Airmiles cancellation policy for Jan 1st - CANCELLED

[dagney]

Ontario government was set to nix airmiles cancellation on Monday. Airmiles program blinked and have stopped their plans to cancel older airmiles points.

[bhlombardy]

Effective immediately, AirMiles has reversed the decision on allowing your earned points from expiring...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-...licy-1.3877319

[Pointsman]

Well that's just wonderful ... for those that procrastinated.
We had almost 13,000 Dream Mile pts, which we had hoped to use for vacation(s) including when the grandkids were old enough to travel to, and enjoy, Disneyworld. But, with the expiry of most of these points looming, I felt bullied into using them all up on 'stuff' instead.
So a week ago, I ordered a television, that we don't need, until one of our existing two HD sets dies.
The value of pts per $ will end up being way lower than if we'd been able to hold onto them for a future vacation trip.
Maybe by the time the TV arrives (assuming it does, and actually works), I'll feel better, but at the moment, I'm not very happy about how this whole thing played out.

[tjthemanto]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business...licy-1.3877319

Now they should maybe allow a one time transfer of miles from dream miles to cash miles, before December 31, 2016. So people can actually use the miles for good stuff, and not some overpriced stuff in dream miles category.

I have some dream miles stuck, not enough to buy anything, but if I can transfer to cash miles, atleast I can buy some groceries at Metros,Sobeys etc. Or maybe redeem at Rexall etc.

[bhlombardy]

Now they should maybe allow a one time transfer of miles from dream miles to cash miles, before December 31, 2016.

And vice-versa... Some people changed their plan from DREAM to CASH due to the previous announcement because it was easier to spend CASH miles before they expired than to try and save long-term for a dream-reward. ...but had they known they were never going to expire (ie: that this change was coming) would have preferred to be collecting DREAM miles all along.

This whole "CASH" vs "DREAM" miles is a foolish concept anyway. I dont see why I can't collect my miles into one coffer and spend them however I choose. If I choose to redeem them as cash, so be it, but if I want to stockpile them for a larger reward, then so be it as well. Why we have to segregate them is beyond me.

[mulock]

AirMiles decision still won't encourage me to switch back to them.

[EvilTofu]

I think it is a bad thing.

Rewards are accounted as debts for companies. For instance, my brother had moved to China few years ago. He is unlikely ever come back. He has points for Air Miles, HBC, Petro... (He was able to transfer all Optimum points to me.) They add up to a mere $10-20 in value. Same with my parents' case. And of course we all know people who just sign up for a card for initial discount and never really go back to redeem points. This creates a portion of non-utilized value earmarked for non-returning customers, which is taking up the companies' spending power to do things for the high impact customers (us!). I don't even know what they do with points for customers who are deceased. Do they even get notified?

I hope they never pass the law for Ontario. This would make businesses more reluctant to offer rewards. They might instead give discount cards with expiration date.

[Silk]

And vice-versa... Some people changed their plan from DREAM to CASH due to the previous announcement because it was easier to spend CASH miles before they expired than to try and save long-term for a dream-reward. ...but had they known they were never going to expire (ie: that this change was coming) would have preferred to be collecting DREAM miles all along.

This whole "CASH" vs "DREAM" miles is a foolish concept anyway. I dont see why I can't collect my miles into one coffer and spend them however I choose. If I choose to redeem them as cash, so be it, but if I want to stockpile them for a larger reward, then so be it as well. Why we have to segregate them is beyond me.

My understanding is that existing miles were locked in as dream miles when they decided to do the 2 categories and whole expiry date thing. So there never was an option to convert dream to cash. I would have done it if there was an option

I agree about the dream vs cash issue being dumb

Silk

ETA: Ok, I got a message from WOB that there was a very brief period to convert from dream to cash. I stand corrected Thanks, Walks!

[bhlombardy]

My understanding is that existing miles were locked in as dream miles when they decided to do the 2 categories and whole expiry date thing. So there never was an option to convert dream to cash. I would have done it if there was an option

No, the way you word it, you're correct, there wasnt a way to convert miles... but that's not what I meant.

