AIR MILES Program

A program overview; how to earn, redeem and maximize your Miles

AIR MILES is one of the most popular loyalty programs available to Canadians. AIR MILES is a shopping rewards program with a huge number of partners including grocers, hotels, car rentals, the list goes on!  Over at Savin Groceries we love AIR MILES for its incredible Bonus Miles offers on everyday items. You can earn these at grocers like Foodland, Sobeys, IGA, and Metro.  You can also earn Miles at places like Shell where you can earn Miles on snacks, coffee, fuel, car washes and more.  Best of all, this program is completely free to join! Today we give the most simplistic overview of the program, aimed of course on saving groceries and maximizing those Miles!

How to earn Miles

At grocers you will earn 1 Mile for every $20 spent in a week. Every 95 Cash Miles gets you $10 towards groceries, gas, beauty essentials and more at participating partners. Usage limits and terms apply. Each week you can check your local flyers to see what AIR MILES offers are being promoted.  These are most typically advertised as a “when you buy” promotion as opposed to a “when you spend” promotion.  For example, earn 95 Bonus Miles when you buy 10 boxes of Quaker granola bars.  Download the app and check your “Offers” to see what additional Bonus Miles promotions there are. 

<Offers Photo>

Larger Bonus Miles offers are usually for bulk purchases.  These are a great way to stock up on everyday items, or donate to your local community! If you have coupons to use in store even better, they do not affect your offers or ability to earn Miles!

Redeeming Miles

When it comes to redeeming your AIR MILES it’s important to consider what you want to use them for; Cash Miles or Dream Miles.  Cash Miles can be used to save money on groceries, beauty items and a number of other everyday needs.  Dream Miles can be used towards vacations, flights, events, and more!  Not sure what option you prefer?  Totally okay.  Using the app or website check out the Rewards section to see what promotional items are available and see what options appeal to you most.

When you set up your AIR MILES account you can establish a balance on how to allocate your points.  If you aren’t sure, start with a 50% Cash Miles and 50% Dream Miles setting, this way you can rack up points under both options.  Saving for a big vacation but still want some grocery savings?  Try a 20% Cash Miles and 80% Dream Miles balance.  You can change your allocations as your goals evolve, changes can take 24 hours to come into effect.

Dream Miles versus Cash Miles Balance

You can also donate your Dream Miles, a feature we love.  Consider donating points to great charitable organizations, including Food Banks.

Promotional Events

Keep your eyes out for AIR MILES promotional events including their very popular Bonus Boom Boost where they offer millions of Miles across a wide variety of items.  These are the fastest ways to accumulate Miles.

A favourite bonus promo (sometimes included in the Bonus Boom event, flyer promo, or email offers) is when you can earn Miles just for redeeming! Yes, you can earn and redeem all at the same time! A great example is earn 25 Bonus Miles when you redeem 95 Cash Miles.  If you can combine these with an earn 95 Bonus miles offer, the savings will stack! 

Example, Foodland has a Buy 10 boxes of Quaker Granola Bars and earn 95 Bonus Miles.  There is also a redemption offer of earn 25 Bonus Miles when you redeem 95 Cash Miles.  Granola Bars are on sale $1.99/box.  You Buy 10 boxes of granola bars = $19.99.  You redeem 95 Cash Miles ($10) to bring your total out of pocket expense down to $9.99.  You earn back 95 Bonus Miles for buying 8 boxes + another 25 Bonus Miles for redeeming 95 Cash Miles = 120 Bonus miles earned ($12.63).  This brings your savings down over 50% per box.  Another way to look at it;

Buy 10 boxes @ $1.99 / box = $19.99

- $10 (95 Bonus Miles when you buy 10 boxes)

- $2.63 (25 Bonus Miles when you redeem 95 Cash Miles)

= $7.36 for 10 boxes or $0.73 / box.

If you aren’t signed up for Air Miles we think this program is a no brainer and well worth registration.  Don’t forget to check out the Savin Groceries App for your everyday grocery needs!

Happy Shopping!