BMO has completed their acquisition of Air Miles, and are now running the program.
Loyalty Ventures, parent company of the slowly dying Air Miles program, is set to declare bankruptcy in the coming days as their market share continues to plummet.
But a white knight is here to save the day. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, BMO has agreed to acquire Air Miles, with plans on a reinvigoration, backed by one of Canada’s largest banks.
Let’s be honest – it felt like it was only a matter of time before Air Miles ceased to exist. With partners dropping like flies and the program losing ground to fast-growing competitors like the Scene+ Program, the news of an Air Miles bankruptcy was on the cards of many in the personal finance sphere.
But now another possible future for the rewards program has opened up, so what does it all mean? Here’s what we know, what it means for you, and some predictions and things we would like to see.
Never miss an amazing deal again + get our bonus 250+ page eBook for FREE. Join 50,000 other Canadians who receive our weekly newsletter – learn more.
Air Miles declares bankruptcy
The Air Miles bankruptcy saga started on March 9, 2023 when its parent company, Loyalty Ventures, announced it was preparing for bankruptcy proceedings.
Its negotiations with creditors have been underway since the beginning of the year and continue on, but even with a bunch of last-ditch attempts to save the floundering program, it would never be enough.
I mean, see for yourself – here’s who has left Air Miles over the last few years.
| Date | Partner | Replacement Program |
|---|---|---|
| May 2020 | Rexall | Be Well |
| January 2021 | Rona, Lowes, Réno-Dépôt | PRO Program (Contractors only) |
| April 2021 | LCBO | Aeroplan |
| July 2022 | Staples | Staples Rewards |
| August 2022 | Sobeys and Safeway | Scene+ |
| Spring 2023 | Jean Coutu | moi (part of Metro, Inc.) |
So this may seem like some terrible news, especially for anyone with a decent amount of Air Miles right now (yours truly included).
But not all is lost. A white knight is here to save the day.
BMO to purchase the Air Miles program
BMO is one of Air Miles’ biggest partners, and they’ve been issuing Air Miles credit cards for what feels like forever. And let’s just say, it’s a bold move by them.
Here’s the full press release from BMO confirming their intention to buy Air Miles.
It’s definitely a shock to see them purchase it, but maybe it shouldn’t be. Air Miles credit cards are core to BMO’s credit card lineup.
So for the time being, the Air Miles program should stay afloat. Assuming the sale goes through, your Miles won’t be going anywhere. And obviously BMO isn’t just going to let it die either if they’re ponying up (we assume) big money to purchase Air Miles.
So in the meantime, there’s no need to worry about redeeming your miles now before it’s too late. They should be safe.
What we hope to see come out of the BMO Air Miles purchase
But we all know Air Miles is floundering. As a once hard-core collector, I definitely can’t pile them up like I used to, especially with Sobeys no longer in the fold.
So let’s look at a few things they could improve on. We all know BMO has work to do.
Luckily for them, there’s also a template in place on what they can do – Aeroplan. It’s not quite the same situation, but it’s somewhat similar. Aeroplan used to be owned by a separate company (Aimia), and now it’s owned by Air Canada, TD, and CIBC.
We’ve come up with some things BMO might do based on similar situations in the past – as well as our own “wish list” of things we would like to see if anyone at BMO is reading this.
- Get new partners
- Improve redemption value
- Get rid of Cash vs. Dream distinction
- Improve affiliated credit cards
1. Air Miles needs new partners
This is obviously item #1. Quite a few partners have left over the years, and none bigger than the Sobeys departure in 2022.
There’s no easy answer here, otherwise Air Miles probably wouldn’t be resorting to bankruptcy. If BMO really wants to keep this as an “earn rewards everywhere” program, this is where they have to step up.
But as Aeroplan has shown, you don’t need plenty of partners to have a successful program (although being tied to a major airline helps in this department). So that’s going to lead us to our next point.
2. Improve Air Miles redemption value
The above item may not have an easy answer, but we think this one does.
There’s no doubting that Air Miles has lost value over the years – our last round of research bears that out. Almost everything is worth less now compared to pre-pandemic times, except for Cash Miles and merchandise.
With that said, there are plenty of travel partners you can redeem your Miles with, so maybe somehow adding all our low cost carriers can give more options to use Miles for travel.
Improving the value of your Miles, especially for travel, would go a long way to helping Air Miles. We’ll keep tabs on this after BMO officially acquires the program, and see if anything changes. (Getting rid of those booking fees would also be superb.)
This is one thing Air Canada did when it acquired Aeroplan. The very high values you could get were gone, but they generally made it easier to redeem points, and they drastically lowered the taxes and fees people had to pay, making almost all redemptions more valuable than before. There’s a template here for Air Miles to follow.
Speaking of Cash Miles…
3. Get rid of Cash and Dream Miles
Did anybody like Air Miles’ decision to make people choose between Dream and Cash Miles? It was weird then, and still seems weird today.
