Special Report:
Flexibility Helps Air Miles Soar

Executive summary:

Talk about a good flight plan. Air Miles' semiannual redemption catalog is a fixture in almost one-third of Canada's 33 million households. Why are the consumer incentive provider's offerings so welcome? Flexibility. Sure, members can redeem their earned points for air travel with Canada's WestJet or other airlines. But they can also put those earned miles toward earth-bound purchases ranging from DVDs and coffeemakers to snowmobiles and MacBooks. Or, they can exchange them for gift cards from a slew of retailers, including Shell, The Gap, Talbots and Rexall Pharmacy.

The catalog itself is flexible, showing up both online and in print. It's also available in retail outlets to encourage new enrollments—and redemptions by current members. The program is a fascinating study of the way offline and online channels can interact to produce a promotional campaign with touchpoints to suit every user's needs.