What I mean was people changed their PREFERENCE of collecting miles from Dream to Cash... knowing they'd never collect enough Dream miles in 5 years to spend on something they really want before they started to expire. But knowing you can spend Cash Miles in 95-point ($10) increments means you might get more use out of them before they expired.

Here's the story:

Way back, I used to collect AirMiles and paid little attention to them really. I just swiped the card everywhere I could. There was no cash option then, and the stuff in the catalog didnt appeal to me... but I kept swiping because it never really cost me anything to do so. After about 7 or 8 years I realized I had enough to take a trip and bring a friend with me... so I did.

That same friend started collecting AirMiles as a result of seeing what i did. She had a Dream Vacation in mind. Knowing it might take her 8 years to get to that trip, she was fine with that. She presumed her patience would be rewarded.

Then they introduced the Cash/Dream option. She was not interested. She kept her points on Dream in the homes of that "Dream" trip she wanted to take.

Then, in 2011, they announced that AirMiles would begin to expire in 2016 if we didnt use them*. She did a rough estimate and figured it would be more than 5 years before she could reach that trip and calculated that starting in January 2017, her miles would dwindle at about the same rate she was collecting them. (which meant she'd never gain any ground on collecting.) -- So she picked something from the catalog, something she absolutely didnt want or need AND was otherwise "overpriced" ... and then spend her lot on something she didnt really want (much Like PointsMan mentioned above). She then converted her points collecting preference to CASH instead because she figured now that she'd never collect enough points in 5 years for what it was she really wanted... a Dream trip.

Since then, she has accumulated (and subsequently spent) about 50% of the points she had previously. Had she left everything alone, she would be about 75% toward the Dream trip she wanted to take. She was misled into believing those points were going to start expiring, so she spent them... on something she didnt really want. Now that policy has been denounced. So instead, now she has nothing... an item she's since sold on kijiji (since she used it all of three times since 2012) and a bunch of Cash Miles she's pissed away in small increments since then.

So her "DREAM" trip is still that... just a dream.



*Yes, AM's announced the expiration of AirMiles back in 2011 -- although many people didnt notice or forgot, they announced the expiration would begin to take place at the end of 2016.

.

[walkonby]

My understanding is that existing miles were locked in as dream miles when they decided to do the 2 categories and whole expiry date thing. So there never was an option to convert dream to cash. I would have done it if there was an option

I agree about the dream vs cash issue being dumb

Silk

ETA: Ok, I got a message from WOB that there was a very brief period to convert from dream to cash. I stand corrected Thanks, Walks!

uh oh!! I am misleading everyone here. The time frame I am talking about was a while ago, when they decided to lock everyone's AM into whatever side they had them in.
I meant that there was a small window to change MY own dream AM to Cash, but I had to fight tooth and nail on the phone with a rep.
In the end they agreed to deposit the " equivalent " amount of what I had in the Dream side and place it into the cash side.
So..... the Dream side AM would still be showing as being there, but I knew they would expire because I had no intention or ability to make them grow in value before 2016 anyways.
I was just happy that I got to use the amount they switched over on groceries and such, which is the normal way I spend them.

Sorry about the confusion.

[GatineauGirl]

AirMiles points ... the reward that disappoints. I am so angry that I felt pressured into spending my stash on things I did not need or want.

[Silk]

No, the way you word it, you're correct, there wasnt a way to convert miles... but that's not what I meant.

What I mean was people changed their PREFERENCE of collecting miles from Dream to Cash... knowing they'd never collect enough Dream miles in 5 years to spend on something they really want before they started to expire. But knowing you can spend Cash Miles in 95-point ($10) increments means you might get more use out of them before they expired.

Here's the story:

<snip>

So her "DREAM" trip is still that... just a dream.

