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BMO Bank of Montreal today re-launched its Mosaik Gold AIR MILES Reward Option, providing cardholders an exclusive 20 per cent discount on all AIR MILES flight redemptions worldwide.

The Mosaik Gold AIR MILES Reward Option will effectively replace the existing Gold WestJet credit card offering.

Under BMO's new program, Mosaik Gold AIR MILES cardholders can redeem for AIR MILES flights using 20 per cent fewer reward miles. For example while a regular low-season fare from Toronto to New York City would normally require 1,050 AIR MILES reward miles, Gold AIR MILES cardholders will now only require 840 miles. And the new 20 per cent discount can be used to redeem for flights on any of the AIR MILES Reward Program's extensive roster of eleven airline reward partners, including WestJet, and to travel to more than 500 destinations around the globe.

The BMO Mosaik Gold AIR MILES offer has been entirely overhauled to address a significant gap that exists with other travel reward programs in the market today, namely that it takes an inordinately long time to generate enough points each year to travel. At the core of this new offer is the opportunity for the cardholder to collect faster, redeem sooner and get their reward.

“Airline frequent flyer programs often require their travellers to book far in advance to get the best redemption values, but how realistic is that?” asked Nancy Marescotti, Director Card & Retail Payment Services for BMO Bank of Montreal. “And the more popular flights also tend to carry a heavier redemption cost so you might be able go to New York for the weekend, but unless you're willing to shorten your stay by leaving Toronto on a Saturday night and returning Sunday morning, that trip may be more expensive than you think.”

Gold AIR MILES credit cardholders will continue to collect faster as they accumulate one reward mile for every $15 spent. With the recently announced Shell Rewards, customers will also earn double the AIR MILES reward miles every time they use their card at Shell stations in Canada.

Unlike customers of other major financial institutions, BMO's personal banking customers can also collect AIR MILES reward miles using their BMO Bank of Montreal debit card in stores and online, giving them the opportunity to build their AIR MILES balances faster. The benefits of banking and collecting with BMO don't end with your debit and credit card. BMO customers can boost the reward miles they earn by up to 40 per cent each month simply by holding other BMO products such as a mortgage, savings account, line of credit, and business banking account.

“Competitor credit card plans don't really consider the non-business traveller and therefore don't have the wide-ranging opportunities for consumers and families to earn a lot of points,” said Ms. Marescotti. “Our participation in the AIR MILES Reward Program provides our cardholders with the opportunity to earn reward miles at over 100 participating AIR MILES Sponsor locations in addition to their BMO debit and credit cards.”

“Today's announcement represents an opportunity for collectors to earn more AIR MILES reward miles and ultimately reach their desired reward more quickly,” said Bruce Kerr, Senior Vice President, AIR MILES Reward Program. “The enhanced benefits of the credit card also demonstrate our joint commitment to giving AIR MILES Collectors unprecedented value by addressing the need for low-mileage redemption offers and increased choice in terms of routes and seat availability.”

“This is a continuation of an ongoing commitment to provide greater value to our personal and small business credit and debit cardholders,” said Ms. Marescotti. “The first step was the launch of our AIR MILES offer on debit cards in June 2007. Next, we targeted students with the launch of the BMO SPC Mosaik card in August 2007. Earlier this week, we introduced the new Shell Reward Program that enables our customers to earn double the AIR MILES reward miles or CashBack rewards for day-to-day purchases at Shell using their Mosaik card. Now, with the BMO Mosaik Gold AIR MILES card, we're helping Canadians fly to places they have only dreamed of and we'll get them there faster than the competition.”

BMO Mosaik Gold AIR MILES Reward Option

• Exclusive 20% discount on all AIR MILES flight redemptions
• 1 AIR MILES reward mile for every $15 in card purchases
• 2 reward miles for every $15 in card purchases at Shell

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