Say Goodbye to Air Miles – Say Hello to Blue Rewards

In summer 2026, BMO will be retiring the AIR MILES brand and renaming the program Blue Rewards. Then, we'll have truly seen the last of AIR MILES.

Last week, we said that what you knew about AIR MILES would be gone once they introduced their new Expedia booking engine. That was cute. Turns out, BMO had an even bigger change still to come.

From the start, BMO stated that they planned to make AIR MILES their own, but we didn’t expect this to be quite so literal.

There is so much we all want to know. We'll do our best to address the major questions at hand. But spoiler alert – we don't have all the answers yet.

What's happening with the AIR MILES program?

In essence, BMO is replacing AIR MILES with a new program: Blue Rewards.

If you’re an AIR MILES member, you'll automatically be switched over to the new program once it launches.

BMO has created this Blue Rewards site for you to peruse.

What are Blue Rewards points going to be worth?

Right now, the only thing we know is that 1,500 Blue Rewards points will get you a $10 e-voucher or in-store savings.

We can't answer what Blue Rewards points will be worth for travel or any other redemptions the AIR MILES program currently offers.

How will AIR MILES convert to Blue Rewards?

BMO hasn't stated how many Blue Rewards points you'll get with your AIR MILES.

However, one of their FAQs states that your AIR MILES will convert to Blue Rewards with no loss of value.

Currently, 95 AIR MILES gets you $10 in e-vouchers or in-store savings. Based on 1,500 points saving you $10, you're looking at a transfer multiplier of just under 16 to match.

1,500 / 95 = 15.7985

A bit of an awkward transfer multiplier, but we'll wait and see what the final number is.

Are there any new partnerships coming with Blue Rewards?

It does appear as though BMO has been working on acquiring new partnerships with Blue Rewards.

They released a sample on the Blue Rewards site.

Some of these are already AIR MILES partners, like Irving and Kent.

But there are new ones here. For example, Porter really stands out – we're curious how this will work with VIPorter. It will be interesting to see all the brands that let you earn Blue Rewards points.

Bid adieu to Shell’s partnership with AIR MILES and Blue Rewards

One big shocker for partners: Shell and BMO have agreed to end their partnership in 2026.

Members will be able to earn and redeem Miles at Shell until May 25, 2026. The only exception is in Alberta, where the partnership will end on March 2, 2026.

Shell has been with AIR MILES for a long time, so it's certainly a surprise to see them part ways.

What will happen with AIR MILES credit cards?

Rest assured that you can continue to use your AIR MILES credit card.

As for what happens when the program transitions, BMO is less clear on this subject. Our best guess is that BMO will automatically transition you to a new Blue Rewards credit card.

However, BMO is no longer accepting any applications for AIR MILES cards. And as such, we’ve removed them from our site.

So while people do still have them, we're going to take this opportunity to give one final goodbye to some credit cards that have been popular for quite some time.

• BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES No-Fee Business Mastercard
• BMO AIR MILES World Elite Business Mastercard

A question on the BMO Rewards program

With BMO truly making the AIR MILES program their own by rebranding it as Blue Rewards, we wonder what will happen with their credit-card-only program – BMO Rewards.

An interesting number has caught our eye. The cash value of 1 Blue Rewards point is going to be 0.67 cents.

$10 / 1,500 points X 100 = 0.67 cents per point

BMO Rewards? Each point is worth 0.67 cents when redeemed for travel or deposits into BMO investment accounts.

While this could be an amazing coincidence, it leads us to believe that down the road, BMO could merge BMO Rewards into Blue Rewards.

There is precedent for this. Scotiabank did the same thing with Scene and Scotia Rewards in 2021. We saw a retail rewards program in Scene (like Blue Rewards) combined with a credit-card-only rewards program in Scotia Rewards (BMO Rewards).

If this happens, it won't be for quite some time. But it's something we'll be keeping an eye on.

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