Tutor me on Airmiles - - I finally got a card

[nancyrose]

Okay folks - - I'm not sure what took me so long, but I finally got an Airmiles card.

Any tips on how to rack up the miles? If anybody knows, I know it's SC'ers!!!

[ccmp1974]

Be careful when shopping as it is often NOT a good deal to buy just because you are getting extra Air Miles. Think of the value which is $0.14 when you are cashing in for gift cards. Back in the spring I scores hunts tomato paste at $0.59 and 25 AM WUB5 so for $2.95 OOP I got $3.50 in Air Miles. These deals are hard to come by but when you see them they are a great time to stock up and get "paid" to donate to the food bank.

[scrapbookingoasis]

I don't much for tips as I never used to use it much and still don't use it a lot.

But if you do swagbucks and get amazon.ca gift cards - go through airmiles shops to spend your gift cards on amazon

[AndieH]

i just carry mine in my wallet and use it whenever i happen to be in a place that accepts it. If you shop at Metro for groceries anyway (and is there a gas chain that accepts it? i believe so), then it can be fantastic. but the thing with points cards is sometimes people will go and buy $50 worth of stuff they didn't really need to get a certain number of points. like ccmp said, don't get fooled into that.

airmilesshop .ca is excellent if you shop those retailers online anyway, and watch for items you regularly use that have Bonus Miles offers.

Even without really trying, i get enough every year to get a gift card or two towards groceries or christmas presents.

Oh, and we don't buy much alcohol, but when i am buying wine i only choose a bottle with bonus miles!

[WandaM]

I forward all my zellers points to airmiles.

[FallenPixels]

Metro, Rexall and Shell gas stations -always check for bonus point coupons before shopping. If you have a local Metro, sign up for mailings from them, they will send you BP coupons as well as the regular flyer ones.

Airmiles generally are not worth it for buying stuff just to get them, like mentioned above (and each one is worth about 12.5c in Ontario at the cheapest GC redemption)

Shell - 1 AM for the first $20 and 1 AM for each additional $30
Metro - 1 AM for each $20 per calendar week (so if you go twice and spend $17 on one visit and $24 the next, the second visit will show 2AM)
Rexall - 1AM per $10
LCBO - 1AM per $30
Rona - 1 per $20
Global Pet Foods - 1 per $15

I think IGA accepts it too and hotels etc if you are travelling / renting cars there are deals

Use the Airmiles toolbar, you get 5 AMs for every 50 searches per month, capped at 30 per month, the toolbar will also tell you if you can earn Aimiles while shopping online at that store (ebay, Amazon etc)

[maym]

I'm also new in airmiles. thanks op, i am educated as well. i knew that we can earn max 30 airmiles from searching(see thread in freebies), but that's a lot work for me. i can hardly reach max.

i have a question about conversion hbc reward pts to airmiles. the rate is 2000 hbc pts to 1 airmile, which obviouly isn't equal for me, because 2000 hbc points is worth 25cents, while 1 airmile is worth 14cents, am i wrong?

[boldjack]

I have airmiles but hardly used it. I rarely shop at safeway and normally almost never buy more than $20, I only have 11 miles since I got it.

I was thinking of converting my hbc points to airmiles but based on my calculation 80,000 hbc points is only 40 airmiles and I don't think 40 airmiles is equivalent to $10 in gc. So I think I be better off with not converting hbc points.

[Angela273]

Metro, Rexall and Shell gas stations -always check for bonus point coupons before shopping. If you have a local Metro, sign up for mailings from them, they will send you BP coupons as well as the regular flyer ones.

Airmiles generally are not worth it for buying stuff just to get them, like mentioned above (and each one is worth about 12.5c in Ontario at the cheapest GC redemption)

Shell - 1 AM for the first $20 and 1 AM for each additional $30
Metro - 1 AM for each $20 per calendar week (so if you go twice and spend $17 on one visit and $24 the next, the second visit will show 2AM)
Rexall - 1AM per $10
LCBO - 1AM per $30
Rona - 1 per $20
Global Pet Foods - 1 per $15

I think IGA accepts it too and hotels etc if you are travelling / renting cars there are deals

Use the Airmiles toolbar, you get 5 AMs for every 50 searches per month, capped at 30 per month, the toolbar will also tell you if you can earn Aimiles while shopping online at that store (ebay, Amazon etc)

Thanks. I forgot about the toolbar.

[baggypants]

As with all the other points/miles plans, combine coupons with Metro/PharmaPlus/Safeway Airmile promotions to reduce the amount spent to get the Airmiles.

Read through SC Airmile brags and Deal postings to get great advice.

