Airmiles Armchair Chatter

A few nights ago I'm lying in bed, unable to sleep, and my thoughts turn to Air Miles and their travel certificate program. A random thought floats up, wondering how the current travel certificates compare to when a person had to phone Air Miles and book vacations direct with AM Agents.

I remembered this morning and took a look at the cruise we booked in September 2015.

28,113 Air Miles converted to $3,795.26. Worked out to .135 cents per Air Mile. (We had to pay more OOP as at that time AMs could not be applied against the deposit, port fees & taxes but my AMs covered over half the cost of the cruise).

Talk about a change though. From .135 cents to .11 cents in value. I'm glad Air Miles is making it easier to book things ourselves instead of needing to phone them, but it's a bit disappointing to realize the drop. In cents, it doesn't seem too much. But added up, it makes a big difference. $22.73 every $100. My original AM of 28,113 would have lost $702.83 in value if I was using it now instead of in 2015.

Makes me more determined to track every Air Mile and insist AM credit my missing/non-posted Air Miles! :rolleyes1

Random thoughts brought to you by sleepless nights! LOL :)

Thanks everyone for all the Air Miles tips and Happy New Year! :disrocks:
 
Speaking of missing Air Miles. Does anyone remember my posting (back in OCTOBER) an Air Miles offer for 25 miles? On their website they had an AM insurance quiz. It said you'd get 25 bonus air miles for answering 6 questions. When the quiz both started and ended, it changed to 10 air miles.

I started an online chat with AM right after taking the quiz to point out the descrepency and was credited with 15 miles immediately and told to wait for the other 10.

By January 10 the other 10 AMs never credited. Should have shown up by January 4th. I had taken screenshots and started another chat. The agent credited the missing 10 AMs.

So if anyone took the quiz - check if you received the Air Miles. If not, remember you can now request your missing miles!
 
I'll be using our Priority Pass membership for the lounge at MCO on our departure day. We get two passes each year with our card and kids 12 and under are free!

https://www.prioritypass.com/en/loungesearch?entity=4ee3833b-ef46-4d43-bb75-239c9923ce7f
That's the lounge we use as well and I'm wondering if you have used it before yourself. If not, I will tell you that with two people its not to hard to find spots to sit however last August there were four of us and it took a while to find seating together so you may want to be prepared for that. Its a very nice lounge, just not real big. Nice to have a place to go though and get snacks included instead of having to break the bank. Those airport snacks are costly!
 
I never knew this existed either! I wonder if my family might have been able to use it in the past. I wonder if we could use it in 3 months time!

I'm now confused as to which AMEX card I have. When I click on one of the links below and choose "filter benefits by card", the closest looking card I get is the "AMEX Reserve CC" but it's a darker color than mine. Mine is silver, not dark grey. Plus my bill says my card is an AMEX Air Miles Platinum CC". I don't see that listed on the website. Oh, hang on. The card listed on my bill show up on the AMEX website however.

I will have to phone AMEX on Monday now. I'd really like to know if my card would let us use the lounge in April.

Hmm... after looking through the cards on AMEX website I don't believe this card gets lounge access. That's too bad.

I have a question for those with the AMEX Platinum card. Can you use it to access the lounge at Pearson? I've never given it much thought, but if I can, that would help pass a long layover next month.

Pretty sure the AM Amex doesn't get you in. You CAN purchase entrance at a discount as a perk of AM. I think you just have to show your card at the door. Basically though, unless you have a long layover it's not worth the cost.

It does show the basic AMEX Platinum card as having access, so I think the Platinum AM card would be eligible as well...one thing to note is that the lounges are not in as convenient locations as say the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges...I just checked for our past Christmas flight and the lounge was at the other end of the airport from where our gate was, so not an option for us. In the USA, it must be a Platinum "Business" or "Corporate" card to gain access.

