Why did AIR MILES fail?

The decline and fall of the Air Miles empire was caused by the people who managed it. While there were a variety of factors which caused the program to go into insolvency and to need a bailout from the Bank of Montreal, the most basic reason for the collapse is that the program stopped providing much value to anyone.



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Crushingly, partners such as Sobeys, Safeway, Staples, Rexall and Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores left the program. Late last week, news broke that Air Miles had filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of heavy debts.

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BMO has completed its acquisition of Air Miles from the defunct Loyalty Ventures Incorporated. This is an enormous purchase of a famous loyalty brand for the Bank of Montreal, and came with a price tag of $160 million (USD).

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AIR MILES reward miles are not lost and remain in the AIR MILES account. However, it is no longer possible to collect or redeem AIR MILES miles at Jean Coutu stores since May 15, 2023. All Jean Coutu stores in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick were affected by this change.

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And as travel demand soars and airlines cut flights and routes, it's much harder to redeem those miles. The airlines like to boast to Wall Street the real value of their reward programs. And they often celebrate the financial success of these programs by how low the redemption rate is for miles — in some cases 8%.

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100,000 United miles are worth about $1,200.

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Air Miles themselves do not expire. But, if your account “expires” by being “dormant” (or inactive) for 24 consecutive months, then the points on it will disappear. An account is considered inactive if there are no points transactions within that period.

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We sampled flight awards available with U.S. carriers and found that consumers need between about 8,000 and 57,000 miles to get a free one-way coach flight. Free flights in business or first class start at around 25,000 miles and climb to well over 150,000 miles one-way.

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Be flexible with travel dates Many portals will let you look at multiple dates at once, so you can compare dates and book when flights are least expensive. Also be aware that some airlines may set blackout dates, during which you can't redeem airline miles for award travel.

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You can redeem for eVouchers online at airmiles.ca/cash. 95 Cash Miles = $10 worth of value at participating reward partners.

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Your AIR MILES Account will be considered dormant if you have not collected, used, bought or transferred at least one Mile for 24 consecutive months or longer.

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As of September 30, 2023, Amex will discontinue all of its Air Miles co-branded credit cards, and existing cardholders will be transitioned to a Membership Rewards card instead.

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75,000 Capital One Miles Statement Credit Value If you redeem your Capital One miles as a statement credit for recent travel purchases, each mile is worth 1 cent for any redemption. This makes the entire 75,000 miles balance worth $750 in redemptions for flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and tours.

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