The best Air Miles credit cards in Canada for 2024

The Air Miles loyalty program is one of the most established and popular in Canada. Though it lost some of its lustre in recent years, BMO acquired Air Miles in 2023 and relaunched the program in 2024 with new partners and a focus on experiences. BMO offers three Air Miles credit cards, including a variation of the BMO Air Miles Mastercard for students. There are also three business Air Miles credit cards. Let’s have a look at the three cards intended for everyday Air Miles collectors.

Featured Air Miles credit cards

Best Air Miles credit cards in Canada

Air Miles credit card	Main benefit
For no annual fee BMO Air Miles Mastercard Annual fee: $0	Earn up to 3 Miles per $25 spent without paying an annual fee
For the most earnings and perks BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard Annual fee: $120 (waived first year)	The fastest way to earn Air Miles and get travel perks, like travel insurance and complimentary Dragon Pass membership
For students BMO Air Miles Mastercard for Students Annual fee: $0	Accessible to students and comes with the same benefits as the BMO Air Miles Mastercard

For no annual fee

At a glance: If you’re looking for a no-fee credit card, why not choose one that rewards you every time you use it? With no annual fee and a set of standard perks like extended warranty and purchase protection, the BMO Air Miles Mastercard is a great entry-level card. When your time comes to redeem, you’ll have the added satisfaction of knowing your reward—whether it’s a toaster oven, cash for groceries or a flight—didn’t come at the cost of an annual fee.

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For the most earnings and perks

At a glance: Canadians who use the Air Miles program primarily for travel will find the benefits and bonuses with the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard to be outstanding. What really puts this card into its own class are the numerous travel-specific perks for account holders. To start, it comes with robust travel insurance, including $5 million in out-of-province/out-of-country emergency medical for cardholders under 65 years of age. Members also get complimentary membership in Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass.

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For students

At a glance: The BMO Air Miles Mastercard for Students comes with the same earn rates and benefits as the BMO Air Miles Mastercard. But as a student credit card, there are fewer eligibility requirements, making it easier or students with modest incomes to get approved. To qualify, you’ll need to be enrolled as 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 earn an income from employment, scholarship/grant, student loan or family allowance.

Air Miles partners

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 will soon offer 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.

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More of Canada’s best credit cards:

• Canada’s best Aeroplan 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