No, the Platium AM AMEX doesn't give you access for free ... you can see the difference in this chart on the AMEX website
View attachment 294435
There is a discount if you fly on Westjet though ...
from the Plaza Lounge Website

Canada — We give you one more reason to fly WestJet! When departing from or transiting through Toronto Pearson, Vancouver or Edmonton, now all WestJet passengers are welcome to a 20% discount offer on all walk-in prices to Plaza Premium Lounge.
AND if you're not flying WestJet there is this from the AM website
View attachment 294436
 


A few nights ago I'm lying in bed, unable to sleep, and my thoughts turn to Air Miles and their travel certificate program. A random thought floats up, wondering how the current travel certificates compare to when a person had to phone Air Miles and book vacations direct with AM Agents.

I remembered this morning and took a look at the cruise we booked in September 2015.

28,113 Air Miles converted to $3,795.26. Worked out to .135 cents per Air Mile. (We had to pay more OOP as at that time AMs could not be applied against the deposit, port fees & taxes but my AMs covered over half the cost of the cruise).

Talk about a change though. From .135 cents to .11 cents in value. I'm glad Air Miles is making it easier to book things ourselves instead of needing to phone them, but it's a bit disappointing to realize the drop. In cents, it doesn't seem too much. But added up, it makes a big difference. $22.73 every $100. My original AM of 28,113 would have lost $702.83 in value if I was using it now instead of in 2015.

Makes me more determined to track every Air Mile and insist AM credit my missing/non-posted Air Miles! :rolleyes1

Random thoughts brought to you by sleepless nights! LOL :)

Thanks everyone for all the Air Miles tips and Happy New Year! :disrocks:


So I also had this thought, as I asked for an AirMiles travel package dept. value just this year before deciding to use them for the Cdn WDW passes. At that time they were still worth 0.135. So when the new certificates came out, I was confused how I could use them for Disney rooms like I used to, and I was on a chat where the rep. said "And the value stays the same, so Yay!" and I stopped and thought... hang on no they didn't! However, when I re-chatted and explained my frustration/anger, I was informed that actually, shortly after had I called for my Jan. quote, but BEFORE the certificates arrived in the summer, they changed the value to 0.11 per AM for packages/cruises.

So... AM can say "The value didn't change when we introduced the certificates!" only because the value changed ~8mos before the certificates existed... Convenient? Oh well, can't fight the system and win all the time. I still consider anything I can get covered for free, for one of our Disney trips a good use of points.
 
So I also had this thought, as I asked for an AirMiles travel package dept. value just this year before deciding to use them for the Cdn WDW passes. At that time they were still worth 0.135. So when the new certificates came out, I was confused how I could use them for Disney rooms like I used to, and I was on a chat where the rep. said "And the value stays the same, so Yay!" and I stopped and thought... hang on no they didn't! However, when I re-chatted and explained my frustration/anger, I was informed that actually, shortly after had I called for my Jan. quote, but BEFORE the certificates arrived in the summer, they changed the value to 0.11 per AM for packages/cruises.

So... AM can say "The value didn't change when we introduced the certificates!" only because the value changed ~8mos before the certificates existed... Convenient? Oh well, can't fight the system and win all the time. I still consider anything I can get covered for free, for one of our Disney trips a good use of points.

Do the travel certificates have an expiry date? Just wondering if you can collect travel certificates over a longer period of time, or do you have to save up AM's and buy them all at once.

So they can be used towards Disney hotels still? Directly through AM's? What about Disney vacation packages?
 
That's the lounge we use as well and I'm wondering if you have used it before yourself. If not, I will tell you that with two people its not to hard to find spots to sit however last August there were four of us and it took a while to find seating together so you may want to be prepared for that. Its a very nice lounge, just not real big. Nice to have a place to go though and get snacks included instead of having to break the bank. Those airport snacks are costly!

Thanks for the tip! No, we haven't used it before. There are four of us (MIL will have to pay $27 US). We are getting picked up at 8:15am from our resort and flight is at 12:10pm. Who knows, depending on security, we might not even get to use them!
 


Do the travel certificates have an expiry date? Just wondering if you can collect travel certificates over a longer period of time, or do you have to save up AM's and buy them all at once.

This is what I'm wondering as well. With TripCentral in NS and NB only, we have to have ALL of the certificates at the time of booking and pay in FULL.

Also, will you still be able to use the certificates once Air Miles rolls out the new online booking system?
 
