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Email this11:26 am
April 6, 2013
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BMO credit cards will be charged a $10 inactive account maintenance fee after twelve months of no activity (no debits, no credits, no interest, and no fee transactions):
BMO Credit Card FAQ's: Inactive Account Maintenance Fee
The notice I received says that is among the changes will take effect in June 2016.
2:26 pm
December 23, 2011
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I love this one:
I have a card with an annual fee. Will my annual fee count as a transaction on my account?
Yes it will.
Really....you pay an inactive fee for an annual fee account???
I recently called BMO to convert my AirMiles Mastercard to a NoFee Cash-back card. I was reluctant to call as I did not want to answer the questions as though I was applying for a new card. I was assured I would not be. Much to my surprise is was very simple and quick. I did not know that my AirMiles Mastercard was only 9% interest and the Cash-back would be 19.xx%. Not a big deal......I have never paid credit card interest. So simple and quick......makes me wonder, is BMO dropping AirMiles??
As far as inactive.....I always keep cards with a few transactions like bridge tolls, Telus prepaid etc.
I just wish Amex had an easy process to convert from AirMile to Cash-back. Has any one done?
9:22 am
September 17, 2014
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Thanks Norman
Did you receive either a mailing or Email with this information?
Have had a BMO Airmiles CC for Years but reduced the limit drastically as the AirMiles program is dead to me. Collecting points that expire and have their value reduced is Pointless and not rewarding
Cash Back in the pocket or off the bill is far better for me
Thanks for the heads up I may call them to switch, but really I already have a No Fee Cash Back Aspire Mastercard giving 1% and .5% yearly bonus as well as an MBNA cashback that TD ruined when they took over. So I may just cancel it
10:21 am
February 24, 2015
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SlowPoke said
Thanks Norman
Did you receive either a mailing or Email with this information?
Have had a BMO Airmiles CC for Years but reduced the limit drastically as the AirMiles program is dead to me. Collecting points that expire and have their value reduced is Pointless and not rewarding
Cash Back in the pocket or off the bill is far better for me
Thanks for the heads up I may call them to switch, but really I already have a No Fee Cash Back Aspire Mastercard giving 1% and .5% yearly bonus as well as an MBNA cashback that TD ruined when they took over. So I may just cancel it
Cash Back and Air Miles are not mutually exclusive. If you are shopping at places that give Air Miles anyway, such as Metro or Shell, you might as well set yourself up to receive Air Miles Cash. That way, it is easy to redeem $10 at a time and avoid expiry. Every once in a while, there is a bonus offer from BMO Air Miles CC if you spend x$ within a month or redeem $10 Air Miles Cash.
5:52 pm
December 23, 2011
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Just cancelled my Airmiles Amex today and my wife's account will be closed in the next week or so. I was surprised how stringent Amex is...no flexibility to change from Airmiles to cash back. I thought they did not like me but I googled "Amex Sucks" and was surprised how they treat their customers. BMO was a very short and courteous call to make the change.
Airmiles will NOT convert from Dreams to Cash...so our 25 years of dedicated loyalty is over. We plan to hold a service at the end of the month. 
8:12 pm
April 6, 2013
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SlowPoke said
Thanks NormanDid you receive either a mailing or Email with this information?
It was a cardholder mailing indicating that the terms of the credit card would be changing.
12:06 am
October 21, 2013
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kanaka said
Airmiles will NOT convert from Dreams to Cash...so our 25 years of dedicated loyalty is over. We plan to hold a service at the end of the month.
Perhaps I should fly out and join you for the eulogy!
I wrote about this problem earlier on another thread, i.e. that they won't convert. I am stuck with 950 Air Miles that I really don't know what to do with. I just missed the end of the BMO investment redemptions on this. Nothing they offer at that level appeals, but I will keep looking for updates and will take anything I can reasonably use just to get rid of them. I'll be darned if I'm going to accumulate any more in that sink hole. They have continuously reduced the options for "Dream" rewards over the last few years.