Let’s not have 2 types of Miles going forward. It’s nothing but confusing and frustrating for users, and there’s a reason no other rewards program sets up such stark rules.
4. Improving Air Miles credit cards
This is the biggest thing BMO can control. And maybe being the new owners and getting all the revenue will help here.
BMO Air Miles credit cards are excellent, but only if you already collect plenty of Miles at retailers. They come with benefits that improve the value of all your Miles, and help increase your bank to let you redeem faster.
But, we’re not earning Miles like we used to, especially with Sobeys gone.
And now with the lower Air Miles valuations, Air Miles credit cards in general don’t offer the rewards similar travel credit cards provide. Improving the rewards really can be step 1.
When Air Canada et al. took over Aeroplan, they didn’t change much when it came to earning rewards on purchases. But they increased the benefits their credit cards provide, with things like preferred pricing on all reward flights and offering free checked bags.
And hopefully that’s something BMO can look into as well.
Here’s a listing of all current Air Miles credit cards from both BMO and American Express.
×1 Award winner 
GC: $150
1x Award winner
$150 GeniusCash + Up to 9,000 bonus AIR MILES + 3x the AIR MILES at partners.*
But what to do with American Express Air Miles credit cards…
Oh boy, what to do here. One of BMO’s biggest competitors also issues Air Miles credit cards in American Express. We assume there’s an agreement in place between Air Miles and Amex that BMO will have to honour (until when, we don’t know).
But again, Aeroplan went through the same thing. Both TD and CIBC are owners in Aeroplan, but American Express also issues Aeroplan credit cards too.
Amex’s deal was up around the time of the Aeroplan sale, and all parties came together on a deal to allow Amex to keep issuing credit cards. So there is precedent here. At the end of the day, BMO would be making money by having more credit cards floating around.
On the other side, we could also see Amex bidding adieu to Air Miles and saying it’s not worth it anymore. Only time will tell.
A bold question – does BMO merge BMO Rewards and Air Miles?
Assuming the sale happens, BMO is going to be the owner of 2 rewards programs. They’ll have Air Miles, and their own home-grown BMO Rewards program, which is a credit card only program.
Will BMO at some point in the future merge the 2 together, or simply discontinue BMO Rewards? Again, there’s precedent with this – Scene+.
Scotiabank merged 2 programs they owned. They were co-owners of Scene with Cineplex, the movie chain’s rewards program. And they also owned Scotia Rewards, their own credit card rewards program.
They created the Scene+ program by merging the 2 together. This is a long term thing to think about, but it’s something we could see happen one day.
Alternatives to Air Miles
If you wanted to jump ship right now, no one would blame you. There’s still a lot of uncertainty over Air Miles, especially if you use an Air Miles credit card on a regular basis.
Here are some other rewards programs you can look into, and the best credit card they have to offer, including BMO Rewards if you simply want to switch what BMO credit card you’re carrying.
| Rewards Program | How You Can Earn Points | Top Credit Card |
|---|---|---|
| Scene+ | * Sobeys and Safeway stores * Cineplex theatres * Scotiabank Scene+ credit cards |
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card |
| PC Optimum | * Loblaws stores * Esso stations * PC Mastercards |
PC World Elite Mastercard |
| Aeroplan | * Air Canada and Star Alliance flights * Shopping with select retailers * Aeroplan credit cards |
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card |
| Amex Membership Rewards | * Amex Membership Rewards credit cards | American Express Cobalt Card |
| BMO Rewards | * BMO Rewards credit cards | BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card |
| TD Rewards | * TD Rewards credit cards | TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card |
| RBC Avion Rewards | * Avion Rewards credit cards | RBC Avion Visa Infinite |
Your thoughts on Air Miles being acquired by BMO
All put together, we’re cautiously optimistic that BMO can help turn around the Air Miles program, and hopefully some of our ideas come to life to make Air Miles the program it used to be.
What are your thoughts on BMO buying Air Miles?
What do you want to see happen? Any ideas as to what you want BMO to do?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
FAQ
Is Air Miles going bankrupt?
Air Miles is indeed likely going bankrupt. Loyalty Ventures, the company that owns Air Miles, is filing for bankruptcy after negotiations with creditors failed. As part of the bankruptcy filing, BMO is expected to purchase the program.
Is Air Miles going to have a new owner?
BMO is expected to purchase Air Miles from Loyalty Ventures as part of the bankruptcy hearings. The date BMO will take over is unknown.
What are some alternative rewards programs to Air Miles?
There are quite a few alternatives to Air Miles, especially if you have an Air Miles credit card. They include:
- Aeroplan,
- BMO Rewards,
- Scene+,
- Avion Rewards, and
- TD Rewards.
creditcardGenius is the only tool that compares 126+ features of 226 Canadian credit cards using math-based ratings and rankings that respond to your needs, instantly. Take our quiz and see which of Canada's 226 cards is for you.
GC: 
Comments
Leave a comment
Required fields are marked with *. Your email address will not be published.
Showing 7 comments