American Express officially announced they will be winding down their AIR MILES co-brand credit card partnership. This news was not unexpected, American Express Canada stopped promoting and accepting applications for the cards soon after the AIR MILES parent company bankruptcy news came out. Then you have BMO owning AIR MILES now, it was one thing when AIR MILES had a different owner, they could partner with anyone they liked but now being owned by a financial institution it is somewhat counter-intuitive to have a competing institution also issue cards. I’m sure American Express does not want to be in a position where they are helping line the pockets of a competitor!
American Express AIR MILES co-brand cards will disappear on September 30
In today’s announcement American Express explained that current Amex AIR MILES cardholders will be seamlessly transitioned to a Membership Rewards card product by September 30, 2023. They don’t provide details on which MR products but most likely they will be the American Express Green Card for anyone who had a no fee American Express AIR MILES card, the American Express Cobalt Card for those who had the AIR MILES Platinum Card and then the American Express Gold Rewards Card for those who had the AIR MILES Reserve card. On the business card side they will most likely be transitioned to the Business Edge card.
Current AIR MILES cardmembers will begin to receive notice of the transition in the next few days. All in all cardmembers should fare better with this transition as Membership Rewards is the Best Travel Rewards Points Currency for Canadians
Should you apply for a new card instead of waiting to be transitioned?
We don’t know the details of the transitions yet but if it is like those we have seen from other banks you may actually want to consider applying for a Membership Rewards earning card prior to your existing card transition. The reason why is that typically with a transition you don’t receive the welcome bonus offered on the card you are transitioned to. We’ll reach out to American Express if they can provide us with additional details on what route they will take.
American Express tells us:
Cardmembers are encouraged to review the notification provided to them to learn more about their Card’s specific changes. For those with further questions about the transition we encourage they call the number on the back of their Card. For questions related to the AIR MILES Reward Program or AIR MILES collector accounts, please contact AIR MILES directly.
If they don’t end up offering a welcome bonus to those cardmembers who will be transitioned you should then consider applying for one of the cards so that you can earn the welcome bonus. Yes, you will take a credit hit, not a big one and your credit rating will typically return back to where it was within three months and you also take the chance of your application being declined. The latter though shouldn’t be a big issue since you would have the transition to fall back on.
These are the American Express cards that AIR MILES cardmembers will most likely be transitioned and their welcome bonuses:
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American Express Cobalt® Card
In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 30,000 points in a year. That’s up to $300 towards a weekend getaway or concert tickets. Click here to apply for this card -
American Express® Gold Rewards Card®
New American Express® Gold Rewards Cardmembers, earn 5,000 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $1,000 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 60,000 points in a year. That’s up to $600 towards your next vacation. Click here to apply for this card -
American Express® Green Card
As a new American Express® Green Cardmember, you can earn a Welcome Bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards® points when you charge $1,000 in purchases to your Card in the first 3 months of Cardmembership. That’s $100 towards groceries or concert tickets Click here to apply for this card -
American Express Business Edge™ Card
Earn 45,000 Welcome Bonus points when you charge $5,000 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn 10x the points for every $1 spent on eligible business essentials including office supplies & electronics, rides & gas, eats & drinks within 6 months of Cardmembership, up to a maximum of 10,000 points. Click here to apply for this card
Wrapping it up
American Express will be winding down their AIR MILES co-brand credit portfolio and transitioning those cardmembers to Membership Rewards card products. The transition will take place by September 30, 2023 at which time this long standing partnership between American Express and AIR MILES will officially come to an end.