Also, watch for little deals posted where what you buy is almost free when you factor in the Airmiles.

Here are some of my recent posts for examples:

Bought 15 NYC nailpolishes and 3 NYC eyeliners and 1 Kitkat (to bring it up to $30!!)...total spent $35.22...used a $10 Gift coupon free from Country Style...$25 GC free from Airmiles...total OOP 22 cents...got 150 product Airmiles, 30 Bonus Airmiles and 2 regular Airmiles...enough to redeem for another $25 Gift Card!!

Again, the NYC nail polish at $1.29..buy 3 get 20 airmiles works out to $3.87 for 20 airmiles...works out to $15.48 for $10 worth of airmiles...good deal!!<!-- GAL -->

And watch for storewide deals where you spend x amount to get x Airmiles, use coupons to lower the x amount to maximize your airmiles and do it several times (as allowed!!). There have been several this month from Rexall (Spend $50/ get 100 Airmiles, etc.)

One SC member stated she hasn't spent any money out of pocket at Rexall PharmaPlus since she started collecting Airmiles and trading for giftcards (my goal for 2011!!)

Good luck and keep us posted with your Airmiles successes and strategies!!

baggypants

[FallenPixels]

Yes, and at Rexall, you can use FPCs on bonus airmile deals to bring down your total however base airmiles are based on your final total

For instance, at the 100 Airmiles WUS $50
Rexall
(out of Terry's so no Bonus Airmiles there)
101 Airmiles total

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Y or N</td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="68" align="CENTER">Province Code</td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="63" align="CENTER">Coupon Qty</td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="85" align="CENTER"> Coupon Value </td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="96" align="CENTER">Total Cost Before Taxes</td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="65" align="CENTER"> Taxes </td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="63" align="CENTER">Total Cost</td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="70" align="CENTER">Discounts</td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="58" align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ffff00"> Savings </td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="85" align="CENTER" bgcolor="#ccccff"> Total Before Coupons & Specials </td> <td style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" width="71" align="CENTER">Grand Total OOP</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="19" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Ruffles</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">2</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $3.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $1.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">ON</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">0</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $- </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $3.98 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $0.52 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $4.50 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $- </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $4.52 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $9.02 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $4.50 </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="20" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Covergirl</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $32.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $19.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">ON</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $22.57 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $19.99 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $2.58 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $22.57 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $22.57 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $37.28 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $37.28 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $- </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="19" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Toothpaste</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">3</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $2.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $1.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">ON</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">3</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $2.24 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $5.97 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $0.77 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $6.74 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $6.72 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $10.12 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $10.14 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $0.02 </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="20" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Royale</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $6.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $3.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">ON</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $1.00 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $3.99 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $0.52 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $4.51 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $1.00 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $4.39 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $7.90 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $3.51 </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="19" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Dove Shampoo</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $5.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $4.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">ON</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $5.64 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $4.99 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $0.65 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $5.64 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $5.64 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $6.77 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $6.77 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $- </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="19" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">OB</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">4</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $3.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $1.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">AB</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">0</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $- </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $7.96 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $1.03 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $8.99 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $- </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $7.77 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $16.76 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $8.99 </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="20" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Nestle Noir</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $3.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $3.99 </td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">Y</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">ON</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">1</td> <td valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER"> $4.51 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $3.99 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $0.52 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $4.51 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $4.51 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $4.51 </td> <td align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $4.51 </td> <td align="RIGHT"> $- </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" height="19" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" valign="MIDDLE" align="CENTER">
</td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT"> $50.87 </td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT"> $6.59 </td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT"> $57.46 </td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT"> $40.44 </td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ffff00"> $75.36 </td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT" bgcolor="#ccccff"> $92.38 </td> <td style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(26, 26, 26);" align="RIGHT"> $17.02
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>


I used FPCs, asked them to include taxes on FPCs and spent $17ish OOP and got the 100 bonus airmiles but only 1 base airmile (the Ruffles and OB were in place of Terry's oranges that were sold out and had 10AM wub2 so I could have have had more airmiles with those)

[lecale]

.

[FallenPixels]

I play the daily questions on GSN to get my daily airmiles searches, I get the game points on GSN (10 per question) and then 27 searches on airmiles x 30 days gives me more than enough searches and enough oodles on GSN for fun stuff too

[boldjack]

ok i don't shop at rexall I heard people getting airmiles from there. Don't they offer aeromiles instead of airmiles??? are they the same???? I just signed up for the aeroplan miles and the two cards aren't the same. Aeroplan is orange in color.

[MrsSunshine]

hubby is building a bar in the basement.. so will probably rack up a few AM next year at LCBO keeping it stocked