Min. spend (bonus): $1k in 3 mos. + 8 fill-ups (optional)
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION)	SEE MORE ends November 30th
≈ $92Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus (Miles): 800 pts (≈ $84) Earn on min. spend: 80 pts (≈ $8) Card fee: none (-$0)
Rewards: ≈ $92
Card fee: $0
AIR MILES Miles: 880 Miles with welcome bonus & Dream/Cash conversions
Show more
BMO AIR MILES World Elite®* Business Mastercard®*
Card: business required
Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION)	SEE MORE
$420Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus: 3,000 pts (≈ $360) Earn on min. spend: 500 pts (≈ $60) Card fee: 1st year free (-$0)
Rewards: $420
Card fee: $0 $120
AIR MILES Miles: 3,500 Miles after welcome bonus
BMO® AIR MILES®† No-Fee Business® Mastercard®*
Card: business required
Min. spend (bonus): $3k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION)	SEE MORE
$138Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus: 1,000 pts (≈ $120) Earn on min. spend: 150 pts (≈ $18) Card fee: no annual fee (-$0)
Rewards: $138
Card fee: $0
AIR MILES Miles: 1,150 Miles after welcome bonus
BMO AIR MILES®† Mastercard®* (Student)
Min. income (card): $0No minimum income required.
Min. spend (bonus): $1k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION)	SEE MORE
≈ $92Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus: 800 pts (≈ $84) Earn on min. spend: 80 pts (≈ $8) Card fee: none (-$0)
Rewards: ≈ $92
Card fee: $0
AIR MILES Miles: 880 Miles after welcome bonus
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.

Best credit cards for AIR MILES Rewards		WELCOME BONUS ( VALUATION)	AIR MILES Miles
	BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* MasterCard®* Min. income (card): $80k or $150kMinimum personal income of $80,000 or minimum household income of $150,000 Min. spend (bonus): $3k in 3 mos. + 8 fill-ups (optional)	≈ $249Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus (Miles): 2,000 pts (≈ $210) Earn on min. spend: 375 pts (≈ $39) Card fee: 1st year free (-$0) Rewards: ≈ $249 Card fee: $0 $120	2,375 Miles with welcome bonus & AM elite status	SEE MORE ends November 30th
	BMO AIR MILES®† MasterCard®* Min. income (card): $15kMinimum personal income of $15,000 Min. spend (bonus): $1k in 3 mos. + 8 fill-ups (optional)	≈ $92Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus (Miles): 800 pts (≈ $84) Earn on min. spend: 80 pts (≈ $8) Card fee: none (-$0) Rewards: ≈ $92 Card fee: $0	880 Miles with welcome bonus & Dream/Cash conversions	SEE MORE ends November 30th
	BMO AIR MILES World Elite®* Business Mastercard®* Card: business required Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 3 mos.	$420Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus: 3,000 pts (≈ $360) Earn on min. spend: 500 pts (≈ $60) Card fee: 1st year free (-$0) Rewards: $420 Card fee: $0 $120	3,500 Miles after welcome bonus	SEE MORE
	BMO® AIR MILES®† No-Fee Business® Mastercard®* Card: business required Min. spend (bonus): $3k in 3 mos.	$138Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus: 1,000 pts (≈ $120) Earn on min. spend: 150 pts (≈ $18) Card fee: no annual fee (-$0) Rewards: $138 Card fee: $0	1,150 Miles after welcome bonus	SEE MORE
	BMO AIR MILES®† Mastercard®* (Student) Min. income (card): $0No minimum income required. Min. spend (bonus): $1k in 3 mos.	≈ $92Flytrippers Valuation Welcome bonus: 800 pts (≈ $84) Earn on min. spend: 80 pts (≈ $8) Card fee: none (-$0) Rewards: ≈ $92 Card fee: $0	880 Miles after welcome bonus	SEE MORE
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.

AIR MILES redemption promotion

If you have AIR MILES Miles already, it’s a great time to redeem them!

Here are the details:

• You get 30% Miles back when redeeming Miles
  • It’s like getting a discount of 30%
• You can redeem Cash Miles or Dream Miles
  • Minimum redemption of 95 Cash Miles
  • Minimum redemption of 250 Dream Miles
• You have a maximum bonus you can earn
  • 114 Cash Miles (redemption of 380 Miles)
  • 1500 Cash Miles (redemption of 5000 Miles)
• You MUST register for the promo
  • As is almost always the case for all promos
  • Register on the AIR MILES website or app
  • Detailed step-by-step below (with screenshots)
• You must redeem before November 21 at 11:59 PM (Eastern)

It’s really easy to get this nice discount!

How to take advantage of the AIR MILES promotion

AIR MILES is unique, with 2 earning options: Dream Miles and Cash Miles.

If you have Dream Miles, booking a flight, hotel, car rental, or entertainment ticket with a 30% discount is obviously an excellent deal.

Especially if you can stack this with the BMO AIR MILES World Elite MasterCard flight discount. It’s worth prioritizing that if you have flights to book and their cash price is low (if their cash price is high, you should first try to use your points of the more lucrative type). 

If you have Cash Miles, you should right away make a plan to use 380 Miles for a $40 discount if you have a car (eVoucher for dozens of retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Subway, etc. or a gas fill-up at Shell).

You’ll have saved $40, but the promotion will give you back 114 Miles! So you’ll have gotten 15¢/pt in value instead of the usual fixed value of 10.5¢/pt. That is 43% more value so easily, just by following promos closely. Getting 43% more value is pretty good!

If you’ve read our recent post about the value of each redemption option for most major programs, you know that there really no longer is any outsized value available with AIR MILES (unlike the outsized value I shared examples of recently, for business class flights, expensive short-distance economy class flights, or for Asia flights).

But by choosing Dream Miles instead of Cash Miles, you can often get a bit more value. At the very least, if you choose Cash Miles, avoid the bad redemptions for merchandise online and instead redeem at partners that offer more value.

By the way, having one of the AIR MILES credit cards allows you to switch Cash Miles to Dream Miles for free (and vice versa).

Here are the estimated values for AIR MILES redemption options (it varies because the value is not fixed, except for Cash Miles at retail partners):

• ≈ 10.5¢ to ≈ 12¢ Any trips on the AIR MILES website
• 10.5¢ Merchandise at participating stores
• ≈ 8¢ Merchandise online

How to register for the AIR MILES promotion

You can go directly to the featured offers AIR MILES page (or the page with all AIR MILES offers).

You click on “Opt-in”.

You log in to your account (in 1 click if you use 1Password like we do).

And there you are, you’ve registered for the offer. It’s as simple as that.

Then, you can make redemptions until November 21.

Before you know it, you’ll be receiving 30% back in AIR MILES miles, giving you a 30% discount!

And don’t miss our guide to the AIR MILES program soon.

Learning how to travel for less

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What would you like to know about the AIR MILES redemption promotion? Tell us in the comments below.

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