Tired of guessing what the value of 1 Air Miles point is? FinlyWealth's point calculator tool can estimate the value of your points when redeemed through various options in Canada.
Loyalty Program
Number of Points
Points
Redemption Options
★BEST VALUE
Travel
Every Air Miles point is worth 18¢ on average using the most optimal redemption
18¢
18¢/point
Statement Credits (Cash)
Every Air Miles point is worth 10¢ on average if redeemed for Statement Credits (Cash)
10¢
10¢/point
Merchandise
Every Air Miles point is worth 9¢ on average if redeemed for Merchandise
Now owned by BMO, the Air Miles rewards program is a cardholder’s golden ticket to air travel and beyond.
Best redeemable towards – you guessed it – travel, this loyalty program also boasts redemptions like experiences, vouchers, in-store shopping, and merchandise.
It’s divided into two different forms of currency, Cash Rewards and Dream Rewards – depending on the redemption category.
To learn all there is to know about this program, keep scrolling.
How do you Earn Air Miles Points? 🏆
When it comes to earning Air Miles, there are three status tiers collectors can qualify for: Blue, Gold, and Onyx.
Qualification for the Blue tier is automatic for anyone who sets up an Air Miles account. This tier earns you basic Reward Miles on travel bookings made on your card, specifically 1 Mile for every $15 you spend towards travel. You can also unlock more Miles when you bundle two travel products within a single transaction.
To qualify for the Gold tier, you’ll need to collect 500 to 4,999 Miles in a calendar year or own the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard or the BMO AIR MILES No-Fee Business Mastercard. With this tier, you can earn Miles for fewer dollars spent towards travel, receive more Miles when bundling travel bookings, and unlock access to an exclusive annual program promotion.
For Onyx, collectors need to accumulate 5,000 Miles or more in a calendar year or own the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard, the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Business Mastercard or the BMO AIR MILES Business Mastercard. This tier allows you to spend the least amount of money to earn Miles on travel bookings, plus the most Miles when you bundle travel, not to mention access to that exclusive annual program promotion.
Obviously, the most convenient way to collect Air Miles is to apply for an Air Miles credit card.
To makes things a little bit easier for you, we’ve broken down all of the details on the top three Air Miles credit cards below:
The BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard is ideal for frequent Air Miles collectors looking for premium travel benefits and a strong rewards rate. With up to 2,000 bonus miles, a 25% annual flight discount, and automatic Onyx status, this card offers substantial value for those who frequently shop at Air Miles partners and travel often. Its comprehensive insurance coverage and first-year fee waiver also add to its appeal, though the high income requirement may limit its accessibility.
Pros
Increased rewards: Earn 1 mile per $12 spent, tripled when shopping at participating Air Miles partners and doubled at eligible grocery, liquor, and wholesale stores.
Travel perks: Includes a 25% discount on one Air Miles reward flight booking per year.
Air Miles Onyx status: Automatic Air Miles Onyx status with exclusive benefits.
Comprehensive insurance: 14 types of insurance coverage, including travel, trip cancellation, and rental car insurance.
First-year fee waived: Try the card for free in the first year.
Cons
High income requirements: Requires $80,000 personal or $150,000 household income, making it inaccessible for many.
Lower rewards compared to other premium cards: While it offers good Air Miles rewards, other cards may provide more flexible or higher rewards.
2x Miles points per $12 spent on eligible grocery, liquor and wholesale store purchases
1x Mile point per $12 spent on all other eligible purchases
Insurance
Coverage
Purchase Protection
90 days
Extended Warranty
double up to 1 year
Trip Cancellation
$1.5K/person, $5K/trip
Trip Interruption
$1.5K/person, $10K/trip
Emergency Medical Term
$5M up 15 days/person
Travel Accident
$500,000/person
Flight Delay
$500
Baggage Delay
$500/person, $1K/trip
Lost or Stolen Baggage
$500/person, $1K/trip
Hotel Burglary Insurance
$1,000
Car Rental Damage & Theft
$65,000 up to 48 days
Benefits
Details
Airport Lounge - Dragon Pass
Pass only - complimentary visits not included
Discount
Up to 7 cents off per litre on Shell® fuel if you are an AirMiles collector
Car Rental Discount
20% off base rate of participating National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car and up to 5% on Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Discount
Save up to 7% on your Booking.com prepaid hotel or property rental bookings
Discount
Annual 25% discount on one worldwide AIR MILES flight redemption
Status lift
Automatic Air Miles Onyx status
Eligibility
Credit Score
Good
Annual Income
$80,000 personal or $150,000 household
*BMO is not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click on the Apply now link for the most up to date information. Check here for full details and current product information.
Starting off strong with the best overall Air Miles credit card, the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard earns cardholders plenty of Miles points per $12 spent at participating AIR MILES Partners, followed by solid Miles points per $12 spent on eligible grocery, liquor and wholesale store purchases.
AIR MILES Partners include:
For even more Miles, the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard also provides a welcome bonus of extra Miles within the first few months of membership. To receive this bonus, all you have to do is meet certain net purchase spending requirements.
