Obviously, having your air miles expire is horrible but there is little that we can do to change that. The 2nd option Cash Rewards is that something that everyone CAN and SHOULD AVOID!

Briefly, AirMiles has split what use to be just Air Miles into two systems: Cash Rewards and Dream Rewards. Dream Rewards are what everyone was and is collecting by default. Cash Rewards, the new system, are accumulated at the same rate as regular airmiles. The only differences is that once you have 95 air miles you can trade these in at participating merchants for $10.

This means that each "Air Mile" using the cash rewards option is now worth $9.50. However, if you use your Airmiles for a gift card you will spend your air miles at a rate of $8.25 (or less). This is a 20% mark-up by cashing your airmiles in directly at a merchant. This is a HORRIBLE way to use your airmiles.

What can I do to stop this?
Obviously, we recommend that you don't collect the Air Miles Cash Rewards. The 'regular' airmiles are collected by default so if you have done nothing you are good. If you've changed your account to start collecting 'Cash Rewards' revert back to only collect Dream Rewards asap.

How do I redeem my Air Miles Dream Rewards?
Simple. You can call Air Miles at (1-888-AIRMILES) or login at airmiles.ca. If you want to check your Air Miles balance see our article here. If you need to setup your online account see our article here.

UPDATE ---- February 2nd, 2012
Thanks to Martin who pointed out that they will be phasing out the gift cards from their dream rewards section. This is SAD news, however, I was only using the gift cards as an example. You can still redeem your Air Miles for a MUCH better rate than $10 for 95 Airmiles!

1) Visit any air miles retailer and sign-up with their paper form.

2) Create an airmiles account online!
Visit the Air Miles website here
Select "I don't have a card"

Fill in the necessary information

Create a PIN and hint

You're done! Now you have an Air Miles account and you can start collecting. Be sure to check back weekly to find out the Weeks Best Air Miles Deals to find how to collect air miles faster!

Now to check your Air Miles Reward Miles you can use your PIN to login and view your balance, spend your Air Miles and/or see other air miles information. Read our post on how to Check Your Air Miles Balance.

1) Call 1-888-AIRMILES (1-888-247-6453)

2) Login to Airmiles.ca. You will need your Air Miles Collector Number. Enter that in the box on the top of the airmiles screen. You MAY have to enter your PIN number, although this is not always necessary. If you've never used the online system or need a step-by-step guide on signing up then see our Airmiles.ca Account Creation Guide.

Your Air Miles Balance should now be seen right where the login box was just located.

You may end up having a page that looks like the one below, where you will DEFINITELY need your Air Miles number and PIN. Once logged in your balance will be on the top of the page.

Voila! Now you know how many air miles you have! View our Airmiles.ca Account Creation Guide here.

Before you being you'll need your Air Miles collector card or number handy.

- Click Enroll on the air miles website or use this link here.

- Fill in your Air Miles Collector Number and a Temporary PIN

Update your contact information and enter a PIN hint in case you forget it.

Voila! You're now signed up and can view you Air Miles balance on airmiles.ca.

Now all you have to do is start collecting so you can redeem your air miles!

A few points to consider
1) This is NOT setup by default (thank goodness). You have to set this up in your airmiles.ca account if you would actually like to collect Air Miles Cash.
2) This is a bad deal as you can redeem for flights and/or gift cards at a lower rate. I'll do a full post on why you should NOT select this option in your air miles account.
3) You can set the rate at which you collect CASH rewards vs. regular air miles
4) Old Air Miles are now called Dream Rewards

Airmiles.ca/cash for more info.

Starting December 31st, 2011 your air miles will expire after 5 years. So all the miles in your account as of TODAY will expire on December 31st, 2016. Then each mile you collect from here on will expire after 5 years.

Here is the breakdown of how the air miles will expire.

Reward Miles posted by - Will Expire if not redeemed by
Prior to Dec 31, 2011 - Dec 31, 2016
Between Jan - March 2012 calendar year - March 31, 2017
Between April - June 2012 calendar year - June 30, 2017
Between July - Sept 2012 calendar year - Sept 30, 2017
Between Oct - Dec 2012 calendar year - Dec 31, 2017
Between Jan - March 2013 calendar year - March 31, 2018
etc....

Luckily, Air Miles has announced that in 2014 information will be available to Collectors to help manage their reward miles which may be expiring. This is good news as we'll have a way to track which miles will expire and need to be used! This also means that it'll be super important to have your airmiles.ca account information handy as you might have to login and check your account every 3 months!

To get the air miles reward miles you simply must enter the Serial number and the date of purchase (must be before 9 months of the date of purchase). It doesn't seem to matter where you bought the appliance (ie: Sears, Home Depot, etc..)

You can get more information from the Air Miles for Appliances website.