Originally Posted by
fartecho
i was in ontario...but have since moved to BC. have been thinking of planning an eastern/western europe trip...or something in south america. air miles seems more and more like it's not the way to travel to said destinations.
thanks for all the advice, folks.
I'm a long-time AirMiles collector also based in BC. I find the program can have decent value or terrible value, depending on what you redeem for.
I completely agree that AM is not the way to go for any long-haul flight. Pay cash or use one of the FFP south of the border, where they haven't gotten ridiculous with the taxes/fees. I use United and Alaska, both are much cheaper for long-haul redemptions compared to AirMiles or Aeroplan.
Where AirMiles really shines is for Air Canada flights that include a segment to/from an airport where there is limited competition and therefore high fares. For example a paid round-trip from Vancouver to Smithers or Terrace normally costs $600 but is only 900 AirMiles, and in my experience redemption availablility is very good. Also, routes to northern destinations like Yellowknife, Whitehorse or Anchorage are excellent value.
One additional thing to note is that the Reward map seems to be constantly changing, and isn't always intuitive.
On the current version of the Reward map you can, for example, fly from B.C. to IAH for 1600 Airmiles but to ORD, a shorter flight, it costs 4075 Airmiles. Hawaii is even worse at 4950 Airmiles, a flight that can regularly be found for $400 return.
Also if you want to get from B.C. to Toronto it costs 3125 Airmiles yet the 1600-mile flight to IAH is often routed through Toronto... so if you're flying one-way and without luggage you can just walk off in YYZ and save yourself a bunch of miles.
In summary, you need to do your homework and choose your redemptions wisely. Personally, I have found Airmiles to be an excellent complement to my regular FFP's.