I did complain formally about this. The guy I spoke to was very nice, but it was as if he couldn't even comprehend how reasonable the request was. The answer seemed to be "we can't do that because we can't do that." The fact that THEY set the rules and therefore THEY can change them did not seem to penetrate.
8:31 am
December 23, 2011
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Sure! Using AirMiles? 
My wife found white wine glass and decanter set for 850, regular 950. On sale! Good for some type of gift. Then we park our cards
I called Airmiles but was a 2 hour wait and did the chat session. Doesn't make sense chat right away or 2 hour wait for phone does it? So did I chat a human or robot....not sure.....but he could sure type fast or copy and paste fast! Heard the blurb just like Amex.....two differently structured products that are not transferable back and forth....not even just once.
6:42 am
September 17, 2014
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Ouch letting "Loyal" customers wait 2 hours is painful.
9:50 am
December 23, 2011
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kanaka said
Sure! Using AirMiles?
My wife found white wine glass and decanter set for 850, regular 950. On sale! Good for some type of gift. Then we park our cards
I called Airmiles but was a 2 hour wait and did the chat session. Doesn't make sense chat right away or 2 hour wait for phone does it? So did I chat a human or robot....not sure.....but he could sure type fast or copy and paste fast! Heard the blurb just like Amex.....two differently structured products that are not transferable back and forth....not even just once.
Woo hoo......we had exactly 850 miles and my wife bought the decanter set for 850. ZERO balance and one LESS card to carry.
2:33 pm
February 17, 2013
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Think I would just go charge a McD's small coffee every 6 months to avoid the fee if I just wanted to keep the card active. Cost them more to print/mail out the statement than they make on the charge. They also send out a statement after you pay the 1.55 to let you know the status. We only collect air miles now when they have bonus offers. The whole program sux now.
2:56 pm
June 29, 2013
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Loonie said
kanaka said
Airmiles will NOT convert from Dreams to Cash...so our 25 years of dedicated loyalty is over. We plan to hold a service at the end of the month.Perhaps I should fly out and join you for the eulogy!
I wrote about this problem earlier on another thread, i.e. that they won't convert. I am stuck with 950 Air Miles that I really don't know what to do with. I just missed the end of the BMO investment redemptions on this. Nothing they offer at that level appeals, but I will keep looking for updates and will take anything I can reasonably use just to get rid of them. I'll be darned if I'm going to accumulate any more in that sink hole. They have continuously reduced the options for "Dream" rewards over the last few years.
I did complain formally about this. The guy I spoke to was very nice, but it was as if he couldn't even comprehend how reasonable the request was. The answer seemed to be "we can't do that because we can't do that." The fact that THEY set the rules and therefore THEY can change them did not seem to penetrate.
Loonie - I donated my Dreams Air Miles to some of the charities who accept them and I received Charitable Donation receipts which I claimed on my tax return. You did not have to be "stuck" with Dreams Air Miles and not know what to do with them - I donated them and felt it was a win-win.
3:39 pm
April 6, 2013
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Are you sure we can donate Dream Miles now to charities? In the past, collectors could to certain select charities.
Now, AIR MILES seems to only allow donations by redeeming Cash Miles for ChangeIt vouchers.
3:45 pm
June 29, 2013
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I did that in 2015 and then destroyed my Air Miles Card - so if the rules have changed recently then I was not aware of that. No interest in Air Miles for a long time - so that is why I donated them last year and finished with them.
9:55 pm
October 21, 2013
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I am very particular about which charities I support anyway, and don't like lists which are limited to a very small group out of the number of registered charities.
And, no, you can't use Dream Miles for this. For most of 2015, you could still get BMO vouchers, which was the best bet for me, but then they closed that off.
There really is almost nothing you can do with them except perhaps if you are young and just setting up housekeeping or need a generic gift for someone you don't know very well. Not very inspiring.
I will still collect them when they are there for the taking and don't cost me any extra, although it's a bit of a misnomer to call them "cash". They are vouchers for specific partners.
Haven't had an AirMiles credit card since they jacked up the fees associated with flight redemptions, which is a long time ago now.
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