After a three-year hiatus, AIR MILES is relaunching one of its signature promotions, Shop the Block. Shop the Block allows collectors to earn Bonus Miles when shopping with a number of different partners.
On this year’s edition, you stand to earn up to 1,000 bonus AIR MILES, worth up to $105 (CAD), by making purchases with just four partners.
AIR MILES Relaunches Shop the Block Promotion
AIR MILES is once again holding one of its signature promotions, Shop the Block, from December 7–18, 2023, until 11:59pm Eastern Time.
The last time this promotion was held was in 2020, and its relaunch comes after BMO’s acquisition and subsequent reinvigoration of the AIR MILES program.
Simply put, Shop the Block lets you earn bonus AIR MILES when you shop and earn with with different partners. Through the promotion, you stand to earn the following additional Bonus Miles:
- 100 Bonus Miles when you shop at two different partners
- 200 Bonus Miles when you shop at three different partners
- 1,000 Bonus Miles when you shop at three different partners
As a fixed-value rewards currency, AIR MILES are valued at 95 AIR MILES = $10 (all values in CAD). Thus, 100 Bonus Miles are worth $10.54, 200 Bonus Miles are worth $21.05, while 1,000 Bonus Miles are worth $105.26.
This year’s requirement of four different partners to earn 1,000 Bonus Miles is easier to attain than the last iteration of the promotion, which needed five different partners.
To participate in the promotion, you must first opt in by logging into your account on the AIR MILES website or app.
For your purchases to qualify, you must earn at least one Reward or Bonus Mile with each partner. This means that merely making a purchase with AIR MILES partners won’t necessarily count towards the requirements.
To illustrate this, at Metro grocery stores in Ontario, you’ll only earn 1 Reward Mile for every $20 in general purchases, plus Bonus Miles when you buy featured products. You won’t earn AIR MILES otherwise.
It’s also important to keep in mind that your purchases must be made with different partners. But with more new partners and ways to earn AIR MILES, it’s easier for you to do so than it has been for the last couple of years.
For this promotion, purchases made through the following means to qualify:
- In-store partners
- AIR MILES Receipts
- AIR MILES Shops
- Card-linked offers
- AIR MILES Travel
In-store partners include Metro grocery stores in Ontario, as well as Shell gas stations nationwide. You must earn at least one Reward or Bonus Mile at an in-store partner for your purchase to qualify.
Different partners have different spend requirements, so make sure to check the AIR MILES website or app for the rules for each partner.
For purposes of this promotion, each brand counts as one partner. If you make purchases at different stores/branches of a partner, your purchases will only count once.
AIR MILES Receipts lets you earn Bonus Miles when you buy featured products at qualifying retailers and scan your physical receipt. For your receipt to qualify for this promotion, you must purchase one featured product and earn Bonus Miles. Online purchases and online receipts don’t qualify.
For purposes of this promotion, AIR MILES Receipts counts as only one partner. This means that even if you submit different receipts from different stores and/or earn AIR MILES on different products, all of your purchases will only count once.
AIR MILES Shops is a shopping portal, similar to the Aeroplan eStore and Rakuten. You must earn at least one Reward or Bonus Mile for your online purchase to qualify. Usually, that means purchasing at least $20 and earning 1 Reward Mile.
Online travel purchases made through AIR MILES Shops, including travel bookings, car rentals, and hotel stays, don’t qualify for this promotion, since AIR MILES for those purchases take longer to post.
For purposes of this promotion, each online store/brand counts as one partner.
Card-linked offers require you to register and link a Canadian Mastercard to your AIR MILES account. Then, you must meet the purchase requirements of each partner, and pay with your registered card to earn AIR MILES.
Each store/brand has different requirements to earn AIR MILES, so you’ll want to check to see the fine print of each.
You can link more than one Canadian Mastercard to your account, and supplementary cards must be linked separately, either to your account or another account.
For purposes of this promotion, each brand counts as one partner.
AIR MILES Travel is the program’s in-house travel agency. You’ll earn AIR MILES on qualifying flights, accommodations, car rentals, packages, extras, and cruises.
For purposes of this promotion, each AIR MILES Travel purchase counts as one partner, regardless if you make more than one booking, or if you make bookings with different airlines or hotels.
