Ahh.  October.  Just when you’ve eaten your fill of turkey, forked over a ton of cash for organic pumpkin pie ingredients and filled your house with harvest décor, you realize that Hallowe’en is only two weeks away.  Or maybe one.  (Your calendar is still covered in gravy splatter.)  The turkey coma is replaced by the end-of-October panic attack.  You create a list.  Lists are fun!  Until you realize that you have not one thing checked off yet.

–       Costumes for the kids
–       Candy for the door
–       Extra candy for when you run out at the door
–       Baking for the Hallowe’en party at school
–       Decorations to make your home the spookiest on the block
–       Rake, lawnmower, yard bags and Mums to tidy up the yard
–       A costume for yourself so you can look like a rockstar parent in front of all of the other parents who come to the door (they won’t know you haven’t cut the kids’ nails in a few weeks)
–       And along that line of thinking, cleaning supplies to make your front foyer sparkle  (The rest of the house doesn’t matter)

And now I’m slightly stressed.  But I do like to multitask and thankfully, was approached to try out the American Express AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card.  I’ve held different Amex Cards for over 15 years and have used a ton of the American Express customer service extras and benefits (Front Of The Line for theatre tickets being one of my favourites) so I jumped at the chance.  The company has been great to deal with.  Over the years I have been phoned to check on irregular purchases, had cards replaced immediately when I’ve (ahem) lost them, and just last month, used the Amex Members lounge at the US Open to charge my phone and have my swing analyzed.  So I’m a huge fan.

All of the purchases I would be making anyway from my Hallowe’en list will earn me reward miles, and quite certainly also Bonus reward miles.  (Because we all know about my family travel obsession.)  Any flight or hotel that doesn’t dwindle the bank account makes me smile again and again.  I know there are tons of travel reward cards out there as I’ve used many of them.   The American Express AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card p is quite different than most.

1. You can use your reward miles to cover taxes and fees on flight redemptions, and no blackout dates or zone limits means I can control my own travel decisions.
2.  There are choices in the Card I choose based on my needs (and which I think will look chic in my wallet.)  No need to stretch the budget or change existing spending habits (apologies to my poor husband).

I chose the new Reserve Card for myself and feel the $299 annual fee is well worth the benefits.

The Reserve Card:

1.  I earn reward miles twice when shopping at participating AIR MILES Sponsors across Canada using my new Credit Card combined with my AIR MILES Collector Card.
2.  AIR MILES has introduced FlexFly Redemptions, meaning with this card I can access additional airlines and destinations, departure times and seats not within the AIR MILES Flight Program.
3. Complimentary companion ticket for a short-haul flight once annually
4. Access to an AIR MILES concierge service (loving the sound of that)
5.. Four passes to Priority Pass airport lounges worldwide every year.  If you’re wondering about the benefits of this while flying with kids, we did an article on it.  [link] Of course.
6. Emergency Medical Insurance (Out of province/country), $100,000 Travel Accident Insurance, Car Rental Theft and Damage insurance, Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance, Flight Delay Insurance, Baggage Delay Insurance, Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance.  Because I know all of you moms pay really close attention to insurance policies.  (This can eliminate the stress of not reading stuff unless it’s about fashion).

  • How you Earn reward miles:
    • Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in Card purchases at AIR MILES Sponsors
    • Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in Card purchases at other eligible grocery stores, gas stations, and drugstores in Canada
    • Earn 1 reward mile for every $15 in Card purchases everywhere else

The other Amex AIR MILES Card options:

The American Express AIR MILES Platinum Credit Card:

1.  $65 annual fee waived for the first year
2. Reward miles are earn at the same rate as with the Reserve Card
3.  Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance and $100,000 Travel Accident Insurance 

The American Express AIR MILES Credit Card:

1.  No Annual Fee
2.  Earn 1 reward mile for every $15 in Card purchases at AIR MILES Sponsors and 1 reward mile for every $20 in purchases you charge to the Card everywhere else
3.  $100,000 Travel Accident Insurance

Is your stress dwindling too?  Or already dreaming of your dream destination?  Psst.  You can take the extra Hallowe’en candy with you.  Wink.

Disclosure:  This article was generally sponsored by Amex AIR MILES.  As always our opinions are our own.

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