Canada Loyalty Program Comparison (2025 Edition)

Wondering which Canadian loyalty program delivers the best bang for your buck? Our 2025 guide compares earn rates, redemption values, and hidden perks across grocery, gas, travel and pharmacy programs—so you can squeeze maximum value from every point.

Canadian loyalty cards scattered on a desk

Quick-Glance Loyalty Program Comparison

Program Where You Earn Base Earn Rate Average Redemption Value (¢/pt) Notable Perks Quick Take
PC Optimum Loblaws banners, Shoppers Drug Mart, Esso/Mobil 10 pts/$1 (15 pts/$1 at SDM) 1.0 – 2.0 20× Points, Bonus Redemption, digital offers Huge event multipliers—best all-rounder
Air Miles Metro, Staples, Shell, Amazon, many partners 1 mile per $20 (varies) Cash 10.5¢ | Dream 14¢ Bonus boom events, BMO WEMC multipliers Flexible but partner list shrinking
MOI Rewards Metro, Super C, Brunet 1 pt/$1 1.0 Digital coupons, personalized flyers Easy 1¢ floor; few outsized promos
Scene+ Sobeys group, Cineplex, Scotiabank Visa 1 pt/$1 groceries | 5× movie snacks 1.0 – 1.25 (Travel 1.0) Scotia Gold 6× at grocery, Movie nights Strong with Scotia cards & travel portal
Triangle Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, Gas+ 0.4% base | 5¢/L Gas+ Always 1¢ Financing events, no minimum redemption Great for DIY & gas; no flights or travel
Be Well Rexall Pharmacy 10 pts/$1 0.8 – 1.0 Personalized offers, health-tracking app Pharmacy niche, modest promos
Values reflect 2025 average redemption scenarios; event multipliers can raise returns considerably.

Groceries: PC Optimum vs MOI vs Scene+

Grocery spend represents the largest everyday opportunity for most Canadians. PC Optimum dominates with in-app personalized offers (e.g., 4,000 pts on bread) and event multipliers such as “20× Points” at Shoppers Drug Mart—effectively boosting the base earn from 1% to well over 20% on select baskets. MOI Rewards provides a guaranteed floor of 1 ¢ per point (1 pt per $1 at Metro/Super C), but promotions rarely exceed 10×. Scene+—via Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland—earns 1 pt per $1 (1 ¢) but becomes formidable when paired with a Scotiabank Gold Amex, which adds another 5×.

Consider a family spending $750/month on groceries. Using PC Optimum with weekly 20× events (assume 2 events per month) nets roughly 15,000 points—$15 value—versus MOI’s flat $7.50 and Scene+’s $7.50 (without credit-card boost). The extra $90 per year from PC Optimum might fund an entire holiday shop. For stacking tactics, visit our coupon-stacking guide.

  • Best for flyers + stacking: PC Optimum (guide)
  • Best guaranteed floor value: MOI (guide)
  • Best with credit-card synergy: Scene+ Gold Amex combo

Gas: Triangle, PC Optimum & Air Miles

Gas stations rarely publish headline “points per litre” figures, so we converted advertised rebates to cents-per-litre. Triangle Rewards provides 5 ¢ per litre at Gas+ locations—a direct cash equivalent (no redemption hurdles). PC Optimum at Esso/Mobil earns 10 pts per litre (≈1 ¢) but can soar when digital boosters add 10×. Air Miles offers 2 miles per litre at Shell, worth ≈2.1 ¢ cash or 2.8 ¢ dream.

Road warriors filling a 55-litre tank weekly see annual returns of $143 (Triangle), $28 (PC Optimum base) or $60 (Air Miles dream). That makes Triangle the king of the pump, especially if you also shop Canadian Tire’s automotive aisle where 4% earn rates stack further. See our Triangle guide and price-match guide for extra car-maintenance hacks.

  • Triangle  – Best cents-per-litre rebate
  • PC Optimum  – Best when boosters hit 10×
  • Air Miles  – Niche but stackable with Shell flyers

Travel: Scene+ Travel vs Air Miles Dream Miles

The Scene+ Travel portal turns every 100 points into $1 off flights or hotels—an uncapped 1 ¢ floor with no blackout dates. Meanwhile, Air Miles “Dream” bookings fluctuate but typically clock in around 1.4 ¢ per mile; however, limited seat inventory can sink real value below 1 ¢ during peak periods.

Example: A Toronto–Vancouver flight costing $300. Scene+ needs exactly 30,000 points; Air Miles might require 26,000 Dream miles. At 14 ¢/mile, Air Miles appears cheaper ($364 value) but factor in taxes & fees paid separately and Scene+ often wins on transparency. Scene+ also pairs neatly with Scotiabank credit-card multipliers (e.g., 6× grocery earn = 6%). For a deeper dive, visit our Scene+ travel guide or compare values in the Air Miles calculator.

  • Best flexibility: Scene+ Travel
  • Best promo potential: Air Miles Dream “discounted flight” events

Pharmacy & Health: PC Optimum vs Be Well vs MOI

Pharmacies are point bonanzas—but only if you time purchases around events. Shoppers Drug Mart’s legendary “20× the Points” transforms a $50 basket into 10,000 points—a 20% rebate. Combine that with a paper manufacturer coupon (yes, still allowed) and you can push ROI north of 35%. MOI’s Brunet chain rarely posts such multipliers; Be Well at Rexall offers “10,000 pts for $40 spend” coupons (≈20% back), but exclusions on gift cards and prescriptions blunt excitement.

Vitamins and baby formula often carry earning caps across all programs—an exclusion that catches shoppers off-guard. Review fine print in each flyer and consult our Shoppers stacking guide for workaround examples. Families can share loyalty balances (see family sharing guide) to accelerate redemptions.

Want deeper math? Try our loyalty program calculators to model your exact spending mix.

FAQ: Loyalty Programs in Canada (2025)

Most major programs have moved away from hard expiries but still require account activity. PC Optimum and Scene+ never expire as long as you earn or redeem once every 18 months. Air Miles Cash expires after 24 months of inactivity, while Dream Miles remain safe but can be clawed back if the program shutters a partner. Always swipe or redeem at least twice a year to keep balances fresh.

No. Each retailer group operates its own independent program—Loblaws banners run PC Optimum while Metro banners run MOI. You can, however, carry both apps in your phone and earn each program at its respective chain. If you cross-shop, alternate stores week-to-week to harvest targeted digital offers from both ecosystems.

PC Optimum’s Bonus Redemption events routinely deliver 2–3 ¢ per point—triple the base 1 ¢ value—on electronics, beauty and gift cards. Air Miles “Blue Tag” flight deals sometimes top 18 ¢ per mile, but seats vanish quickly. Scene+ rarely exceeds 1.25 ¢ unless you leverage Scotia credit-card multipliers; Triangle remains fixed at 1 ¢. Identify event calendars and stockpile for redemptions to hit maximum ROI.

Gift cards, lottery, prescriptions, alcohol and tobacco are frequently excluded from both earning and redemption. At Shoppers Drug Mart, some event multipliers also exclude infant formula, making baby budgets trickier. Triangle Rewards does not pay on most “bulk” purchases like drywall. Always read the footnotes and compare against our policy guide before checkout.