BMO buys Air Miles loyalty program
Air Miles cards.
The Air Miles reward program, which belongs to the American company LoyaltyOne, is going to BMO, the financial institution announced in a press release on Friday morning.
This acquisition was proposed by BMO as part of LoyaltyOne's proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) commenced in the Superior Court of Ontario.
This transaction, the amount of which has not been disclosed, is subject to court approval and receipt of required regulatory approvals, among others.
Air Miles Program President Shawn Stewart says this has no impact on Collectors' Air Miles reward mile balances or Collectors' ability to earn and redeem. /p>
BMO has signaled its willingness to strengthen its offering for Canadian consumers and businesses if it is able to bring Air Miles business back from the United States to the Canada.
The pandemic has been difficult for Air Miles, explained on the airwaves of ICI RDI the founding president of Milesopedia, Jean-Maximilien Voisine, because they do business with neighborhood businesses in which it does not x27;there was no traffic.
The exodus of users had already been underway for several years, however, added Voisine.
In June 2022, Sobeys (IGA), the main partner of Air Miles, announced its desire to withdraw from the program, a decision which takes effect on March 22 .
Since then, the Milesopedia site has recorded more traffic for tips on how to make your points profitable, said its president. This puts people in a rush to use their points, accelerating the fall of the Air Miles rewards program, he said.
Other companies like Jean Coutu, Rona and the LCBO (the equivalent of the SAQ in Ontario) have also dropped out of the program. In the case of Jean Coutu, the withdrawal will take effect in the spring. Rona and the LCBO left the Air Miles card behind in 2021.
The transition of several companies to Metro's loyalty program, MOI, is not influenced by the announcement of the takeover of the program by BMO.
As we announced last fall, METRO inc. will launch MOİ in the spring of 2023, an evolution of the metro&moi program which will bring together the Metro, Jean Coutu, Brunet, Super C and Première Moisson banners, i.e. nearly 900 locations across Quebec, writes the head of communications, Catherine Latendresse.< /p>
Programs, there will always be. There are about 20 big programs in Canada, so people will have to make choices, explained Jean-Maximilien Voisine.
The loyalty program has 10 million customer accounts. ;active members. BMO and Air Miles have been partners since 1992.
With information from La Presse canadienne
