I just learned of another way to get air miles at no extra cost by using the site airmilesshops.ca.
This site, which is part of the Airmiles Official Site allows you to use your Airmiles collector number and look for retailers which offer AirMiles on-line. This is above and beyond the usual stores you can think of like Shell, Boston Pizza, and Westjet. I also shop at Dell and Expedia which are on-line stores that do not directly let you collect Air Miles with them. You can get points from them at airmileshsops though.
How AirMilesShops Works
When you click on a retailer on airmilesshops, you are taken to a page that explains the Air Miles you will receive if you make a purchase on-line. You can then enter your AirMiles Collector number if you haven’t already and click on a button that redirects you to the retailer’s site where you can shop as you normally would and make a purchase if you want. If you place an order on-line then they give you a certain number of Air Miles based on the rate they are offering.
This is great, because now Air Miles are available at more stores than they normally were. For example, I just booked tickets on Expedia for a business trip of mine. They normally don’t offer Airmiles, but they were listed on the airmilesshops.ca website and when I clicked on them I found out they offer 1 Airmiles for every $35 spent on their site and you get a bonus 35 miles the first time you make a purchase. I was going to buy my tickets on Expedia anyway, but this was a way to gain a few extra miles.
Do You Pay More?
I was worried that they might charge more when Air Miles were included, but I was wrong. I compared prices by trying to book from a different computer where I did not go to the Expedia store by using the affiliate link from airmilesshops (would not get the AirMiles) and by using a computer where I did use it. The prices were identical and I could not even see a difference in how the site looked.
So basically, it is just another way to get Airmiles from companies that don’t offer it directly (why I don’t know).
Double Dip To Maximize Your AirMiles
If you already have a credit card that collects Air Miles like the American Express Air Miles card or the BMO Mosaik Mastercard then you will collect miles when paying with your card and you will receive the airmilesshops miles in addition to that.
For example: I $500 flight through Expedia for the first time would give you the following miles (assuming your have the Gold BMO Mosaik Mastercard):
- BMO Mosaik Mastercard (1 for $15): 33.3 miles
- Expedia (1 for $35): 14.3 miles
- Bonus miles: 35 miles
- Total: 82 Air Miles (rounded down)
That is 82 AirMiles instead of the 33 you would normally expect. Even if you have already used your first purchase the 14 extra miles is over 40% more than you would have received normally and there is no extra cost.
What Retailers Are There
A lot of good on-line retailers are listed. This includes Expedia, Dell, Apple, Bose, TigerDirect, Chapters, Amazon, La Senza, and the list goes on. Here is a screenshot of some of the top ones from the site.
