airmiles?

[ado121]

i saw on here and now i can't find it.

the thread about airmiles...

what i am wondering is where to get the most value in using them...

would i be wise to redeem for tickets to wdw for adults and buy childrens ( i need 2 of each) or vice versa. is there a way to know dollar for dollar what the best deal is?

cheers
amy

[lisalonglash]

i saw on here and now i can't find it.

the thread about airmiles...

what i am wondering is where to get the most value in using them...

would i be wise to redeem for tickets to wdw for adults and buy childrens ( i need 2 of each) or vice versa. is there a way to know dollar for dollar what the best deal is?

cheers
amy

Hi Amy:

There are lots of threads about Airmiles. Hopefully this works - here's the search result on the forums for "Airmiles" lots of good info in those threads http://www.disboards.com/searchbt.php?search=airmiles&order=1&user=&scope=4&cat=1&frm=-1

Oh boy, I hope that link works! The search function on the DISboard gives me :headache: on a regular basis :rotfl:

[calgarygary]

i saw on here and now i can't find it.

the thread about airmiles...

what i am wondering is where to get the most value in using them...

would i be wise to redeem for tickets to wdw for adults and buy childrens ( i need 2 of each) or vice versa. is there a way to know dollar for dollar what the best deal is?

cheers
amy

Amy are you going to WDW or DL? If WDW, and if you are not within driving distance of a U.S. airport, then one of the best uses of airmiles is flights especially if you have a mosaik credit card with the west jet option.

[charm73]

We have the gold westjet BMo mosaik card so we only "paid" 1600 airmiles per person for our plane tickets from Northern BC, where it would normally be $1000 per person easily... definitely the best use of miles for us...

To figure out dollar for dollar which is better, Divide the actual price for the item by the number of airmiles you would use to get it.

[ado121]

great! thanks everyone.

[DutchsMommy]

I don't use for flights becuase we are lucky enough to be able to fly from BUF, but if you cannot and are interested in flights there is a new promotion for Gold MC cardholders to get reduced cost (reduced # airmiles) for some flights. Likely worth checking out the BMO MC website as I am sure they have the info there.

Otherwise, we use ours for tickets....keep in mind if you use airmiles for the base ticket you can upgrade them at the parks...a good deal....

[so_are_you]

We have the gold westjet BMo mosaik card so we only "paid" 1600 airmiles per person for our plane tickets from Northern BC, where it would normally be $1000 per person easily... definitely the best use of miles for us...

To figure out dollar for dollar which is better, Divide the actual price for the item by the number of airmiles you would use to get it.

as of April 1st those flights are no longer
now the only perk for the gold BMO airmiles mastercard is to save 20% airmiles on all airmile partners airlines

[Valjean13]

We have the gold westjet BMo mosaik card so we only "paid" 1600 airmiles per person for our plane tickets from Northern BC, where it would normally be $1000 per person easily... definitely the best use of miles for us...

as of April 1st those flights are no longer
now the only perk for the gold BMO airmiles mastercard is to save 20% airmiles on all airmile partners airlines

They still offer these flights on the airmiles site, as of today. It says it's a West Jet offer, not a BMO card offer, but they still have a picture of the credit card below it, which makes me think you may still have to own the card.
There is another offer for the BMO card that gives you 20% off.

[SaskDisNut]

I was checking into the BMO Gold card and it looks like it no longer offers the WestJet card and only now offers an Airmiles card. And the 1600 mile flights for those with a WestJet card is no longer offered after July 31, 2008.

I copied this from this BMO Mosaic Mastercard (http://www3.bmo.com/mosaik/perform_builder_info_disclosure?&PREBUILT=PREADULTL&PUID=984) page:

D. Gold AIR MILES Reward Option

WestJet flight redemption

D2. For regularly-scheduled, WestJet-operated flights in Canada and the Continental U.S. (excluding Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean). All rewards are subject to the terms and conditions of the AIR MILES Reward Program. Some restrictions and additional charges apply. Subject to availability. Visit airmiles.ca or call the AIR MILES Service Centre at 1 888 AIR-MILES or, in Toronto, (416) 226-5171.This feature applies to all Mosaik cardholders who held a Gold (1/$15) AIR MILES Reward Options prior to April 1, 2008, but does not apply to holders of a new Gold (1/$15) AIR MILES Reward Option issued after March 31, 2008. This feature will be discontinued on July 31, 2008.


