Many Canadian consumers are avid collectors of reward points, with the hopes of redeeming these points for big rewards later on. Aeroplan is the largest loyalty program in Canada, with Air Miles not far behind. Each of Canada’s major banks also have their own credit card reward programs.
Air Miles recently made headlines for a change it made in 2011, which put a five-year expiry date on any unused miles. This would kick in on January 1, 2017. As expected, long-time collectors weren’t happy. The company further enraged these collectors by making the cost to transfer miles to a different account prohibitive.
Many customers felt they had no choice but to use the miles before they expired.
But right before the changes were scheduled to take place, Air Miles reversed course and announced it would scrap the expiry date idea. Collectors could keep their miles after all.
Ironically, this further enraged certain collectors who traded in their miles for lackluster rewards rather than saving them for what they really wanted.
The lesson in all this? It’s simple. Loyalty points collectors have to remember that the issuing company can (and eventually will) devalue the points. It’s in the issuer’s best interest to do so.
Thus, saving these points isn’t a good idea. Most of us spend such a small amount of money that it takes years to accumulate enough points for anything good. It’s better to go for smaller rewards and cash them out before the points lose value to inflation.
