June 2013 announcements
On June 27, 2013, it was announced that Aimia had signed a conditional agreement with Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) to become a credit-card partner as of January 1, 2014, and that Aimia would seek to terminate its decades-long relationship with CIBC.[27][28][29] After the announcement, Aimia's stock rose by 11 percent.[27]
In response, CIBC suggested that Aimia was attempting to nullify CIBC's right of first refusal.[30] CIBC had already been hinting that it was dissatisfied with its arrangement with Aeroplan and might start its own loyalty program.[31]
Aimia's conditional deal with TD would last ten years and involve an up-front payment of $100 million. Aimia said that CIBC had until August 9, 2013, to exercise its right of first refusal by matching the terms of the proposed TD contract.[29]
In another announcement, Aimia cancelled Aeroplan's "seven-year mileage redemption policy".[32] The policy had originally come into effect at the beginning of 2007, and provided that all miles would expire if unused after seven years, with the accumulated mileage of all customers as of January 1, 2007, expiring at the end of 2013. Aimia CEO Rupert Duchesne told Bloomberg news service that people had been worried there would be a run on Aimia's cash flow in 2013, but cancelling the seven-year expiration policy removes that worry.[27]
In addition, on June 27, Aeroplan announced the launch of Distinction,[33] a tiered recognition program that rewards top accumulating members based on total Aeroplan Miles earned across all coalition partners, with preferential mileage levels for redemption, bonus mile offers, and exclusive privileges. Benefits begin as of January 1, 2014, and include three status levels based on a member's total eligible mileage accumulation during the calendar year: dSilver (25,000 miles), dBlack (50,000 miles), and dDiamond (100,000 miles).