20% discount on all AIR MILES flights worldwide

D3. You will receive a 20% discount from the number of AIR MILES reward miles you would ordinarily require to redeem for flights. This benefit applies to all flights available upon the redemption of AIR MILES reward miles.This benefit applies to all destinations served by flights available upon the redemption of AIR MILES reward miles. This benefit applies all year round. There are no blackout periods. To determine the number of AIR MILES reward miles ordinarily required to redeem for flights, consult the Flight Rewards Zone Maps at www.airmiles.ca (http://www.airmiles.ca) or call the AIR MILES Service Centre at 1-888-AIR-MILES (in Toronto, 416-226-5171). This benefit does not apply to the cash portion of the flight redemption (such as fuel surcharges, airport improvement fees and booking fees).This benefit does not apply to the flight component of Package Vacations and Cruises.This offer cannot be combined with any other offer.

[so_are_you]

ok we just called
mastercard
and complained and told them as of July 31 we would be cancelling the gold $90 a yr card and going back to the $35 a year card because of the change
She said they will make a note that we are not happy with the change
So if enough people complain about the change maybe they will do something about it
She has said we are not the onlyones who have called about it

[disneyfan2]

Has anyone used Airmiles toward the Carnival Cruise? Is it worth it? /
I went to the site but i cannot view the cruises any more. Last year you could view the cruises and see how many points you needed but no longer

[calgarygary]

as of April 1st those flights are no longer
now the only perk for the gold BMO airmiles mastercard is to save 20% airmiles on all airmile partners airlines

That may not be a permanent change. For some time it appeared that West Jet was not renewing its contract with airmiles and that left the Mosaik deal up in the air. Westjet announced its renewal on the first and now it is up to MC to decide to renew and in what form. I wouldn't give up on the old 1400/1600 offer just yet.

[SaskDisNut]

That may not be a permanent change. For some time it appeared that West Jet was not renewing its contract with airmiles and that left the Mosaik deal up in the air. Westjet announced its renewal on the first and now it is up to MC to decide to renew and in what form. I wouldn't give up on the old 1400/1600 offer just yet.

If they do renew and it is offered I would certainly consider getting that card. The 1400/1600 airmiles flights are a bargain.

[yxe dad]

I just booked my flights for Feb 09, Saskatoon to Orlando using Airmiles. I got the flight times I wanted and four tickets were only 5600 airmiles using my Westjet Gold BMO CC discount. If Westjet does discontinue this card I hope they come up with a better rewards plan then Air Canada and Aeroplan. I really don't like flying AC but if I can collect Aeroplan points quicker, I'll be back in their tiny planes.

[yxe dad]

That may not be a permanent change. For some time it appeared that West Jet was not renewing its contract with airmiles and that left the Mosaik deal up in the air. Westjet announced its renewal on the first and now it is up to MC to decide to renew and in what form. I wouldn't give up on the old 1400/1600 offer just yet.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think this program is dead. I think Westjet is coming out with their own rewards program, and new CC.

[phabric]

Someone mentioned to me that she read that Westjet was going to get their own CC and getting out of Airmiles. I hope not as I have used 1,400/1,600 on Westjet.

[vickiea]

I just booked my flights for Feb 09, Saskatoon to Orlando using Airmiles. I got the flight times I wanted and four tickets were only 5600 airmiles using my Westjet Gold BMO CC discount. If Westjet does discontinue this card I hope they come up with a better rewards plan then Air Canada and Aeroplan. I really don't like flying AC but if I can collect Aeroplan points quicker, I'll be back in their tiny planes.

