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Savvy Air Miles collectors know they can boost their earn rate by using the right credit card—and with its wide selection of partners and recently enhanced redemption options, this is one of the best.
One of the largest travel rewards programs in Canada, Air Miles is affiliated with a wide variety of everyday retail partners, from grocery stores and gas stations, to liquor stores and travel outlets, where members earn points on their purchases. Savvy collectors know they can boost their earn rate by using the right credit card—and with its wide selection of partners and recently enhanced redemption options, the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard is one of the best Air Miles credit cards in Canada, made even better with an annual fee rebate if you have the BMO Premium chequing account. Rounded out with travel insurance benefits, and purchase protection, this BMO credit card gives other premium travel rewards credit cards a run for their money.
| Annual fee | $120 (waived for the first year) |
| Rewards | 1 Air Miles Rewards Mile for every $12 spent, three times the rewards at Air Miles partners and two times at eligible grocery stores |
| Welcome offer | You can earn 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles! That's enough for $310 towards purchases with AIR MILES Cash! Plus, get the $120 annual fee waived for your first anniversary |
| Points value | 1 Cash Mile = $0.105; Dream Miles values vary |
| Income requirement | $80,000 individual, or $150,000 as a household |
| Interest rates | 20.99% on purchases, 23.99% on cash advances, 23.99% on balance transfers |
| Best features | Accelerated Miles earn when shopping at Air Miles partner retailers; robust travel insurance and purchase protection benefits |
| Who it’s good for | Air Miles collectors, frequent travellers, high-income earners |
If you already shop at Air Miles-affiliated retailers, it’s easy to accelerate your earn rate. The card features a flat earn rate of 1 Mile for every $12 spent anywhere. Additionally, if you scan your Air Miles Collector Card (either the physical or digital wallet card), you can earn three times the rewards at Air Miles partners and two times at eligible grocery stores.
A welcome bonus that allows you to earn 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles! That's enough for $310 towards purchases with AIR MILES Cash! Plus, get the $120 annual fee waived for your first anniversary The bonus miles are nearly enough for a free flight almost anywhere in North America—makes this one of the best Air Miles credit cards in Canada.
In addition, the card’s $120 annual fee is waived for your first year. (The waiver will continue if you have a BMO Premium chequing account, which offers an annual credit card rebate of up to $150 on a card of your choice.)
BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard cardholders can take advantage of a 15% discount when booking flights within North America using their Air Miles Reward Miles.
Additionally, there are no blackout periods—a big plus that isn’t offered by competing cards like those in the Aeroplan portfolio. Plus, you get an exclusive 25% discount on one worldwide Air Miles flight redemption during the calendar year.
As this card is part of the World Elite Mastercard portfolio, you’ll find a robust travel insurance offering from $5 million in travel medical emergency coverage on an unlimited number of annual trips to trip cancellation, interruption, delay, lost and delayed baggage insurance. If you’re renting a car, the card’s coverage of vehicles up to $65,000 protects drivers against collision, loss, and damage.
BMO’s credit cards are widely accepted around the world on the Mastercard network and, for added versatility, you can use your card through digital wallets like Apple Pay, as well.
If you like to shop at No Frills and Costco stores, you’ll be pleased to note that you can make purchases on your BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard to earn Miles with those retailers, neither of which accepts Visa or American Express cards. And it comes with a complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass.
Air Miles users can decide how they want to earn their rewards for future redemption: either through Air Miles Cash Miles for redemption on everyday purchases; Air Miles Dream Miles for travel; or a combination of the two. Through the Air Miles’ app, simply how you’d like to split your Miles, by percentage, and they will be divided accordingly as you earn. Make sure you carry both your Air Miles credit card and Collector Card (or load them on your mobile wallet) to ensure you’re earning twice at affiliated partners.
Air Miles Cash Miles can be redeemed at 95 Miles to a $10 voucher for use at participating retailers like Sobeys, Metro grocery stores, Shell gas stations, and Staples Canada, while Air Miles Dream Miles are allocated for travel redemption, including flights, hotels, and vacation packages. These are booked through the Air Miles travel portal, where the number of Miles required vary from distance to time of year. This easy-to-use tool allows you to preview destination options based on number of Miles to be redeemed, along with low- and high-season fluctuations.
Air Miles members must pay additional taxes and surcharges on travel redemptions, and these costs cannot generally be covered with Air Miles.
While the Air Miles program has a wide spectrum of retail partners, the redemption system can be harder to navigate and isn’t as straightforward than other bank-run cards. Competitor cards like the Scotiabank Gold American Express and BMO World Elite Mastercard offer earn accelerators in bonus categories like travel, dining, and entertainment, and do allow users to cover the cost of travel taxes and fees by redeeming points.
While the card’s benefits represent incredible value, there are similar credit cards with airport lounge access out there that offer four free visits per year.
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You can not book the flights that you want, only the flights available on their site. I tried to book klam without stops montreal amsterdam, no problem with klm but impossible with rewards, only with stops in france, and that is no option for me because of the covid, will change cards soon.
This has changed now! Airmiles revamped their program and you can now find the same flights you can buy with cash on any operator between any city. So you may want to have another look at AirMiles