Air Miles Rewards Program Guide – NerdWallet Canada

The Air Miles rewards program offers many ways to earn and redeem both miles and cash, but getting the most out of your Air Miles may require some research and strategic spending.

What is the Air Miles program?

Launched in 1992, Air Miles is one of Canada’s popular loyalty rewards programs with nearly 10 million members. In 2023, the Bank of Montreal (BMO) acquired the Air Miles Reward Program from LoyaltyOne. 

As an Air Miles member, you can earn miles by shopping in-store with partner retailers, buying merchandise online through the Air Miles shop, claiming bonus offers at most Canadian grocers, taking advantage of offers using your linked Canadian Mastercard, or making eligible everyday purchases with a BMO Air Miles credit card.  

After collecting a sufficient number of miles, you can redeem them for a variety of items like flights, travel bookings, merchandise or instant cash rebates at select retailers.

How do Air Miles work?

There are two forms of Air Miles rewards: Dream Miles and Cash Miles. You can choose to earn either type or a combination of both, with the flexibility to adjust your preference at any time.

Dream Miles vs. Cash Miles

How to choose between Dream Miles and Cash Miles

After you open an Air Miles account, you’ll be asked how you want to allocate the rewards you earn. Choose a percentage of Cash Miles and Dream Miles that makes sense for you. For example, if you want to only redeem your miles as cash, you could set the slider to 100% Cash Miles and 0% Dream Miles. You can adjust your selection at any time.

Once a Dream Mile has been earned, it can be converted to Cash Mile — and vice versa — but only by Gold and Onyx-tier Air Miles collectors.

How many Air Miles for a flight?

For a $400 flight, you’d typically need around 6,428 Air Miles Dream Miles, depending on the seat class. Here’s the breakdown:

• Economy Class: 7,880 Dream Miles.
• Business Class: 5,512 Dream Miles.

How did we calculate this?

NerdWallet analyzed over 50 data points to determine the Air Miles redemption values for flights in 2024. This analysis calculated the average “cent-per-mile” value for each flight.

Based on our analysis, the average value of 1 Air Miles Dream Mile is 16.07 cents.

More specifically, by class, you can expect to get around:

• Economy Class redemptions: ~19.70 cents per Air Miles Dream Mile.
• Business Class redemptions: ~13.78 cents per Air Miles Dream Mile.

These values can fluctuate based on several factors, such as destination, time of year (i.e., during holidays or other peak times), and how far in advance you book your flight.

Unlike some travel rewards loyalty programs (like Aeroplan), Air Miles does not offer a flight chart showing how many miles are needed for specific destinations. 

To find out how many Dream Miles you’ll actually need for a trip, search for flights on the Air Miles travel portal. Adjust search metrics, like dates, seat class and number of layovers, to see how the number of Air Miles required fluctuates.

How to earn Air Miles

There are multiple ways to earn Air Miles.

Present your Air Miles membership card with retail partners

When shopping in person or online at an Air Miles retail partner, you need to present your card or input your membership number to earn Air Miles.

The amount of Air Miles you earn varies among retailers. For example, at the time of writing, you get 1 Air Mile per $15 dollars spent at Budget Car Rental, whereas, with Global Pet Foods, you earn 1 Air Mile for every $20 you spend.

Shop with an Air Miles credit card

A fast and easy way to accelerate your earnings is with a co-branded Air Miles credit card.

Air Miles is owned by BMO, which offers six credit cards that earn Air Miles on purchases:

• BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
• Student BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES World Elite Business Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES No-Fee Business Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES Business Mastercard

Use a BMO AIR MILES debit card

You can earn 1 Air Mile for every $30 you spend using a BMO Debit Card that’s attached to an Air Miles chequing account. If you also hold a BMO AIR MILES World Mastercard or BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard, you can earn an extra 25 miles per month.

Link a Canadian-issued Mastercard

Link your Canadian-issued Mastercard and Air Miles accounts through the Air Miles website to take advantage of limited-time in-store and online offers with partner brands to earn Air Miles. Once connected, you no longer need to show your Air Miles card at the time of purchase — simply pay with your linked Canadian-issued Mastercard to earn Air Miles.

Shop online via the Air Miles portal and eStore

On top of earning Air Miles directly when shopping at merchants in person or online, you can earn rewards using the Air Miles shopping portal at airmilesshops.ca. Rather than going directly to a partner retailer’s website, shopping through the Air Miles eStore earns 1 Air Mile for every $20 spent.

Book travel through the Air Miles travel portal

You can earn points by booking travel-related items like flights, hotel stays and rental cars via the Air Miles travel hub.

Take advantage of Air Miles bonus offers and promotions

Air Miles partner merchants sometimes offer special promotions or bonuses that allow members to earn additional miles. You can find current promotions by checking out the Air Miles website.

Answer surveys to earn free Air Miles

You can earn miles by answering surveys online with companies like Shopper’s Voice. You can find a list of current surveys that offer rewards on the Air Miles website.

Saving grocery store receipts

Upload your grocery store receipts to your Air Miles account for an opportunity to earn bonus Air Miles on eligible grocery purchases. Details on qualifying offers can be found in the Air Miles app.

How to get an Air Miles membership

Air Miles membership is free for all, but automatic for eligible BMO credit card holders. You must be a Canadian resident and at least 16 years old to apply, and the application can be completed online.

How to sign up

When filling out the online application, you must provide your name, date of birth, address and email, then set up a password.

Once the application is approved, you’ll be sent your membership number and digital card via email so you can start earning miles immediately. Then, you’ll receive a physical membership card in the mail within two to three weeks. 

Membership tiers and statuses

Air Miles has three membership tiers: Blue, Gold and Onyx. New members immediately qualify for the Blue tier, but can work their way up to higher statuses by earning rewards.

Is it worth joining the Air Miles program?

Air Miles is free to join, so there’s no downside to signing up. Earning miles can be as simple as showing your membership card or entering your membership number at checkout.

That said, it can take time to accumulate rewards. To earn Air Miles quickly, using an Air Miles credit card, shopping strategically and taking advantage of Air Miles promotional offers could help.

Air Miles alternatives

One alternative to Air Miles is Air Canada’s Aeroplan points, another of Canada’s well-known travel reward programs. Aeroplan also has co-branded credit cards and an online shopping portal. 

The value of an individual Aeroplan point may be lower than that of a single Air Mile when redeemed for flights, but Aeroplan points tend to accumulate at a more rapid pace.. 

For example, with the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard, you can earn 3 miles for every $12 you spend at retail partners. To compare, you can earn between 1.25 and 3 Aeroplan points for every $1 you spend on purchases made with the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card. Using the above example, you’d need to spend at least $400 to collect roughly 100 Air Miles, but just $33 to $80 to earn 100 Aeroplan points.

Finally, Aeroplan has an attractive “Family Sharing” feature that allows up to eight family members or friends to pool their points, making it easy to redeem Aeroplan points for maximum value. (Note: Aeroplan Family Sharing is temporarily unavailable.)

Make sure you compare the Aeroplan and Air Miles features before you decide what’s best for your needs. You can also get insight from what other travellers think in our Reddit section below.

What Reddit has to say

To give an overview of the Air Miles program, NerdWallet’s credit card experts rigorously review everything from the valuation of points to redemption options. But our Nerds know it can also be helpful to hear what everyday cardholders think. We took to Reddit to find out what users were saying across multiple threads.