Hi yxe dad, would you mind telling me what you paid for taxes for each of your tickets? I called Airmiles and they quoted me $208 per ticket from Edmonton to Orlando for Jan 09. That seemed a little high. With that cost for taxes it is better to go directly with say United, they have flights for $366 inc taxes.

Thanks for any info you can share.

Vickie

[so_are_you]

WE paid $208 from edmonton too
its the airline tax that adds up for canadian carriers
it was the same for us to fly to vancouver island too

[sunshinemummy]

The only reason we got the Gold Mosaik was for the flights and now they have cancelled the program...just great! We were saving up to use them this Xmas to go away. I will also call and complain.

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

... this is from the National Post

WestJet renews contract with AIR MILES

Posted: April 02, 2008, 6:40 PM by Scott Deveau

WestJet Airlines Ltd. announced Wednesday it had renewed its contract with AIR MILES Reward Program in an eight-year deal, but the airline still plans to push ahead with its own frequent flyer program.

"This agreement provides our collectors with significant access to seats on WestJet's extensive network of domestic and U.S. destinations," said Jill Morison, AIR MILES vice-president of rewards, in a statement announcing the deal.

Participants in the program have already booked 1.2 million WestJet flights since the Calgary carrier became a partner in 2000, she added.

Richard Bartrem, WestJet spokesman, said the carrier is still looking at creating its own program in 2009, although the details are still being worked out.

[maggieb9975]

Hi all,
I found this site really helpful as she did all the math and figured out what Airmiles actually cost per item...worth checking out.


http://www.r4nt.com/v4/article/74/

I too was saving airmiles for flights but by the time taxes were added to Westjet it cost the same as a whole flight out of Detroit!! So I felt I would have been wasting my airmiles.

I just bought 2 Universal Studios tickets for 1380 points. They are 2-park
7 day tickets...at least now I have used my points for my trip:)

[so_are_you]

The only reason we got the Gold Mosaik was for the flights and now they have cancelled the program...just great! We were saving up to use them this Xmas to go away. I will also call and complain.

We booked our flight for Dec 7th to 15th the begining of Feb and at the time there were only 6 airmiles seats left we tried to go last april and waited till sept to book and all the seats were gone we had her do a search for 6 months from that date and she still couldn't find 4 seats for us to orlando
there are very few 1600/1400 seats on west jets flights
so I would book now if there are any seats left
I belive the booking agent said the can book up to 300 days out and to book ASAP to the 300 days as possible

[ado121]

so is this right? i suck at math!

7 day base child wdw is 1745 miles. undercover tourist its $196.93cad so thats 8.8 a point

7 day base adult wdw us 2170 miles. undercover tourist is $233.96cad so thats 9.2 a point

compared to best western gift cards $150 for 1050 so thats 7 a point

or alamo gift cards $100 for 625 so thats 6.25 a point

so the alamo card is the best deal, then best western then child pass then adult or is it the other way around?

i really an university educated, i just admittedly suck at math!
:lmao:

[charm73]

maybe I figure it differently....

7 day child - 1745 miles - 196.93 - $.11
7 day adult - 2170 - 233.96 - $.107
Best Western - 1050 - 150.00 - $.14
Alamo - 625 - 100.00 - $.16

I did Price divided by Points and your best value is where the $perPoint is highest, so best value is alamo, the best western, then child, then adult.

Someone correct me if I am seeing this wrong....

[so_are_you]

maybe I figure it differently....

7 day child - 1745 miles - 196.93 - $.11
7 day adult - 2170 - 233.96 - $.107
Best Western - 1050 - 150.00 - $.14
Alamo - 625 - 100.00 - $.16

I did Price divided by Points and your best value is where the $perPoint is highest, so best value is alamo, the best western, then child, then adult.

Someone correct me if I am seeing this wrong....
you put the numbers in backwards
it cost you 1745 miles for a ticket that was $196.93 so to see how much it cost you per point you divide the points by the cost so 1745/196.93 so cost per point was $8.96
the value per point for the adult ticket is worst its over $9.27
I used mine for a flights on west jet a reg ticket is $866 (before taxes) I used 1400 air miles so the cost per airmile is $1.61
So I got a product worth $866 for less airmiles then you will for a childs ticket only worth $197

[ado121]

this is so confusing?