Do the travel certificates have an expiry date? Just wondering if you can collect travel certificates over a longer period of time, or do you have to save up AM's and buy them all at once.

So they can be used towards Disney hotels still? Directly through AM's? What about Disney vacation packages?

This is what I'm wondering as well. With TripCentral in NS and NB only, we have to have ALL of the certificates at the time of booking and pay in FULL.

Also, will you still be able to use the certificates once Air Miles rolls out the new online booking system?

So I reviewed the chat message again, and in between the agent quoting me terms and conditions, they also said "you can redeem for the trip central certificates and you can use up to 10 certifcates" (specifying trip central as I am in NS), and also this, in response to me asking how do I get my Disney Package vacation (like I used to get when I called AM package department):

Georges: the travel agents book with the suppliers (ie the tour operator)

Georges: and those are the same suppliers for the travel agents

Georges: so in other words instead of booking with X travel agent you are having the flexibility to access more travel agents from a list online and book your Disney Package vacation with the travel agent you pick

So I hope that's as clear as mud. And, in copying and pasting, I just noticed the giant red flag of: up to 10 certificates....
 
I really wonder how the online booking system is going to differ from the current. Hopefully we won't have a limit to how many miles we use.
 
So I reviewed the chat message again, and in between the agent quoting me terms and conditions, they also said "you can redeem for the trip central certificates and you can use up to 10 certifcates" (specifying trip central as I am in NS), .

I just did the Live Chat with TripCentral.ca and asked about the certificate limit:

[Me] Is there a limit number of certificates I can apply to a booking?
[Karishma Kaul] I dont think so but let me double check
[Me] ok thank you
[Karishma Kaul] there is no limit but you will need to redeem miles direct with airmiles and get travel certificates and you can use that value towards the trip.

I wonder if Air Miles won't let you order more the 10? Not sure what they are saying here...
 
I was just reading through the complaints on the Air Miles Facebook page (Oh, man. There were some doozies!) and came across someone asking about the vouchers and if there was an expiry to them, etc. The facebook rep said this:

Hi Donna, I regret to hear that you are let down with the new Partnership with Transat. I understand that as an ONYX Collector you want to be able to reap some more benefits when booking a package. With the new partnership with Transat we are currently in a transition period with our travel certificates. We currently do not have any Onyx specific promotions with the certificates but when we launch our white label site we will have Onyx promotions so definitely stay tuned! I will be sure to pass along your feedback. Have a great day and all the best in 2018!
 
I was just reading through the complaints on the Air Miles Facebook page (Oh, man. There were some doozies!) and came across someone asking about the vouchers and if there was an expiry to them, etc. The facebook rep said this:

Hi Donna, I regret to hear that you are let down with the new Partnership with Transat. I understand that as an ONYX Collector you want to be able to reap some more benefits when booking a package. With the new partnership with Transat we are currently in a transition period with our travel certificates. We currently do not have any Onyx specific promotions with the certificates but when we launch our white label site we will have Onyx promotions so definitely stay tuned! I will be sure to pass along your feedback. Have a great day and all the best in 2018!
So once they have their online site going, there should be some promotions for onyx members, hopefully.

I'm still note sure if they expire or not. hmmm
 
As they promised, BMO World Elite M/C has reduced the benefit of flight discount to 15% effective this morning. Glad I could make use of the 25% discount as much as I could while it was there.
 
As they promised, BMO World Elite M/C has reduced the benefit of flight discount to 15% effective this morning. Glad I could make use of the 25% discount as much as I could while it was there.

But, I thought if you were Onyx you received up to 40% off flights LOL Like that would ever happen.

It might not be in my best interest using miles for flights now. With the crappy flight times and higher rate of miles needed, plus having to pay for the taxes and fees, I might as well pay for flights out of pocket and use my miles towards our actual cruises.
 