For the Shop the Block promotion, BMO doesn’t count as a partner; thus, earning AIR MILES through BMO AIR MILES credit cards doesn’t count towards the requirements. Still, you’ll earn more AIR MILES by using a BMO AIR MILES credit card on your purchases, as per the card’s usual earning rates.
You’ll likewise earn more AIR MILES by stacking this promotion with other concurrent promotions, as the terms and conditions specifically state that “this offer can be combined with other offers”.
Lastly, it may take up to 60 days after the promotion’s end date for your Bonus Miles to be posted to your account.
Maximizing the Shop the Block Promotion
As mentioned, AIR MILES has lowered the number of partners required for this year’s Shop the Block promotion. Plus, with many ways to earn AIR MILES and partners to shop with, it’s easier to maximize this promotion than ever before.
Here are some ways for you to maximize the promotion.
Bonus Miles with In-Store Partners
With the Shop the Block promotion, purchases with in-store partners count when you earn at least one Reward or Bonus Mile.
An easy, affordable way to earn Bonus Miles with in-store partners is by buying featured items. You’ll see them in promotional materials, through the AIR MILES app or website, or in-store.
With Metro grocery stores in Ontario, you can download the chain’s app and see your Bonus Miles offers for the week.
You can also browse Metro’s weekly grocery flyer, and spot the featured items that earn Bonus Miles.
For Shell gas stations, you’ll earn Bonus Miles by buying featured items from their attached convenience stores. You’ll see these featured items in-store or through the AIR MILES app.
Make Three Online Purchases with AIR MILES Shops
You may actually participate in and maximize this promotion in the comfort of your own home with AIR MILES Shops. You’ll earn the full 1,000 Bonus Miles by shopping and earning AIR MILES with three different online partners.
Usually, with online partners, you’ll earn 1 Reward Mile with a $20 purchase. Therefore, you can simply make small purchases with three different stores, and you’d already have earned the 1,000 Bonus Miles.
Of course, you’ll want to choose stores that have a low purchase requirement for free shipping. For example, Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic only require $50 in merchandise to qualify for free shipping.
If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can take advantage of its low free shipping requirements.
However, keep in mind that Amazon has a list of “included categories”, such as clothing, luxury beauty, and Fire TV devices. Therefore, for your purchases to earn AIR MILES and qualify for this promotion, you’ll have to make sure you’re buying items from the listed categories.
Combining with Other AIR MILES Promotions
As mentioned, the terms and conditions of the Shop the Block promotion specifically state that “this offer can be combined with other offers”. This means that you can maximize your AIR MILES earnings by looking at other concurrent offers through the AIR MILES website or app.
For example, you may have an offer for 100 Bonus Miles when you earn at least 1 Reward Mile at Shell locations. You can earn the 100 Bonus Miles worth $10.50 by filling 10 litres of V-Power fuel or 20 litres of Bronze, Silver, and diesel fuels, or by spending at least $5 on car wash or in-store products.
Your purchase at Shell will also count towards your Shop the Block requirement.
You might also find similar offers for Metro grocery stores and other partners. Again, you must check the AIR MILES app or website for your current offers, as some of these offers are targeted and require opting in.
Using a BMO AIR MILES Credit Card
While BMO doesn’t count as a partner under the Shop the Block promotion, you’ll still get to earn more AIR MILES by using a BMO AIR MILES credit card with your purchases.
For example, with the BMO AIR MILES®† World Elite®* Mastercard®*, you can 3 AIR MILES per $12 spent with participating partners, such as Shell, Budget, Alamo, National, Global Pet Foods, and Samsung.
The abovementioned partners also happen to be in-store partners of AIR MILES, so in turn, your purchases with these partners will qualify for Shop the Block.
Conclusion
Shop the Block, one of the signature promotions of the AIR MILES program, is back from December 7–18, 2023, until 11:59pm Eastern Time.
With this year’s promotion, you stand to earn up to 1,000 AIR MILES by making purchases at four different partners. With more partners and ways to earn AIR MILES these days, it’s easier to do so than ever before.
To participate in the promotion, you must first opt-in on the AIR MILES website or app. You must also make sure to earn at least one Reward or Bonus Mile with each partner for your purchase to count towards the promotion’s requirements.
As always, carefully read the terms and conditions of the promotion to make sure you’ll get the AIR MILES you’re due.
