Air Miles collectors stuck with redeemed rewards despite cancelled miles expiry plans

Air Miles Canada says it won't reimburse collectors who spent their points in anticipation of an expiration policy that will no longer take effect at the end of the year.

The company that runs the Air Miles loyalty points program, LoyaltyOne, announced Thursday it was cancelling plans that would have seen collectors lose miles older than five years.

While some celebrated the news, others—who had scrambled to redeem their miles ahead of the expiry—were angered by the about face.

Air Miles Canada's Twitter account told two customers the company would not be reimbursing collectors who spent their points to avoid having them expire.

The account sent tweets saying the company would not accept returns, cancellations or exchanges due to the cancellation of the expiry policy, once booked.

The Air Miles reward program launched in 1992 and has more than 11 million active collector accounts.