Remember that post I wrote earlier on how to ensure you’re earning AIR MILES reward miles while shopping online? Well, now that I’m a pro at earning AIR MILES, I just found a fabulous place to redeem my nicely accumulating AIR MILES Cash balance! It can be hard to decide how to use your reward miles, as the program partners with a ton of great retailers across Canada, so you might want to decide what kind of Collector you are.

Perk-y spenders reward themselves by choosing items that they wouldn’t necessarily purchase with their hard-earned salaries. Bargain-hunters help their family get items that they need without having to dip into their bank savings.

I like to think of myself as a perk-y bargain-hunter. I like finding items that my family needs, but perhaps “upgrade” the item with additional bells and whistles to enjoy the most of what we’ve got.

And with that in mind, I am so excited to hear that I can now spend my AIR MILES Cash at IRIS The Visual Group, with more than 165 locations across Canada. This means that my new pair of prescription eye glasses, contact lenses, designer sunglasses, or accessories can be either handsomely discounted or even free, depending on how many AIR MILES Cash reward miles I have banked.

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Both The Hubs and I wear prescription eye wear, and it’s a cost that we have to deal with on a yearly basis; whether it’s simply getting our eyes checked or purchasing glasses or contacts, it’s something that we have to budget for. And I’m always on the lookout for a nice pair of shades (especially since my favourite pair just broke a couple of weeks ago!).

So 95 AIR MILES reward miles = $10 that can be instantly redeemed in-store at IRIS on eyeglasses (lenses & frames), sunglasses, contact lenses, and accessories. And if you don’t currently have enough in your AIR MILES Cash account to redeem, you can still receive one reward mile for every $20 spent on those same purchases!

IRIS has 165 locations across Canada, with an optometrist on hand at every store. It’s awesome that we can get the quality products that we look for (NEVER gamble with your eyesight), and not have to budget as much as we usually do in that department.

Don’t tell The Hubs, but this means I can put more into my shoe budget, WOOT!

Where are your favourite places to redeem and earn AIR MILES? Did you just add a new one to your list like me?

Oh! And if you haven’t heard of AIR MILES Cash before, you can choose between either allocating reward miles into your AIR MILES Dream or AIR MILES Cash accounts, or BOTH by selecting your preference in your account online. I’ve chosen to go all Cash, as I love to instantly redeem my rewards when I’m shopping. If you earn AIR MILES and haven’t heard about this system, you can catch up on all the details now and activate the type of account you want! If you have enough Cash reward miles, you can actually spend up to $750 every day! I’m not quite there myself, but a girl can dream.

Here are some quick tips to earn reward miles faster:

  • Have an AIR MILES credit card on hand for when you’re making purchases that earn you AIR MILES (which is every single purchase you make if you use an affiliated credit card);
  • Check your favourite stores for AIR MILES Bonus reward miles;
  • Keep an eye out for contests and Bonus programs. There is often one running like the great Bonus offers on airmilesshops.ca. You can earn reward miles at 140+ Canadian and U.S. stores by shopping through the AIR MILES online shopping mall!…

Honestly, why aren’t you checking out how many bonus reward miles you can earn in the next few days??

Until next time,

Aeryn

IRIS: Experience Better Vision