This acquisition was proposed by BMO under LoyaltyOne’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) case initiated in the Superior Court of Ontario.

This transaction, the amount of which has not been disclosed, is subject to, among other things, court approval and receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

Says Air Miles Program President Shawn Stewart it will not affect a member’s Air Miles award mileage balance or member’s ability [en] accumulate and [en] exchange.

BMO has signaled its desire for reinforcement its offering to Canadian consumers and businessesif it is able to bring Air Miles business back to Canada from the United States.

Warning signals

The pandemic has been difficult for Air Miles, Milesopedia Founding President Jean-Maximilien Voisine explained on ICI RDI. because they do business with stores in the neighborhood where there is no traffic.

However, the exodus of users has been underway for several years, Mr Voisine added.

In June 2022, Sobeys (IGA), Air Miles’ principal partner, announced its desire to withdraw from the program, a decision effective March 22.

Since then, the Milesopedia site has seen more traffic for tips on how to make your points profitable, its president said. This puts people in a rush to redeem their points and hastened the demise of the Air Miles rewards program, he said.

Other companies like Rona and LCBO (the equivalent of the SAQ in Ontario) also dropped out of the program in 2021.

The transition of Metro brands – Metro, Jean Coutu, Brunet, Super C and Première Moisson – to Metro’s loyalty program MOI will not be impacted by the announcement of BMO’s acquisition of the program, the retail giant says.

As we announced last fall, METRO inc. will launch MOİ in spring 2023, an evolution of the metro&moi program that will bring together the banners of Metro, Jean Coutu, Brunet, Super C and Première Moisson, ie almost 900 locations throughout Quebecwrites Head of Communications Catherine Latendresse.

There will always be programs. There are about 20 major programs in Canada, so people have to make choicesexplained Jean-Maximilien Voisine.

The loyalty program has 10 million active member accounts. BMO and Air Miles have been partners since 1992.