Air Miles owner prepares bankruptcy filing

[RoadGame]

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankru...kruptcy-filing

I don't have authoritative knowledge of what this means for people with points (maybe a lawyer on here can comment) but maybe time to do some shopping if you're sitting on a points balance?

[Reggie Dunlop]

Cashed out mine when Safeway stopped their support and cut up my card.

[Bigtime]

Looks like BMO is going to buy the Air Miles portion of the business:

https://seekingalpha.com/news/394640...les-bankruptcy

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Cashed out mine when Safeway stopped their support and cut up my card.

I thought Safeway transitioned to Scene points. Or is that what you mean for stopped support?

Where else still actively takes Air Miles? Shell?

[Barnes]

There are not a lot of physical places that take Airmiles but if you shop through airmiles shops and bank through BMO you gather points real quick. You're never going to get any significant rewards if you just swipe your card for a tank of gas and groceries every week.

We just dumped close to 10,000 airmiles on flights last month and are already up to over a thousand because we bought a computer from Dell via airmiles shops on our airmiles mastercard.

I used to shop almost exclusively at Sobeys and Shell but they were never a significant source of airmiles for us.

[topfiverecords]

You mean emailing me 12 times a day wasn’t making the business super profitable?

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Barnes

There are not a lot of physical places that take Airmiles but if you shop through airmiles shops and bank through BMO you gather points real quick. You're never going to get any significant rewards if you just swipe your card for a tank of gas and groceries every week.

We just dumped close to 10,000 airmiles on flights last month and are already up to over a thousand because we bought a computer from Dell via airmiles shops on our airmiles mastercard.

I used to shop almost exclusively at Sobeys and Shell but they were never a significant source of airmiles for us.

I've never used or collected airmiles, so I'm only curious - am I right to assume different purchases have different mile rewards? Otherwise, how can a Dell laptop ($800?) be significant, when gas and groceries ($200 weekly?) aren't?

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Barnes

There are not a lot of physical places that take Airmiles but if you shop through airmiles shops and bank through BMO you gather points real quick. You're never going to get any significant rewards if you just swipe your card for a tank of gas and groceries every week.

We just dumped close to 10,000 airmiles on flights last month and are already up to over a thousand because we bought a computer from Dell via airmiles shops on our airmiles mastercard.

I used to shop almost exclusively at Sobeys and Shell but they were never a significant source of airmiles for us.

I have posted this before, but worth posting again. I have 2 airmiles cards. I used them both to do online airmiles surveys and get probably ~$150/month that I can use at Shell for gas. During Q4 last year, they had a promo for double points on their surveys for 3 months. No joke, I was getting over $300/ month.

Trying to collect airmiles from stores, online, whatever, is useless. But doing their online surveys is a gold mine. In this day and age of crazy inflation, the fact I can get half my gas paid for per month is a solid perk.

[BlackArcher101]

I'm so sick of airmiles, first the 2016 fiasco of expiring airmiles, so I rushed then to spend some then they reversed their decision. Now yesterday news of a bankruptcy and for sure this is the end right? The signs are there. So I rushed and redeemed a whole bunch of useless crap I didn't need, even though I was saving my airmiles for a big trip next year. Though, not like the points are useful for overseas flights anymore.

And now this morning BMO buys it.... great, awesome. I would think they are only doing so because of their own products being so heavily tied into airmiles as well, that they don't want to see it end either. Else customers will start switching to other banks and their rewards program cards. I just don't see how they can make the airmiles program better though, perhaps they are just buying time while they think of something, buying it for pennies on the dollar. Otherwise, I feel it's a big debt to take on since people probably have a pile of points to use, and little incoming money in terms of contracts with stores.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

I'm so sick of airmiles, first the 2016 fiasco of expiring airmiles, so I rushed then to spend some then they reversed their decision. Now yesterday news of a bankruptcy and for sure this is the end right? The signs are there. So I rushed and redeemed a whole bunch of useless crap I didn't need, even though I was saving my airmiles for a big trip next year. Though, not like the points are useful for overseas flights anymore.

