The best Air Miles credit cards in Canada for 2025

Air Miles is very well known among Canadian points collectors. Although many would say Air Miles lost some of its lustre in recent years, BMO acquired and relaunched the program in 2024 with new partners and more ways to earn Miles. Let’s see how the three BMO credit cards available to everyday collectors stack up against each other.

Best Air Miles credit cards in Canada

Gold: BMO Air Miles Mastercard

At a glance: The no-fee BMO Air Miles Mastercard is the best option for casual Air Miles collectors. With decent rewards and a standard set of perks, this is a great entry-level card, especially for Canadians who participate in multiple loyalty programs and aren’t interested in paying an annual fee.

Silver: BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard

At a glance: If you’re a more serious Air Miles collector, the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard offers great rewards and benefits. This card is best for those who want to maximize rewards through the Air Miles program. With great earnings on travel and a comprehensive suite of travel insurance and perks, this card is a great option for frequent flyers.

Best Air Miles credit card for students

At a glance: This student card comes with mostly the same earn rates and benefits as the BMO Air Miles Mastercard. However, as a student credit card, the eligibility requirements are less strict. To qualify, you’ll need to be a student at a recognized post-secondary school, aged 18 to 24 and the age of majority in your province, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and have an income (either employment, scholarship/grant, student loan or family allowance).

What’s changed about Air Miles?

BMO bought Air Miles in March 2023, after the program’s owner, Loyalty Ventures Inc., filed for bankruptcy. In July 2024, the bank unveiled changes to Air Miles aimed at “reinvigorating one of Canada’s largest loyalty programs.” The changes include new ways to earn and redeem Air Miles rewards. Read more about the Air Miles relaunch.

Where can you collect Air Miles in Canada?

There are dozens of retailers and service providers that offer Air Miles. When you shop at these stores, you’ll earn additional Air Miles on your purchases. Note, as of July 21, 2024, Metro is no longer an Air Miles partner; instead, the grocery store chain now offers Moi rewards in Metro and Food Basics stores. The current list of Air Miles partners includes:

Which gas stations take Air Miles? 

While Air Miles is widely accepted in Canada, the program is only offered at a limited number of Canadian gas stations. Currently, Shell Canada and Irving Oil are the two gas stations in Canada that allow you to pay with Air Miles. BMO Air Miles cardholders also get:

• 1 Mile for every 10 litres of premium fuel, and 1 Mile for every 10 litres of bronze, silver and diesel fuel at Shell Stations, plus 1 Mile for every $5 spent on car wash or in-store products.
• 1 Mile for every 20 litres of fuel purchased at Irving Oil gas stations, plus 1 Mile for every $20 spent on convenience store products and car washes.

Dream Miles versus Cash Miles 

Another feature of the Air Miles program is that it lets you choose from two different ways to earn: Cash Miles or Dream Miles. 

Cash Miles can be used towards everyday shopping at groceries or gas at participating partners. You could use your Miles on clothes at Lululemon, on a night at the movies with Cineplex, or even on a latte from Starbucks. The rate remains the same, and Cash Miles are simple to redeem either in-store at Air Miles partners or online for Air Miles e-vouchers. 

Dream Miles are saved toward a “dream” reward, like travel, event tickets or appliances. These tend to be big-ticket items (“bigger” than what you would use with Cash Miles), and the redemption rate varies. You could redeem your Dream Miles for a flight booked on one of the Air Miles partner airlines.

As an Air Miles collector, you have to choose whether to earn your Miles in the Cash or Dream categories—but don’t worry about the commitment. You can choose either or both. For example, if you want to use all of your Air Miles for everyday purchases, you can go on the Air Miles site and select 100% of your Miles going to Cash. Or, if you want all of your Miles to go into savings against a trip, you’d choose 100% Dream. Or, you can split between the two in any proportion you want: 50:50, 60:40, 80:20, or any other combination.

Air Miles collector status

Previously, Air Miles members couldn’t transfer Dream Miles to Cash Miles (and vice versa), once the rewards were earned. However, with the recent changes to the program, Air Miles can now be converted depending on your collector status. Here are the three Air Miles tiers, and how to qualify for each:

• Blue: Every Air Miles collector is automatically given Blue status.
• Gold status: Get 500 to 4,999 Miles in a calendar year, or be a cardholder of the BMO Air Miles Mastercard to automatically qualify.
• Onyx status: Get 5,000 Miles or more in a calendar year, or be a cardholder of the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard to automatically qualify.

Gold and Onyx collectors can convert Dream Miles to Cash Miles and vice versa. Onyx collectors get unlimited transfers, while Gold collectors can transfer up to 1,000 Miles per year. Gold and Onyx collectors also get more travel benefits and merchandise discounts. Each tier comes with the ability to redeem with a combination of cash and Miles.

What is Air Miles Receipts​?

Air Miles Receipts rolled out soon after BMO’s acquisition of the program in 2023. Grocery purchases were once one of the best ways to earn Air Miles. But after the Sobeys and Metro grocery chains left the program, earning Miles became much harder. Air Miles Receipts is the program’s response to that.

Now, Air Miles members can earn points on grocery product-specific offers made available through the Air Miles app. Users can find new offers, along with qualifying details and conditions, in the app. Once you have made an eligible purchase—for example, there may be an offer to buy any flavour of a specified brand of yogurt from a qualifying store—you simply scan and upload your paper receipt (in full) using the app. Your Air Miles rewards should appear in your account within a few weeks.

One benefit of using Air Miles Receipts is that collectors can earn multiple rewards currencies on a single purchase. For example, when buying groceries from a Sobeys grocery store, shoppers can swipe an American Express credit card and a Scene+ loyalty card at the register—earning both Amex Membership Rewards points and Scene+ points. They can then scan their receipt and earn Air Miles rewards on the same purchase through Air Miles Receipts.

More of Canada’s best credit cards:

• Canada’s best credit cards for airport lounge access
• Canada’s best rewards credit cards
• Canada’s best credit cards for travel insurance
• Canada’s best credit cards for gas