What Kind of Gift Cards Can I buy?
You can get a gift card for almost everything and anything. From fashion and entertainment to food and automotive.

How do I calculate what the best deal is?
Find the number of airmiles and the value of the gift card. Divide the number of airmiles by the dollar value (ie: 125 / 20 = X). The best value I've found is 7.3 as this ratio. The lower the better and typically you don't want to go higher than 10 (over even 9) as that would be a bad redemption value. I've listed the best gift cards to airmiles deals below.
Fashion:Roots $20 = 125 airmiles
Health, Food & Beverage: Metro (Ontario) or Sobeys (Atlantic) $20 = 140 airmiles
Gas: Shell $20 = 175 airmiles
Sports & Entertainment: Night Out Movie Package (approx value $30+ ) = 175 airmiles
Home, Reading & Renovations: Rona $20 = 150 airmiles

Also, remember that sometimes if you spend more airmiles you'll get a better deal. ie: Buying a $50 gift card will cost less than a $25 (not significantly but occasionally by 5 airmiles).

How Do I redeem my airmiles for gift cards?
I get this question quite often and it's actually very simple. You can either call airmiles directly at 1-888-AIRMILES. When you do call be sure to have a speaker phone as it takes quite a while to get through, especially during the holidays. The other option is to login into your airmiles.ca account, click rewareds, giftcards & subscriptions and then select the gift card / category that you'd like.

Finally, even though you're trying to maximize your airmiles you still want to get a present that they'll like. If they would rather shop at Gap then Roots than buy the Gap card and visa-versa.

To redeem your airmiles you can visit the airmiles site at airmiles.ca or call them at 1-888-AIRMILE.

Remember, that you can also use your airmiles for gift cards which are a great present because then they can buy whatever they want. And in lots of cases you can get a better deal when you buy a gift card vs. buying the item using your airmiles.

• RONA - 10 times air miles when spending $60
• Metro / A&P - 10 times air miles when spending $100
• Rexall Pharma Plus - 10 times air miles when spending $50

2) A CBC TV reporter in Winnipeg, is doing a story on people who redeem Air Miles points for non-travel items, perhaps even as Christmas gifts.  They are looking for someone like this for a TV story for today, Saturday, Dec. 13.  Are you in this category?

If you are please leave a comment on this post or email me and I'll put you in contact with the CBC reporter.

Here are her top ten tips and tricks for power-shopping online. Although, truth be told most of these can apply to just Christmas shopping in general.

1. Take a tip from Santa. Make a list of everyone you’ll be buying for and, to avoid any surprises come January, set a budget and stick with it!
2. Shop on your own schedule. Online malls and stores are open 24/7. You could cover off your entire Holiday shopping list in a few hours, leaving you more time to enjoy the season.
3. Take advantage of Canadian online malls that have done a lot of the work for you by identifying leading online stores. For example, www.airmilesshops.ca features 100 leading brands all under one virtual roof, highlights promotions and bonuses for Canadian shoppers (such as free shipping), and awards AIR MILES reward miles on all purchases.
4. Holiday shopping can be exhausting for parents and children. Shopping online in the privacy of your own home makes it easy for you to help your children shop for their siblings!
5. Utilize online gift guides that categorize ideas by hobbies, gender and price. Some sites have wish-list tools where gift recipients can create a list of their favourite things, so you’ll be sure you’re getting them what they want. And, if you’re still not sure about your selection, you can always read product reviews from other shoppers, email an idea to a friend for a second opinion or text or talk to a customer service representative.
6. Register for email and/or text alerts to ensure you are the first to know about specials and bonus offers. Many retailers, such as TigerDirect, have deals of the day offering unprecedented low prices on specific products.
7. Refer to the retailer’s size chart when ordering clothing to ensure a perfect fit. Also, utilize tools such as virtual models to “try on” clothing, as found at Lands’ End.
8. Take advantage of shipping offers. This season, more retailers than ever are offering free shipping on orders over a certain value. You can often select gift delivery direct to you or the gift recipient. You can even shop right up until December 23rd at some online stores for delivery in major markets, (e.g. chapters.indigo.ca
   )
9. Look for gift wrapping options. Many are free, and include personalized gift cards. Imagine all your gifts arriving at the door wrapped, labelled and ready to give!
10. Shop online for more than gifts. Holiday essentials, such as decorations, flowers, household items, fashions and specialty food are all right there at your fingertips.
11. BONUS! Compare product price and features to ensure you’re spending your dollars wisely by using online product comparison tools. Online pricing can be better than in store.

As for the coupons.

• Buy something at airmilesshops.ca from ( chapters.indigo.ca , TigerDirect, VictoriaSecret.com, etc..) and get double airmiles reward miles.
• Five times the airmiles reward miles at safeway
• 4 bonus airmiles at shell gasoline
• 150 bonus airmiles when signing up for The Blue Sky™ Credit Card from American Express. Apply Today

Use those coupons and get the extra airmiles next time you make a purchase!

Also, remember that you collect 25 bonus airmiles on your first (ever) purchase at AirmilesShops.ca.

For those that don't know Airmilesshops.ca has a ton of different stores to choose from including: Victoria Secret, Dell, Tigerdirect and Expedia to name a few.

Dell Canada. - Free Shipping on Select PC's

chapters.indigo.ca - Free Shipping on orders over $39.

Apple Store - Free Shipping on orders over $75.

LaSenza - Free Shipping on orders over $89

Toys R Us. - Free Shipping on select items.

Yves Rocher - Free Shipping on orders over $37.

Roots Canada - Free Shipping on orders containing $35 or more baby roots or kids roots items.