A Dragon Pass airport lounge membership (excluding free visits)
Car rental discounts (at National Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car)
Gas discounts at Shell
Entertainment discounts off admission to Cirque du Soleil shows (with different discounts applied to shows in Canada and Las Vegas)
An annual discount on one worldwide Air Miles flight redemption
An automatic status lift to Air Miles Onyx status (which comes with merchandise discounts, travel month discounts, additional payment options, and no fees on select online travel bookings)
The tricky part about this credit card is the fact that it has some high income requirements, plus an annual fee. On the bright side, the annual fee is completely waived for the first year of membership.
Overall, frequent travellers who are intent on collecting strong Air Miles rates as well as premium travel benefits will love the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard.
The BMO Air Miles Mastercard is an excellent option for those looking to collect Air Miles without paying an annual fee. With bonus earning opportunities at Air Miles partners and grocery stores, this card is ideal for regular Air Miles collectors. It also offers perks like fuel savings at Shell and a competitive balance transfer rate, making it a versatile card for everyday purchases. However, its limited rewards outside of partner stores may not make it the best fit for those who don't frequently shop at Air Miles-affiliated retailers.
Pros
No annual fee: The card is free to hold, making it a cost-effective way to collect Air Miles.
Bonus miles at partners: Earn 3x the miles at Air Miles partners and 2x the miles at grocery, liquor, and wholesale stores.
Fuel savings: Save up to 7 cents per litre at Shell stations, with the potential to save up to $100 annually.
Balance transfer offer: 0.99% promotional interest rate on balance transfers for the first 9 months.
Cons
Low base earn rate: Earn only 1 Air Mile per $25 spent on all non-bonus purchases.
Limited insurance: The card only offers basic insurance, such as extended warranty and purchase protection.
Limited value outside Air Miles partners: Rewards earning potential is higher at participating partners, but significantly lower for general spending.
2x Miles points per $25 spent on eligible grocery purchases
1x Mile point per $25 spent on all other eligible purchases
Insurance
Coverage
Purchase Protection
90 days
Extended Warranty
1 year
Benefits
Details
Discount
Save up to 7% on your Booking.com prepaid hotel or property rental bookings
Discount
Up to 7 cents off per litre on Shell® fuel if you are an AirMiles collector
Car Rental Discount
20% off base rate of participating National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car and up to 5% on Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Discount
Get 20% off admission to Cirque du Soleil shows touring Canada, and 15% off resident shows in Las Vegas
Eligibility
Credit Score
Good
Annual Income
N/A
*BMO is not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click on the Apply now link for the most up to date information. Check here for full details and current product information.
Looking for something more budget-friendly? Consider the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard.
This no-fee contender offers the same specialized earn categories as the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard, the only difference is that the spending requirement per reward category is doubled – so, essentially, you have to spend more to earn the same reward rates.
When it comes to coverage, unfortunately, the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard only comes with extended warranty insurance and purchase protection insurance, so it misses out on all the travel protections cardholders receive with the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard. Still, that’s kind of to be expected given the annual price difference.
Similarly, the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard has fewer benefits, sharing only the car rental, gas, and Booking.com discounts with the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard.
Thankfully, however, with the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard, you can avoid annual income requirements – a major drawback to the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard.
Ultimately, you might apply for the BMO Air Miles Mastercard over the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard if you’re looking to be more budget-friendly when it comes to annual fees and as a result, you don’t mind missing out on some of the extra perks provided by the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard.
How do you Redeem your Air Miles Points? 🤑
There are several different ways to redeem your Air Miles points – beyond the obvious airfare.
For your convenience, we’ve broken down these redemption categories inside of the following table:
Redemption Category
Redemption Options
Air Miles Currency
Estimated Average Point Value
Travel
Use Miles to cover travel arrangements like:
Flights
Accommodations
Car Rentals
Vacation Packages
Cruises and more
Dream Miles
18 cpp
In-Store Partners
Use Miles when paying in person at partner retailers like Shell and Pharmasave
Cash Miles
10.53 cpp
eVouchers
Redeem Miles for eVouchers at partner stores like:
Amazon
Best Buy
Tim Hortons
Winners/HomeSense/Marshalls
Walmart
Starbucks
Lululemon
Sephora
Airbnb
Cineplex and more
Cash Miles
10.53 cpp
Personal Shopper
Apply Miles to nearly anything by submitting a request to the Personal Shopper service and finding out how many Dream Miles are required to cover the desired purchase
Dream Miles
10.53 cpp (depending on price of item)
Charitable Donations
Donate Dream Miles to participating charitable organizations like:
Motionball for Special Olympics
Kids Help Phone
Food Banks Canada
Dream Miles
10 cpp
Merchandise
Using points to pay for eligible products offered by partner brands
Dream Miles
9 cpp
Events & Attractions
Redeem Miles for event tickets and attractions, such as:
Costco Memberships
Plaza Premium Lounge Admission
Toronto Zoo tickets
Cineplex packages
Ski Bromont passes and more
Dream Miles
7.3 cpp
Before moving on, let’s break down those redemption categories even further:
Sign into your Air Miles account and sift through plenty of travel-oriented tabs to book your next trip with Dream Miles.
