Best Air Miles Credit Cards in Canada

AIR MILES is one of the most commonly used travel rewards programs in Canada. With the AIR MILES Collector card, you can earn miles when you shop at AIR MILES sponsors. AIR MILES can be used for Dream Rewards or AIR MILES Cash. Dream Rewards include merchandise and travel, such as flights, hotels, cruises and car rentals. AIR MILES Cash can be used instantly in store to receive discounts on your purchases. Accumulated AIR MILES can be managed and redeemed online at https://www.airmiles.ca. BMO and American Express offer several different credit cards that are affiliated with the AIR MILES program and allow consumers to collect AIR MILES from their everyday credit card purchases. The AIR MILES program rewards top accumulating members with Gold Collector status.

Q: How much is an Air Mile worth?

A: According to our calculations, the dollar value of 1 Air Mile is approximately $0.121.

The value of an Air Mile is not consistent however and can fluctuate based on where you’re travelling from and where you’re travelling to. The value of Air Miles can also depend on if you’re flying in:

• High season: Dec. 16 to Jan. 7, March 1 to 31, and June 1 to Sept. 15; or
• Low season: Sept. 16 to Dec. 15, Jan. 8 to Feb. 28, and April 1 to May 31

Below, we’ve broken down the average value of an Air Mile by flight region and season:

Flight Region	Destination	Low Season	High Season	Average
British Columbia	Vancouver	$0.1535	$0.1426	$0.148
Alberta	Calgary	$0.1374	$0.1453	$0.141
Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	$0.1525	$0.1482	$0.150
Manitoba	Winnipeg	$0.2136	$0.2019	$0.208
Ontario	Ottawa	$0.0868	$0.1522	$0.120
Quebec	Montreal	$0.1004	$0.1635	$0.132
East Coast Canada	Halifax	$0.1506	$0.1674	$0.159
North West Territories	Yellowknife	$0.1635	$0.1403	$0.152
North Eastern US	New York	$0.1258	$0.2008	$0.154
	Chicago	$0.1266	$0.1642
Midwest US	Minneapolis	$0.2225	$0.1710	$0.231
	Kansas City	$0.3020	$0.2296
Northwestern US	Seattle	$0.1153	$0.0997	$0.041
	Portland	$0.0380	$0.0445
Southwestern US	Los Angeles	$0.0984	$0.1282	$0.099
	Dallas	$0.0933	$0.0742
Southeastern US	Miami	$0.1085	$0.1312	$0.149
	Atlanta	$0.1950	$0.1594
Caribbean	Punta Cana	$0.0965	$0.1044	$0.105
	Jamaica	$0.0896	$0.1306
Mexico	Cancun	$0.0879	$0.0944	$0.100
	Puerto Vallarata	$0.0719	$0.1476
Hawaii	Honolulu	$0.0713	$0.0823	$0.078
	Maui	$0.0714	$0.0863
Central America/ Europe 1	Paris	$0.0877	$0.0650	$0.071
	San Juan	$0.0484	$0.0827
South America/ Europe 2	Helsinki	$0.0883	$0.1203	$0.104
	Rio de Janerio	$0.1179	$0.0884
Europe 3	Warsaw	$0.0788	$0.0552	$0.069
	Istanbul	$0.0723	$0.0687
Middle East & Africa	Cairo	$0.0467	$0.1011	$0.062
	Lebanon	$0.0358	$0.0639
Asia	Bangkok	$0.0785	$0.0997	$0.088
	Tokyo	$0.0836	$0.0894
Australia & New Zealand	Melbourne	$0.0751	$0.0985	$0.091
	Auckland	$0.0777	$0.1145
Total Averages		$0.1101	$.1210	$0.121

TIPS

• If you want to get the most value out of your points, aim to redeem Air Miles when the redemption value is close to or above $0.121, such as on flights to the Midwest US region. After all, you don’t want to redeem miles for below their average value.
• Try to time your trips for the summer, spring, or winter, as you’ll reap a higher return out of each mile when you book flights in high-season.
• If you’re on a rigid vacation schedule and can only travel during low season, consider these travel destinations to gain better value from your miles.

Q: How many Air Miles do you get per dollar?

A: You can seamlessly earn miles on your everyday purchases when you sign up for one of the Air Miles credit cards offered by either BMO or American Express. Depending on the credit card and the type of purchase, you can get between 0.05 and 0.125 miles for every $1 you spend.

You can also earn miles by presenting an Air Miles Collectors Card at participating stores including Best Western, Embassy Suites, Foodland, Fountain Tire, Hampton Inn, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Lowe’s, Marlin Travel, Rexall Pharma Plus, Rona, Safeway, Shell, and Staples.

TIPS

• The more you use your Air Miles credit card and the more points you collect, the higher the likelihood that you’ll become a member of the Gold or Onyx programs. These programs dish out special offers on travel and merchandise to their members, such as the ability to book eligible flights for up to 30% fewer miles.

Q: What is the best Air Mile credit card?

A: According to our rankings, the best Air Miles credit card is the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard. This card offers 1 mile for every $10 in purchases, two free passes to Mastercard Experiences airport lounges (renewed annually), and a welcome bonus of 3,000 Air Miles when a total of $3,000 purchases is made within the first three months.

Q: How do you redeem Air Miles?

A: Air Miles can be redeemed for either Dream Rewards or Air Miles Cash, each of which offer different perks.

Dream Rewards can be redeemed for flights and other-travel related expenses, such as hotel rooms, vacation packages, car rentals, and cruises. Plus, Dream Rewards can also be redeemed for brand-name merchandise, event tickets and attractions.

Air Miles Cash, on the other hand, can be used to subsidize your everyday purchases and help you save on everything from groceries to electronics, at any number of participating stores including Metro, Sobeys, Safeway, Rexall, Foodland, Rona, and more.

TIPS

• While Dream Rewards can be redeemed for everything from hotel rooms to car rentals, it’s best to use them exclusively for booking travel. Flight tickets offer the highest redemption value for your points by a mile (no pun intended).

Q: Do Air Miles expire?

A: While it’s true Air Miles once announced that any unused points would expire after five years, the loyalty program changed its policy in 2016 due to customer complaints.

Now, points never expire if you are an active Air Miles member and will only expire if an account is left inactive for 24 consecutive months.

TIPS

• To avoid having your Air Miles expire, earn, redeem, donate, or transfer your miles at least once every two years

Q: Can Air Miles be used to pay for taxes and fees?

A: Although Air Miles can be used to cover the cost of fuel surcharges, it does not allow you to use your points to pay for taxes or fees.

Q: Can Air Miles be used retroactively?

A: No. Unfortunately, points can only be used at the time of purchase or in advance in the case of eVouchers.

Q: Which airlines are involved in the Air Miles program?

A: Air Miles can be redeemed for flights on Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways Europe, Lufthansa, Southwest Airlines US, and West Jet Canada.

Q: Can you transfer Air Miles?

A: Yes – sort of. Several rewards programs (Esso Extra, HBC, RBC) allow you to convert points to Air Miles, but not vice versa. Air Miles cannot be converted between Dream Rewards and Air Miles Cash either.