And now this morning BMO buys it.... great, awesome. I would think they are only doing so because of their own products being so heavily tied into airmiles as well, that they don't want to see it end either. Else customers will start switching to other banks and their rewards program cards. I just don't see how they can make the airmiles program better though, perhaps they are just buying time while they think of something, buying it for pennies on the dollar. Otherwise, I feel it's a big debt to take on since people probably have a pile of points to use, and little incoming money in terms of contracts with stores.

If BMO is taking them over I assume they will look at transitioning the program into something that looks more like Avion or TD Travel.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by you&me

I've never used or collected airmiles, so I'm only curious - am I right to assume different purchases have different mile rewards? Otherwise, how can a Dell laptop ($800?) be significant, when gas and groceries ($200 weekly?) aren't?

I mean using BMO airmiles reward products for purchases vs soley just swiping a card to collect points at partners. You're not going anywhere for decades with the later.

Shopping at Shell and Sobeys with an Airmiles Mastercard offers multipliers as well.

The laptop was significantly more than $800, bought through airmiles shops which is a mile for every $20 x the multiplier for using my BMO MC which I think is either 3X or 5X miles + the miles bonus received from BMO for our accounts plus the miles we receive for paying the MC balance from our BMO chequing account.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

I'm so sick of airmiles, first the 2016 fiasco of expiring airmiles, so I rushed then to spend some then they reversed their decision. Now yesterday news of a bankruptcy and for sure this is the end right? The signs are there. So I rushed and redeemed a whole bunch of useless crap I didn't need, even though I was saving my airmiles for a big trip next year. Though, not like the points are useful for overseas flights anymore.

And now this morning BMO buys it.... great, awesome. I would think they are only doing so because of their own products being so heavily tied into airmiles as well, that they don't want to see it end either. Else customers will start switching to other banks and their rewards program cards. I just don't see how they can make the airmiles program better though, perhaps they are just buying time while they think of something, buying it for pennies on the dollar. Otherwise, I feel it's a big debt to take on since people probably have a pile of points to use, and little incoming money in terms of contracts with stores.

You should be glad you got prompted to use them at all; their value has been crushed by inflation and their own intentional devaluation.

You can theoretically get decent value with any points system for travel, but it's usually predicated on the assumption of comparing only that particular flight that you're able to book with points vs. paying cash. But, if you were paying cash, is that the flight you would have chosen? Often not.

[RoadGame]

I wiped my balance this morning on stuff I actually kind of need. Three of the four things I had flagged to buy last night have disappeared (all kitchen stuff). Anyway sharing in case people reading this with balances are considering whether to shop or not.

[photon]

Hm yeah a number of things I've been kind of watching are gone, think I'm going to use up my miles today as there's still a few things left I want.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I thought Safeway transitioned to Scene points. Or is that what you mean for stopped support?

Where else still actively takes Air Miles? Shell?

When Safeway stopped supporting Airmiles. Then I cut up my card.

[photon]

Holy everything that I was looking at is now gone. Brutal.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by photon

Holy everything that I was looking at is now gone. Brutal.

BMO is paying $160MM for Air Miles - for Dream Miles I'd wait, they're probably just out of stock on stuff, and given BMO backing will be able to restock. Cash miles always make sense to earn and burn, imo.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by photon

Holy everything that I was looking at is now gone. Brutal.

My little tax company outlived Airmiles. I didnt see that coming.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by RoadGame

I wiped my balance this morning on stuff I actually kind of need. Three of the four things I had flagged to buy last night have disappeared (all kitchen stuff). Anyway sharing in case people reading this with balances are considering whether to shop or not.

Hopefully that stuff get shipped out. I would be a little nervous.

[photon]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

BMO is paying $160MM for Air Miles - for Dream Miles I'd wait, they're probably just out of stock on stuff, and given BMO backing will be able to restock. Cash miles always make sense to earn and burn, imo.

Maybe, or maybe they'll just transfer over the miles or something.. which I guess wouldn't be bad.

There's still stuff there that I'd be ok with, I'm just annoyed that the gaming headphones I wanted I ended up not being able to get and it's stuff my wife wants now