Safeway's Sweet AirMiles Deals

[Donna456]

Well, I cashed out all of my airmiles for 146 shell cards. I was saving for a trip for the family but I just don't trust airmiles anymore. If I buy all of our gas at shell and take that amount and put it in a separate bank account I think I'll be better off. I'll be able to buy any flight I want and the value won't suddenly decrease. So I'm just waiting to see if they will actually send me 146 gift cards. I feel relieved but kind of sad...

[operabob]

10Xs or 3Xs Shell Promo

Terms and Conditions

Offer valid until March 4, 2012, at participating Shell locations. Minimum $40 Shell V-Power®* fuel purchase required per transaction to earn the 10x offer. Minimum $40 Shell Bronze, Silver or Shell Diesel fuel purchase required per transaction to earn the 3x offer. One Bonus Offer per transaction. Maximum number of reward miles per transaction is 290.

®*Trade-mark of Shell Brands International AG. Used under license. ®™ Trademarks of AIR MILES International Trading B.V. Used under license by LoyaltyOne, Inc. and Shell Canada Products.

[operabob]

Earn5x
reward milesEarn 5x the AIR MILES reward miles on ANY GRADE of Shell fuel*!


*minimum $40 fuel purchase



This one conflicts with the one I posted already but if you use regular gas it's a better deal if awarded (5Xs vs. 3Xs).

I wonder about either offer which states $40 minimum fuel as the new rate at Shell is 1AM on the first $20 and 1AM for every $30 after so to get full benefit it would seem you have to buy $50 worth.

[operabob]

P. 1 is updated.

As per recent the number of AMs being offered seems severely curtailed.

There is the odd offer though such as the Christie's cookies. If you have any Peak Freen coupons it's a goody.

The toilet paper is pretty good as it's 15 rolls. If you can combine it with a B$100G100 coupon it's even better.

[Giving-Small]

This offer is good if they include the Envirocare Purex - there's $1 off coupons.

Also there are 75 cents peelie coupons (check if the packages have them) off any Purex.

So it could be 2.24 OR 2.49 after coupons.

5.99/3.24

[operabob]

[operabob]

[emax]

Thanks as always to operabob for maintaining this thread.

With the recent decline in quality of the Airmiles program this is coming a bit late, but I thought I would share some of the "best practices" or tips that I use to make the most of the program. Check it out: http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/266628-...ctices-canada/ and feel free to add your own.

[operabob]

Last week I bought the Hunt's Tomato Sauce offer. I think it was B5G30 @ $2/1.34 even though in the last year I saw it at $1.25 at Wally-World. The best I saw elsewhere at the time was $1.99.

As I use the miles for BW cards it worked out at $2/1.20 for me plus I picked up a few extra Miles.

Today's Wally World has the Primo equivalent on for $1 a tin. Oh well, over all and over time I win! ;-)

[Leigh-Anne]

Great thread

[operabob]

Thanks Leigh-Anne.

[danip467]

Impressive thread. I started saving airmiles recently so that we can go on a trip someday, running all our company bills through it and earn about 900 a month. My hubby wants an Ipad...I'm worried about all the new changes affecting my plans and am not sure what to do. I don't think the ipad is a good price for airmiles, but should I ditch the flying dreams and cash out?

Also wondering about how many airmiles should I have to go anywhere. I've called their agency a couple times with no luck getting through in the time I had to chat.....

OK just found this link online to answer my own question: https://www.airmiles.ca/arrow/webres...zonemap_AB.pdf

Another question-has anyone ever cashed in airmiles to go on a Cruise? details please, of the cruise (how many days, where) and how many airmiles it took!

[operabob]

If you're collecting 900AMs/mo I think it's reasonable to go for flights.

Couple things to consider:

1. Flights involving smaller/regional airports give the best values and can be worth over $0.20/AM which is excellent.

2. You'll want to book early as flights tend to fill up quickly. I just flew my Mother-In-Law out from Toronto with only two weeks notice but she was a single. Couples, etc. reservations go much faster. Booking months ahead is your best bet.

3. You can improve your flight costs with a BMO Gold MasterCard which costs $99/year. It reduces the number of AMs needed by 25%. The MasterCard doesn't collect quite as fast as the Platinum American Express card but it beats it with the 25% reduction. Also, AMEX recently raised the price of their card from $50 to $79 (????). The BMO card also earns AMs on your bank account balances which offsets the higher cost.

Normally, I would never pay for or recommend a credit card you have to pay for but the BMO Gold has other advantages:

Buying our travel insurance (31 day trips + $2,000,000 coverage) costs $99 total for a family. This is about $250 cheaper than we paid BCAA for the same coverage.

It also comes with trip cancellation and lost luggage coverage as long as you pay for the trip with the card.

Some people feel you get pretty good value on cruises (around $0.125/AM). I prefer to wait for the sales. Cruise companies buy bulk and can offer discounts while I think you're going to pay with AirMiles based on full rate. Instead I use my AMs to buy BW Travel Cards ($0.133/AM) then also register for Best Westerns Rewards Program which gets me more free rooms. Hint: If you register for BWR opt for their points instead of AirMiles. The more you stay the more bonus offers they send your way and you can build up free rooms much faster.

Hope this helps.

[operabob]

dani,

Something to consider:

When paying through the company points can be considered a taxable benefit. At 900/mo. I suspect this is a small company and likely not a big deal but you might want to check it out with your accountant.

I have a small business but collect around 1,000AMs/mo on my personal accounts (thanks a lot to Safeway). I use the AMs often for business purposes and get cash receipts to claim for tax purposes. I've discussed this with my accountant and because I'm paying with accumulated personal points rather than business points his opinion is it is legitimate.

I often use the points to stay at Best Western when traveling on business. I buy the BW Travel Cards instead of using points on the AirMiles website. This way I get a cash receipt that covers taxes (and meals) as well.

[operabob]

dani,

When it comes to cruises you could take the number of AirMiles needed to buy your cruise and multiply it by $0.1143.

That will tell you how much cash value it would have cost had you exchanged for Shell Gas coupons instead. (Note: I believe when booking cruises they charge taxes and a booking fee extra).

Then you could go to:

http://www.vacationstogo.com

and find prices for the same cruise before taxes, etc.

You can also ask for the same cruise at:

http://www.cruisecompete.com

Cruise Compete is an American site but they send out your request to dozens of travel agents who will then bid on your cruise, including all costs and any shipboard credits. I've never booked through them but I use them to get a rock bottom price that I can use for reference (or negotiating) when dealing with local cruise agents.