They haven't changed their T&C yet though:

Terms and Conditions

  1. Exclusive 25% Flight Discount: Fly on any AIR MILES flight within North America for 25% fewer reward miles when you book through airmiles.ca or by calling 1-888-247-6453. For example, you could redeem a 1,300 reward miles flight for only 975 reward miles – the only credit card with this offer. If you have the BMO®† AIR MILES® World Elite MasterCard®*, when you redeem AIR MILES® reward miles for a flight in North America you will receive a 25% discount from the number of AIR MILES reward miles you would ordinarily require. North America includes flight travel within Canada, from Canada to the United States of America, including Hawaii and Alaska, excluding Puerto Rico and flight travel within the United States and flight travel to and from Mexico. This benefit does not apply to Cash + Miles Rewards. For flight redemptions: There are no blackout periods. This benefit does not apply to the cash portion of the flight redemption (such as airport improvement fees and booking fees) or to the flight component of package vacations and cruises. This benefit cannot be combined with any other offer. To redeem for Travel Rewards, you must have accumulated sufficient AIR MILES reward miles to your Dream Balance. Collectors must pay applicable surcharges, fees and taxes on air travel Rewards. Travel Rewards may be subject to a minimum advance booking and availability from participating Suppliers. For complete details, see current Program Terms and Conditions available at airmiles.ca or the AIR MILES Customer Care Centre at 1-888-AIR MILES (in Toronto (416) 226-5171).
 
I have a few questions that I am sure have been answered at some point, but I didn’t turn up anything in a search.

Am I able to switch my balance from dream miles to cash miles now and have the airmiles STB mile post as cash when they come in ? I think I read a post where ottawamom said that.

And if so, am I able to buy Sobey’s gift cards with cash miles? If i can do that, I will use them at Freshco for a month or two, and put my grocery budget in the vacation fund. Seems like it would be better to just have straight cash in the vacation fund istead of worrying about certificate rules.
 
I have a few questions that I am sure have been answered at some point, but I didn’t turn up anything in a search.

Am I able to switch my balance from dream miles to cash miles now and have the airmiles STB mile post as cash when they come in ? I think I read a post where ottawamom said that.

And if so, am I able to buy Sobey’s gift cards with cash miles? If i can do that, I will use them at Freshco for a month or two, and put my grocery budget in the vacation fund. Seems like it would be better to just have straight cash in the vacation fund istead of worrying about certificate rules.


Yes change your preference before they post and they will go to your Current choice.

Q: When will the Miles be added to my Collector Account?

A: Both the Bonus Miles you get for just shopping at each Partner and the Bonus Miles you get for using 3, 5 or 7 different offers will be deposited into your Collector Account, based on your current balance preference, within 120 days after the promotion ends.

Q: Will the Miles be deposited in my Dream Account or Cash Account?

A: Miles will be deposited into your Collector Account based on your current balance preference. You can change your preference at any time. Set your preference now.

Now for the second part, using Cash miles to purchase Sobeys GC.

How to use your AIR MILES Cash Miles for eVouchers
Redeem online for a Grocery Gift Card for yourself or friends and family. Every 95 Miles = $10 off your purchase

Redeem for AIR MILES eVouchers
promo-screen-receipt-small.png

Print and present your Grocery Gift Card at your nearest participating store to use towards your purchase.

Valid at all participating Sobeys, Safeway, IGA*, IGA Extra, Foodland, Co-op, Thrifty Foods, Rachelle-Béry and Lawtons Drugs.

Not certain it could be used at FreshCo. My regular Sobeys GC do mention being able to use it at FreshCo specifically. I guess you would probably have to get one and try to see if it would work.

Alternative solution. Maybe if you had a number of the E-cards and went to Sobeys and asked about combining them all onto one GC, the store would put the E-cards onto a regular Sobeys GC which is good at FreshCo. Just a thought. Never mind that won't work as they do not allow Grocery Gift cards to be used to purchase corporate GC.

Grocery Gift Cards are valid at participating Sobeys, Foodland, Co-op, IGA*, IGA Extra, Safeway, Thrifty Foods, Rachelle-Béry and Lawtons Drugs stores in Canada. Grocery Gift Cards can be used for all in-store purchases except corporate gift cards, Safeway fuel or as prohibited by law.

***After doing some more digging. The GC you purchase in store is a Sobeys Corporate GC which is different, I believe, from the Grocery Gift Card that you can redeem for on the Airmiles website.***
 
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