air mile

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The original Air Miles logo, no longer used in most countries

The Air Miles Reward Program is a loyalty program or frequent flyer program in Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain (under the brand Travel Club), the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar through which points are earned on money spent at participating merchants. Air Miles Reward Programs in each country are independently run.

The Air Miles concept was originated by British company Loyalty Management Group (LMG), which sold local rights to the concept to various operators in different countries. LMG was later acquired by Canadian firm Groupe Aeroplan, which retains the intellectual property associated with the Air Miles name and logo internationally, and is the majority partner in the Air Miles program in the Middle East. In all other countries in which Air Miles programs operate, Aeroplan is the licensor and is not involved with the operations of local franchisees. In Canada, the operator of Air Miles is completely separate from the Aeroplan program, its main rival. Air Miles UK has no affiliation with the Nectar brand operated by Aeroplan.

Air Miles UK

In the UK, Air Miles has eight million customers.^[1] Airmiles can be collected through Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Credit Card accounts, Shell petrol stations, Tesco supermarkets, Southern Electric, travel products, package holidays bought in cash from Air Miles and over 100 online retailers.

The Air Miles UK website also provides an online shopping portal to a number of UK retailer partners also eBay.co.uk and Currys. Registered collectors can access retailers' websites via Air Miles Online Shopping and can collect points on purchases.

Airmiles can be redeemed for free flights with British Airways and other airlines, Eurostar and ferry crossings, cruises, hotel accommodation, car hire, travel insurance, package holidays, spa & golf breaks and UK leisure activities.

Air Miles is a subsidiary of British Airways, but the airline runs a different scheme for its frequent flyers called 'BA Miles'.

History

Air Miles was created during the mid 1980s by Alan Deller, Commercial Director of British Caledonian Airways and the partners of advertising agency Mills, Smith & Partners. These were Keith Mills, Brian Smith, William Kershaw, Nick Tomlin, Peter Badham and Geoffrey Bean. Liam Cowdrey joined Mills, Smith & Partners some months later.

Together they formed the Air Miles Travel Promotions Company Limited in 1986 and sold 51% of the UK operation to British Airways soon after.

Mills, Smith & Partners produced the consumer launch campaign ‘Stop dreaming. Start Collecting’ gaining a database of three million Air Miles collectors in the first three months.

Keith Mills later founded the Nectar loyalty card.

Air Miles Canada

The Air Miles program logo in Canada since 2009.

Currently owned and operated by LoyaltyOne, the Air Miles reward program was launched in Canada in 1992, and is Canada’s largest coalition loyalty program.^[2] In 1998, Air Miles Canada was acquired by Alliance Data Systems. In 2008, Alliance Data Loyalty Services became known as LoyaltyOne.^[3]

Air Miles Canada has more than 100 partners, including Bank of Montreal, American Express, Shell Canada, Canada Safeway in the western provinces, and Rexall/PharmaPlus pharmacies in Ontario.^[4] Consumers collect Air Miles reward miles from partners, which can be redeemed for 1,200 reward choices, such as travel, entertainment, home electronics and giftcards.^[5][6]

There are more than ten million active collector accounts across Canada:^[5] approximately two-thirds of Canadian households participate in Air Miles.

In April 2009, Air Miles Canada launched My Planet, an initiative to help people trade in their Air Miles for environmentally conscious products and services.^[7] Initially, My Planet offered collectors over 140 "green" redemption items, including public transit passes, organic cotton linens, and electric scooters.^[8] In September 2009, the program was extended to stores and point of purchase.^[8]

Air Miles Canada has received awards for marketing, contact centres, human resources, training and leadership.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Air Miles Middle East

In the Middle East region Air Miles is operated by Rewards Management Middle East and is co-owned by Aeroplan and HSBC. Currently it operates in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Air Miles earned in Europe or Canada cannot be redeemed in the Middle East region, as the company operates independently there, but customers can earn Air Miles points across the different countries Air Miles Middle East that it operates in. In addition to Air Miles' retailer network in the Middle East region, users of HSBC credit cards that participate in the Air Miles program are credited Air Miles points for every credit card purchase transaction they complete worldwide.

Air Miles the Netherlands

Air Miles was originally a saving program to get "miles" and save for a flight. Nowadays other companies are using Air Miles and one is able to buy gifts and services from saved miles also. The usage for flights has been limited to "miles and money": one pays partly with miles and partly with cash.

Halfway through the 1990s, Air Miles was introduced with a lot of advertising. The popularity dropped halfway through the 2000s. In 2004, ABN AMRO terminated its program for giving Air Miles; also, Albert Heijn did the same in some of its branches to make room for more discounts on their products. At Shell gas stations, one still has the option to choose between Air Miles or stamps.

After the creation of Air Miles other companies made saving cards like Rocks, Freebees, and Power Points.

Air Miles US

An American version of Air Miles was launched at the same time as the Canadian version in 1992 by Loyalty Management Group. Participating companies included Lenscrafters, General Cinema, AT&T, and Citibank. Unlike its Canadian counterpart, the US Air Miles program was financially unsuccessful and suspended operations in May 1993.^[13]

References

• "Alliance Data's Canadian Loyalty Business Signs Multi-Year Agreement With Leading Car Rental Brand". http://www.alliancedata.com/news/newsreleases/viewrelease,942189.html. Retrieved 2007-01-24. 

External links

• AIRMILES UK
• AIRMILES UK shopping portal
• AIR MILES Canada
• AIR MILES Shops Canada
• Airmiles Netherlands