Calgary man shocked after Air Miles ‘retired’ 25,000 points from his account

A local man is upset that his Air Miles account was drained of nearly 25,000 points, saying he was never warned the account had become inactive.

A Calgary man is voicing his frustration with Air Miles after the company quietly wiped nearly 25,000 of his loyalty points from his account after more than three decades of collecting with the program.

Todd Woodbeck told CTV News he hadn’t used his Air Miles card in some time, and made the discovery when he went to buy oil for his car at a Shell gas station.

“I hadn’t been asked to use Air Miles for so long, but they asked, and I said, ‘Sure.’ They took my card, and it worked.”

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“I went home and wondered, ‘How many Air Miles points do I have now?’”

When Woodbeck logged into his account, he noticed that almost all of his points were gone.

“They had redeemed almost 25,000,” Woodbeck said. “So, I had two Air Miles total in my account from that Shell gas station purchase.”

“I was very angry, so I picked up the phone immediately and called Air Miles.”

He says when he contacted the company, he was told the points had been “retired”– not expired – because of account inactivity.

“I said, ‘Well I thought Air Miles didn’t retire,’” he said. “They said ‘no,’ they don’t expire, but they can retire if you don’t use your card. I didn’t know.”

Woodbeck says the company restored only 1,240 points—far short of what he lost.

“That’s not a lot really,” he said. “That’s nothing.”

Woodbeck estimates his lost points took nearly $8,000 in spending to accrue.

He says he had also paid more than $1,500 out of pocket to purchase nearly 4,800 of those points after winning a golf tournament prize that had to be used toward travel.

“They basically stole that money,” he said. “I had to show them proof that I had used it towards travel via purchases in the Air Miles program. I printed everything off, thank God.”

Woodbeck believes Air Miles had an outdated email address on file—one he hadn’t used in five years—and says he never received any warnings by mail or phone.

“They have my address; they have my phone number. I never got anything in the mail. I never got a call,” he said. “They just took them.”

Air Miles responds

In a statement to CTV News, Air Miles says its members must use their account at least once over a two-year span to avoid their account becoming inactive.

“We value our collectors and remain committed to enhancing their experience by continuously introducing new partners and exciting offers that encourage ongoing engagement with the program,” read the statement.

“To maintain an active account, collectors must earn, redeem or transfer miles within 24 months—if no activity occurs, the account will be considered inactive. Collectors are proactively notified before any changes to their account status.”

Woodbeck, however, says his account still worked when he used it at Shell—raising more questions.

“My card worked that day, and I got two points for it,” he said. “They didn’t discontinue my account—they just stole the points.”

Advice for loyalty program collectors

Patrick Sojka, founder of RewardsCanada.ca, says consumers need to pay close attention to the loyalty programs they’re enrolled in.

“You should be checking them relatively frequently,” he said. “It’s not just for the expiry; it’s even for fraud.”

Sojka says many loyalty programs have inactivity policies buried in their terms.

“If you don’t earn at least one mile or one point or redeem within a certain time period, they will close it down, and you’ll lose all your mileage or points,” he said. “Some programs are as little as 12 months, but some are 24 months.”

He says even small actions – like a $5 gas station purchase – can keep an account active.

“Donating miles to charity is one way, too,” he said. “That will reset the counter on that inactivity clock.”

Sojka also advises collectors to reach out early if they know they won’t be using their points for a while.

“Typically, it’s better to do it beforehand,” he said. “But even after the fact, some programs may help you if you show them a good reason why you were inactive.”

Aeroplan changes how members earn and qualify

Woodbeck’s experience comes as other loyalty programs are rolling out major changes of their own.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Aeroplan members will earn points based on dollars spent on eligible Air Canada flights, rather than the distance flown. The program will also introduce a new system for status qualification called Status Qualifying Credits (SQC).

“Members will earn a minimum of one Aeroplan point per $1 spent,” Air Canada said in a release. “Depending on their status level ... Aeroplan Elite status members will earn 2x to 6x Aeroplan points per dollar spent.”

The airline says SQC can be earned not just through flights, but also Aeroplan credit card use and partner activity.

“These changes help us better recognize [members’] loyalty and keep improving the experience,” said Scott O’Leary, vice president of loyalty and product at Air Canada.

Travel expert Onanta Forbes says travelers who stick with a single program will be rewarded the most under the new system.

“If you are loyal to one program, you’re going to get more rewards for it,” she said. “You might want to align yourself with a credit card that offers you points if you spend on it.”

Forbes says it’s also key to stay informed about changes.

“It’s always important to look at the news about your program that you’re in, so that you’re updated.”

‘Do the right thing’

Woodbeck says the issue isn’t just about fine print; it’s about fairness.

“Nobody reads the fine print, and it’s in the fine print that if you don’t use it for two years, they’ll retire – not expire, retire,” he said. “I would like to get the word out, so people are aware of it.”

Woodbeck says he’s speaking out to prevent the same thing from happening to others and hopes Air Miles will reconsider its decision by returning his earned points into his account.

“I don’t know how many times it’s happened before, but I certainly think that if somebody lost 25,000 of these points like me, I would have heard about it,” he said. “I mean come on, I’ve been a loyal customer for more than 30 years.”

His final message for Air Miles is clear: “Do the right thing.”