[lisalonglash]

this is so confusing?

so_are_you's post was a good explanation, I thought.

~ miles divided by cost = dollar amount per point
~ the higher the dollar amount per point, the worse the value

Interestingly, I just received our gold members' Airmiles magazine and it does list both WestJet and BMO Mosaik as current partners.

HTH and have a great day, ado :wizard:

The magazine has gotten me thinking about building our Airmiles back up for flights to France though. We spent a lot of Airmiles lately for gifts. :thumbsup2

[ado121]

you put the numbers in backwards
it cost you 1745 miles for a ticket that was $196.93 so to see how much it cost you per point you divide the points by the cost so 1745/196.93 so cost per point was $8.96
the value per point for the adult ticket is worst its over $9.27
I used mine for a flights on west jet a reg ticket is $866 (before taxes) I used 1400 air miles so the cost per airmile is $1.61
So I got a product worth $866 for less airmiles then you will for a childs ticket only worth $197

so i was right on track?:confused3

[so_are_you]

so i was right on track?:confused3



you were close but you did it backwards is all
you had
$196.93/1745=0.11
it should have been done
1745/196.93= $8.96

another example is
for us to fly to Orlando it is
1400 air miles or $866 on west jet so the cost per airmile is $1.61
the cost for us to fly to Vancouver Island is $758 on air canada or 720 airmiles (with the 20% off with master card)
so the cost per mile is $0.94
so the better value for us is to use the airmiles for flights to vancouver island then even Orlando

[ado121]

you were close but you did it backwards is all
you had
$196.93/1745=0.11
it should have been done
1745/196.93= $8.96

another example is
for us to fly to Orlando it is
1400 air miles or $866 on west jet so the cost per airmile is $1.61
the cost for us to fly to Vancouver Island is $758 on air canada or 720 airmiles (with the 20% off with master card)
so the cost per mile is $0.94
so the better value for us is to use the airmiles for flights to vancouver island then even Orlando


thats what i had. it was charm that had it backwards! no worries. all figured out now.:hug:

[ado121]

so is this right? i suck at math!

7 day base child wdw is 1745 miles. undercover tourist its $196.93cad so thats 8.8 a point

7 day base adult wdw us 2170 miles. undercover tourist is $233.96cad so thats 9.2 a point

compared to best western gift cards $150 for 1050 so thats 7 a point

or alamo gift cards $100 for 625 so thats 6.25 a point

so the alamo card is the best deal, then best western then child pass then adult or is it the other way around?

i really an university educated, i just admittedly suck at math!
:lmao:


this is me!

[so_are_you]

Opps sorry about that lol
:rotfl: :rotfl:

[DearDaisyinDurham]

not sure if this is everywhere but our A&P has buy 5 boxes of Quaker Granola bars, get 20 bonus air miles, and they're 5/$10, which is not bad. If you collect Aeroplan miles, you can get the Quaker boxes w/ the orange Aeroplan bonus miles code and double dip. Not a bad deal.

[mousy_in_canada]

Has anyone ordered the National car rental $100 off Gift cert lately? I am wondering if the expiry date has changed. I had heard that the date was oct 31, which is not good for me I need December.. what do you think I should order it so I can apply it to my ressie? Right no I have $173 for 9 days and I would love to have it $73!!!
Thanks for the good advice everyone I am looking forward to using my AM for this!

[ado121]

Has anyone ordered the National car rental $100 off Gift cert lately? I am wondering if the expiry date has changed. I had heard that the date was oct 31, which is not good for me I need December.. what do you think I should order it so I can apply it to my ressie? Right no I have $173 for 9 days and I would love to have it $73!!!
Thanks for the good advice everyone I am looking forward to using my AM for this!

thats a great rate for december. when are your dates? we are renting a car dec 20 to jan 2 and paying 400 cad with alamo. need a full size suv though.