.

uh oh!! I am misleading everyone here. The time frame I am talking about was a while ago, when they decided to lock everyone's AM into whatever side they had them in.
I meant that there was a small window to change MY own dream AM to Cash, but I had to fight tooth and nail on the phone with a rep.
In the end they agreed to deposit the " equivalent " amount of what I had in the Dream side and place it into the cash side.
So..... the Dream side AM would still be showing as being there, but I knew they would expire because I had no intention or ability to make them grow in value before 2016 anyways.
I was just happy that I got to use the amount they switched over on groceries and such, which is the normal way I spend them.

Sorry about the confusion.

Thank you both for clarifying. Bhlombardy, i can only imagine how your friend must feel. i would be upset also

WOB, good on you for fighting for that. It never crossed my mind to do that.

bhlombardy, I collected AMs like you - not purposefully but because they were free and didn't cost anything - although on occasion i did round up my purchase if I was close to the amount to earn an AM. Over the years I managed to collect almost 2k points that got locked into the dream account. My points after that I chose to put into the cash option.

The 2K points would have expired end of the year. I looked at flights and saw that 1 hour flights would be something like 8 hours long because of having to take connecting flights And when I read that people had trouble getting through when they tried to call, I didn't bother. I looked at merchandise and thought how ridiculous to pay that amount along with my AMs. Total rip off.

Here in Quebec there was once an option to exchange the Dream AMs (and even before they did the 2 categories) for a BMO GIC. I learned about it last year from another AM collector but didn't look into it till a couple of months ago. Too late - they got rid of that option - I think just this past June.

Part of me had a feeling they might get rid of the cancellation policy the way Aeroplan and Delta did. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. But if they didn't I was reconciled to the fact that I would just end up losing those points. But I feel for those of you who did end up cashing in your dream miles It sucks...

I hope the gov legislation passes. Now I am curious if it will affect the 'expiration policy" related to keeping accounts active - e.g. Aeroplan requires that you have activity in your account at least every 12 months. I heard that's true with Optimum also, but don't know for sure.

Silk

[bhlombardy]

I hope the gov legislation passes. Now I am curious if it will affect the 'expiration policy" related to keeping accounts active - e.g. Aeroplan requires that you have activity in your account at least every 12 months. I heard that's true with Optimum also, but don't know for sure.

I hope the ON law passes as well. Even though I dont live in ON, it seems that once a company has to adhere to one provincial law on said matters, they simply adhere to it across the board... if not immediately, eventually.

Expired gift cards are one example. I remember a time (maybe 10 years ago or more) when some gift cards had expiry/dormancy dates. Then Ontario passed a law stating that paid-for retail gift card balances could not expire (bonus or promotional ones could). Even though they still expired in NB, it wasnt long (maybe mere months) before retailers just stopped putting expiry dates on them. It wasn't possible (nor practical) to police where cards were purchased versus where they were used because the law wasn't clearly defined. (eg. If I bought one in NB but mailed it to ON, which law applied? or vice versa?). NB eventually passed a similar law, but it was practically only applicable to in-province businesses by that point.

[Purdee]

i was about to redeem my dream miles for a vaccuum that we don't need - we have no carpet in our home LOL
luckily i heard this on the local news so i'll keep saving my dream miles and hopefully when my baby girl is old enough we would have enough miles for a free trip to disney.
i did changed my preference to cash miles at the beginning of the year thinking there's no way i can collect enough dream miles within 5 yrs. so i guess now i have to change my preference back to dream miles. GRRR. I agree with other SCers - this dream vs cash miles is stupid!!
at one point i looked into transferring my miles to my dad until i found out there's a fee for that too!!
i don't like air miles anymore, i only collect them if the stuff i buy has air miles offer but i don't go out of my way to collect them but they really have lost my trust

[Shwa Girl]

According to CBC Marketplace and internal AM documents they saw, Air Miles is planning to devalue the points in the near future. So, for example, if a vacuum cleaner was 750 AM (example only) it may take 950 AM redeemed in the future. Again, example only.