Most of today have a least one and usually several rewards cards that we keep in our ever expanding wallet or purse. Grocery store cards, the many gas station cards, and of course, the granddaddy of them all, the Air Miles card. For the most part we keep accumulating the points and miles with no plan as to the time we will actually use them.
Many people are simply unaware that there are time limits on how long you can keep accumulating without ever using those miles before they are simply expired. And yes, they DO expire if they are not redeemed. Air Miles announced in 2011 that its miles will begin to expire quarterly once they hit the threshold of 5 years starting January 2017. The quarters are to be the ends March, June, September and Dec 31st meaning if you have miles from January 2014 they will expire on March 2019.
The countdown is to start very soon so if you plan to travel with those air miles you had best begin to make the plans as soon as possible. There are a few alternatives if you have no travel plans and would like to extend the miles or points that you have fairly accumulated over the course of the past years. The first thing you need to do is to check your balance and see exactly what kind of miles you have and which category they fit into. You will have balance of both the “dream miles” and the ones that you can use towards travel and merchandise redemption for things such as concert and sporting events and then you will also have the “cash miles” that can be used in place of cash for redemption in the purchase of gasoline or groceries etc.
By going to Airmiles.ca you will find out what you have and get a break down of which miles are due for expiry first and so on. You may also transfer your accumulated balances to other accounts if you have no plans to travel or redeem merchandise that will set back the expiry clock but of course you will be charged a fee for doing so.
The miles will be set back to the five year date after transferring which will at the very least buy you some time to figure out the best way to maximize your return on the miles you have. Do some research and find out the best way to get the most value for your points or miles and be sure to keep abreast of the expiry dates. You worked hard to accumulate the things; it would be a shame to see them disappear.