[mousy_in_canada]

My dates are Dec 6-15 and I booked EA with a back up ressie for a mini van.. the last 2 trips we have got a van off the EA so I am not worried at all
I used code 8572967

[ado121]

My dates are Dec 6-15 and I booked EA with a back up ressie for a mini van.. the last 2 trips we have got a van off the EA so I am not worried at all
I used code 8572967

whats ea?

[mousy_in_canada]

whats ea?

Emerald Aisle.. You are promised an intermediate car but many many times they have larger ones on the Aisle. it is free to join and you just walk out to the garage and pick your car and go.

[CdnMom2]

How I figure out the best deal now is I know I can get $20 Gift Certificate for groceries (something we all need always) at A&P with 140 Air Miles. Therefore each of my Points is worth 0.1428 or ~14cents ($20/140)
I get the same value with a $25 GC for PharmaPlus.
I get a bit better value with Reitman's Clothing Gift Certificate.
All these GCertificates/GCards come very quickly in the mail too.

In this case I can capitalize on any sales these places may have too so I'm not having to get overpriced things I may not want. And I do earn AirMiles again when I shop there. So can take advantage of any Bonus AirMile deals too.

DearDaisyinDurham's suggestion for the Granola Bars deal at A&P was a great use of my Gift Cards there. I also had done this & earned lots more AirMiles along with more B1G1 coupons from the Granola Bar Packages. That was fun.

So I figure out any other possible AirMiles rewards by multiplying the Points Cost x my 14cent value. Then I can see how much it's really costing me. Remember to include any Sales Taxes or S&H too, if necessary for your comparison of $ out-of-pocket versus AirMiles Redemption.

So far everytime for me groceries have won out as the smart way to spend the $ and then use all the other saving tips here for good Disney/Universal flights, admission tix, hotel deals.

[so_are_you]

How I figure out the best deal now is I know I can get $20 Gift Certificate for groceries (something we all need always) at A&P with 140 Air Miles. Therefore each of my Points is worth 0.1428 or ~14cents ($20/140)
I get the same value with a $25 GC for PharmaPlus.
I get a bit better value with Reitman's Clothing Gift Certificate.
All these GCertificates/GCards come very quickly in the mail too.

In this case I can capitalize on any sales these places may have too so I'm not having to get overpriced things I may not want. And I do earn AirMiles again when I shop there. So can take advantage of any Bonus AirMile deals too.

DearDaisyinDurham's suggestion for the Granola Bars deal at A&P was a great use of my Gift Cards there. I also had done this & earned lots more AirMiles along with more B1G1 coupons from the Granola Bar Packages. That was fun.

So I figure out any other possible AirMiles rewards by multiplying the Points Cost x my 14cent value. Then I can see how much it's really costing me. Remember to include any Sales Taxes or S&H too, if necessary for your comparison of $ out-of-pocket versus AirMiles Redemption.

So far everytime for me groceries have won out as the smart way to spend the $ and then use all the other saving tips here for good Disney/Universal flights, admission tix, hotel deals.

No, you are doing it backwards too
you want to see how many points per dollar it cost you not the other way around
so its costing you 7 points per dollar value you are getting back not good value at all

the formula is
140/20
not 20/140
so you want it to cost you as few points per dollar as possible

miles divided by cost = dollar amount per point
the higher the dollar amount per point, the worse the value

[ado121]

not sure if this is everywhere but our A&P has buy 5 boxes of Quaker Granola bars, get 20 bonus air miles, and they're 5/$10, which is not bad. If you collect Aeroplan miles, you can get the Quaker boxes w/ the orange Aeroplan bonus miles code and double dip. Not a bad deal.


awesome deal! i love deals like this. we eat the oatmeal to go bars and they are the same sale, same points.

keep the airmiles deals coming!

[farmergirl]

We have used our Airmiles for our flights. We thought it was a good deal however we were not able to get our reservations combined which was a little annoying because when the seatmaps kept getting changed we kept getting spit up so that was a little frustrating but other than that we thought it was great. Hope this helps!:)