A St. Malo man is frustrated he won't get reimbursed for Air Miles he spent in anticipation of an expiration policy, which has since been cancelled.
On Thursday, the company – which runs the Air Miles reward program, LoyaltyOne – reversed a decision that would have seen accumulated points more than five years ago, expire.
He had around 19,000 miles saved. Baxter said around 2,000 have already disappeared and he is not sure why.
He was saving his miles for a trip to Puerto Vallarta, but when he found out he was going to lose points older than five years, he went shopping in the Air Miles catalogue.
"I went out and ordered something right away and it cost me 2700 miles," Baxter said. "I ordered a bloody comforter for my bed."
Baxter lives with diabetes and spends $1,700 a month on insulin and pills at Safeway, which has helped him rack up thousands of Air Miles over the years.
He's travelled to Florida and Las Vegas, and redeemed points in the past to get a TV and a laptop computer. He said the reward points program has treated him well over the years, but he's disappointed with the company's handling of the expiration policy.
"It's not even worth collecting unless you're going to book a trip," Baxter said.
He's not the only Air Miles customer who's frustrated.
Winnipeg resident Jill Saunders said she redeemed 2,100 Air Miles to get a digital scale and hair clipper she doesn't need just so she wouldn't lose her points.
"I couldn't find anything," said Saunders. "I knew my points were expiring."
An Air Miles spokesperson said returns, cancellations or exchanges are not being accepted due to the cancellation of the expiry policy.
