Shopping online is an easy way to earn credit card rewards, and the Air Miles Rewards program helps you earn even more miles when using the Air Miles Shops portal. You’ll have access to hundreds of retailers, with some offering bonuses that can up to double your normal earn rate – which, if you're using one of the the top Air Miles cards, is already impressive.
If you don’t know your way around Air Miles Shops, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through how to use the site, give tips to maximize your spending, and show you how Air Miles Shops stacks up against the competition.
Key Takeaways
- Air Miles Shops is an online shopping program that allows you to earn Air Miles on non-partner vendors.
- You can double-dip your earn rates by having an Air Miles credit card.
- In general, Air Miles Shops rewards are typically less valuable than top competitor Rakuten.
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What is Air Miles Shops?
Air Miles Shops is an online shopping portal where you can earn Air Miles by shopping with hundreds of partnered online retailers. This is just one way you can earn Air Miles (in addition to taking qualifying flights, making in-store purchases, and using a BMO Air Miles card).
Using special links provided by Air Miles, you'll be able to earn Air Miles on your purchases, which is generally calculated on the pre-tax and shipping amounts. Plus, you’ll get access to unique discounts (more on that in a minute).
Pro tip: Air Miles offers a browser extension, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to use the Air Miles Shops site. The extension will catch participating retailers and remind you to go through the shops portal.
How to earn Air Miles with Air Miles Shops
If you have your Air Miles account number, you'll be good to go - just log in at airmilesshops.ca and start shopping. There are hundreds of businesses to choose from, all with a basic offer of 1 Mile for every $20 spent.
If you hover over the "Browse Categories" tab, you can select retailers by category or see the newest retailers to join Air Miles Shops.
You can also view the full directory of retailers by scrolling to the bottom of the dropdown menu.
Here are just a few of them:
Each retailer lists the current earn rate in its heading, so you can see how many miles you’ll earn for every $20 you spend.
Once you find a retailer you want to shop with, hover over it to see your options. You can shop, get more information about the store, or save it to your list of favourites.
When you’re ready to shop, click "Shop Now," and you’ll be redirected to the retailer’s website. From there, start with an empty cart so all your purchases earn you Air Miles (and don’t close your browser window or the purchase might not qualify).
It can take up to 60 days for the base Air Miles to appear in your rewards account, although you typically get them much sooner. Any bonus Air Miles you earned with your purchases may take up to 75 days to appear in your account.
Pro tip: If you're missing rewards (it’s been at least 60 to 75 days since your purchase), you can reach out to Air Miles by logging in to the Missing Miles page and filling out an inquiry.
How to maximize your Air Miles Shops earnings
For most retailers, the standard earn rate is 1 mile per $20 spent. We won’t sugarcoat it - this isn’t the greatest return on your miles. However, there are a few ways to earn more miles or get more miles for your purchases.
Use an Air Miles credit card
You can earn even more Air Miles by having a BMO Air Miles credit card. That way, you can double dip on miles when shopping online.
| Air Miles Credit Card | Welcome Bonus | Earn Rate | Annual Fee, Income Requirements | Apply Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* Mastercard®* |  $150 GeniusCash + Up to 9,000 bonus miles, first year free (terms) | * 1 Mile for every $12 spent * 3x the Miles for every $12 at participating Air Miles partners * 2x the Miles for every $12 spent at any eligible grocery, liquor, and wholesale stores | * $120 * $80K personal/$150K household | Apply Now |
| BMO AIR MILES®† Mastercard®* | $20 GeniusCash + Up to 1,200 2,500 bonus miles (terms) | * 1 Mile per $25 spent on all purchases * 3x the Miles for every $25 at participating Air Miles partners * 2x the Miles for every $25 spent at any eligible grocery, liquor, and wholesale stores | * $0 * $15K personal | Apply Now |
Best for rewards: BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
×1 Award winner 
GC: $150
1x Award winner Pros:
- Annual 25% discount on 1 Air Miles reward flight booking
- Automatic Air Miles Onyx status
- Includes 14 types of insurance
- Save up to 7 cents per litre at Shell
Cons
- Low rewards compared to other premium cards
- High income requirements of either $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
The
- 1 Mile for every $12 spent
- 3x the Miles for every $12 at participating Air Miles partners
- 2x the Miles for every $12 spent at any eligible grocery, liquor, and wholesale stores
You’ll also get an extensive insurance package, a fuel discount, and an annual discount on an Air Miles rewards flight. One point to note – shopping through Air Miles Shops doesn't count towards earning 3x the miles with partners, since you're not shopping directly with the Air Miles partners.