Eligible travel bookings include:
Flights
Accommodations
Car Rentals
Vacation Packages
Cruises and more
Your Dream Miles can cover 50% or more of your booking, any lingering amount can be covered by cash using your Air Miles credit card.
There are also tons of travel partners to book through.
Flight partners include:
Air Canada
WestJet
Air Transat
Porter
SkyTeam (Delta, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Virgin Atlantic)
Aeromexico
Icelandair
Emirates
Etihad
Lufthansa group (Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Austrian)
Air New Zealand
Air North
Oneworld (American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair)
Qantas
SATA
Condor
Pacific Coast Airlines
Central Mountain Air
Calm Air
Arajet
Car Rental Partners include:
Budget
Avis
Alamo
National Car Rental
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Accommodation Partners include:
IHG
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Hyatt Inclusive Collection
Hyatt Zilara & Ziva
Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa
Paraiso de la Bonita
Sanctuary Cap Cana
Wyndham Alltra Resorts
Other trip-oriented partners include:
Walt Disney World Resort Florida
Disneyland
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Studios Hollywood
AMSTAR DMC
PARK’N FLY
Whether you choose to shop in-store at partners like Shell or Pharmasave, you can redeem 95 Cash Miles for $10 towards eligible purchases, capped at $750 daily.
To make this type of redemption, simply present your AIR MILES credit card during your in-store transaction. Using this card to pay for your purchase will pull Miles from your AIR MILES Cash Account.
Transactions exclude gift cards and pre-paid credit cards – so stick to eligible products instead.
As with other Cash Rewards provided by Air Miles, cardholders can redeem 95 Cash Miles for $10 towards eVouchers. While the redemption rate typically stays the same, eVoucher-value can be increased to up to $200, depending on the brand.
Air Miles also provides Onyx members with access to a Personal Shopper service, allowing them to put their Dream Miles towards nearly anything.
How it works:
Shop as usual until you find a desired item
Sign in to your Air Miles account to submit a request to find out how many Dream Miles the item is worth
Within 5-10 business days, you’ll receive a quote
If you’re happy with the provided quote and you have enough Dream Miles to make the redemption, confirm your purchase with the Personal Shopper Service Team over email
For a better idea of how many Dream Miles you’ll need to spend for your dream purchase, make use of the Dream Miles calculator where you can input the product cost for an estimate of how many Miles are needed to cover the total.
Maybe your dream is to make someone else's dreams come true. In that case, consider donating your Dream Miles to an eligible charitable organization.
Participating organizations include:
Motionball for Special Olympics
Kids Help Phone
Food Banks Canada
For any of the above charities, cardholders can exchange 500 Dream Miles for a $50 donation.
Perhaps you’d like to turn your Dream Miles into eligible merchandise.
Choose from hundreds of products from partnered brands in categories like:
Electronics
Kitchen and Dining
Home
Outdoor Living
Kids, Baby and Pets
Fashion and Beauty
Luggage and Travel
Sports and Fitness
Hobbies, Music and Games
Sustainability
Entertainment
The exact cent-per-point value of your purchase will also depend on the product you're looking to redeem points towards.
To calculate your cent-per-point value on a specific product, simply divide the value of the product by the amount of points required for the redemption, then multiply that result by 100.
Air Miles collectors also have the opportunity to put their Dream Miles towards special events and attractions.
As noted in the redemption table, these events and attractions include:
Costco Memberships
Plaza Premium Lounge Admission
Toronto Zoo tickets
Cineplex packages
Ski Bromont passes and more
Similar to merchandise, the exact cent-per-point value of your purchase will also depend on the event ticket, pass, or membership you're looking to redeem points towards.
For a better idea of what your cent-per-point value is, divide the value of the ticket, pass, or membership by the amount of points required for the redemption, then multiply that result by 100.
To make the exchange, check out the Entertainment tab in the Air Miles merchandise catalogue and sign into your Air Miles account.
What’s the Best Way to Optimize Your Air Miles Points?
Generally (and perhaps unsurprisingly), the best way to optimize your Air Miles points is to redeem your Dream Miles towards eligible travel bookings.
Still, some substantial cent-per-point values exist within redemption categories like In-Store Partners, eVouchers, and Personal Shopper services. In fact, by striking the right deal, you may even be able to score higher values through eligible merchandise purchases.
All things considered, redeeming Miles towards travel is simply the most consistently valuable option.
Are Air Miles Points Worth it?
Expanding off of our last point, Air Miles are perhaps the most worth it for frequent travellers since travel redemptions tend to be the most consistently valuable redemption category.
At the same time, frequent shoppers might find this loyalty program worthwhile considering its high cent-per-point values on In-Store Partner purchases, eVouchers, and the flexible Personal Shopper program.
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