That said, if you meet the income requirements, the World Elite Mastercard will still earn Air Miles faster than the basic BMO Air Miles credit card.
Want to learn more about the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard?Here are the full details on this card.
Best no-fee card: BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
Pros:
- 0.99% balance transfer rate for the first 9 months
- Automatic Air Miles Gold status
- Save up to 7 cents per litre at Shell
Cons:
- Low rewards compared to other no fee credit cards
- Limited insurance
- No discount on reward flights
If you want to earn Air Miles for no annual fee, the
While the earn rate isn’t quite as good as the World Elite card, you’ll still earn:
- 1 Mile per $25 spent on all purchases
- 3x the Miles for every $25 at participating Air Miles partners
- 2x the Miles for every $25 spent at any eligible grocery, liquor, and wholesale stores
It is a little lighter on perks, but the card has no annual fee and a low personal income requirement of $15,000.
Watch for special offers
Air Miles Shops will sometimes include bonus offers. These can range from multiplying the amount of Air Miles you earn to giving extra miles when you spend a set amount of money.
To find these offers, look for retailers that have purple badges with bonus conditions. You can also log into the site to find sitewide promotions. Here’s an example where you earn 5 times the miles on all purchases through Air Miles Shops.
Air Miles Shops vs. Rakuten
One of the leading online shopping portals in Canada is Rakuten. Rakuten Canada offers simple cash back on all purchases, which get deposited to your account 4 times per year.
Since they work with some of the same retailers, we compared purchases and earn rates from both platforms to help you decide which one is worth using. Note that we only looked at retailers that have flat earn rates for all items (we also only looked at standard earn rates - no bonus miles).
Based on a $100 purchase (pre-tax and shipping), here's the actual earn rate for specific merchants and the total value of the rewards you would receive.
| Retailer | Air Miles Shops | Rakuten | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earn Rate | Rewards Value | Earn Rate | Rewards Value | |
| Adidas | 1 mile / $20 | $0.64 | 2% | $2 |
| Gap | 1 mile / $20 | $0.64 | 2% | $2 |
| Dell | 1 mile / $20 | $0.64 | Up to 5% | Up to $5 |
| H&M | 1 mile / $20 | $0.64 | 2% | $2 |
| Ray Ban | 1 mile / $20 | $0.64 | 4% | $4 |
| Staples | 1 mile / $20 | $0.64 | 2% | $2 |
| Average | $0.64 | $2.42 |
On the whole, you'll earn much more shopping with Rakuten.
Now, that's not to say Air Miles Shops doesn't have value. If you’re someone who earns a lot of miles, using Air Miles Shops is an easy way to maintain Gold or Onyx status since it keeps your account active.
Don’t forget - Air Miles Shops is just one of several options you have to earn and redeem Air Miles.
FAQ
What stores can I use Air Miles at?
If you’re using the Air Miles Shops platform, you can shop with 250+ retailers like Amazon.ca, Apple, Best Buy, Lego, NHL Shop, and Telus.
Is Walmart an Air Miles partner?
At this time, you can’t earn Air Miles by shopping at Walmart (unless you’re simply earning miles by using a BMO Air Miles credit card at a Walmart store).
Are old Air Miles still valid?
As long as you keep your account active by making a purchase, transferring points, or taking a trip every 24 months, your Air Miles won’t expire.
Which bank has Air Miles?
BMO is the bank that offers Air Miles credit cards. You can also earn Air Miles by using a qualifying BMO debit card.
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