Sobeys Scraps Air Miles, Moves To Scene Points
HALIFAX–Starting this August, you’ll no longer be able to collect Air Miles at Sobeys stores in Atlantic Canada.
Empire Company Limited, Sobeys’ parent company, announced on June 7 that it’s scrapping its Air Miles program and replacing it with the Scene+ program.
Scene+ is a loyalty program already available at Cineplex theatres, Scotiabank, restaurants like Swiss Chalet and Montana’s, and Expedia.
The Scene+ program has about 10 million members.
Empire’s transition away from Air Miles and towards Scene points comes as the company buys an ownership stake in Scene+. It joins Scotiabank and Cineplex as the program’s co-owners.
Michael Medline, Empire’s president and CEO, said moving to the Scene+ loyalty program is “one of the final building blocks” of the company’s transformation strategy.
Empire says it will gradually roll out Scene points across its banner retail stores, including Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland, IGA, Voilà, Needs, Lawtons Drugs, and others.
That transition will start in Atlantic Canada in August of 2022 before continuing through the rest of the country. Empire says it expects the transition to be finished by early 2023.
Customers will be able to collect Air Miles at Empire stores until the program is replaced in an individual store.
Empire did not say how much it paid to join the Scene+ ownership group. It said it expects Scene+ to be “incremental to sales and earnings in Empire’s first year operating the program.”
June 8, 2022 @ 10:51 pm
I am not happy with this transition.
June 24, 2022 @ 11:29 pm
Very disappointed with decision to phase out airmiles. Not interested in movie points as not much of a movie watcher as are a lot of other customers!!’
I wish this decision would be reconsidered. Airmiles cash is a fantastic program which helps in reducing some of your expenses when redeeming.
Don’t like it at all!!!!
June 26, 2022 @ 3:37 pm
I too am disappointed with this change. I loved my airmiles! I will not shop at Sobeys or lawtons anymore. Shoppers drug mart and Atlantic super store will be my new source of groceries and points. Such a shame.
July 12, 2022 @ 2:57 pm
Exactly not impressed. But isn’t it the way of the world a specially today. Good things go away. Then all these points cards etc are setup so you have to buy what STORES ARE HAVING TROUBLE SELLING. OFTEN THINGS WE DON’T NEED NOR WANT. Most times earning air miles where on things I bought. Now it will be gone period. WE HAVE NO SAY AS THE BUYERS. And big business thinks we will still shop at there stores the same amount regardless. For a percentage of a specially budget conscience people. NO.
Listen ESSO card points were great too. I bought enough gas for few vehicles to get quickly car washes. NOT NOW. They switched to SUPERSTORE points system.
Actually lost 3 car washes because of the difference in points systems. I complained alot even to the points management. Got no where. And that was just to get squared up for losing the car washes.
June 10, 2022 @ 5:29 pm
you got to know when air miles are done everyone will be shopping at other grocery stores because they are usually cheaper ,if it wasnt for air miles i would not shop there and pay a premium just because of it being safeway.
June 11, 2022 @ 6:20 pm
I’m not happy about this change at all. I have earned airmiles at Sobeys for many many years an have earned some great rewards. Unfortunately for Sobeys and Lawton’s, with the end of the program in August 2022, that means that there is no need for me to shop there anymore. The airmiles program was the selling feature to my loyalty as a consumer. Dominion and Shopper’s which have their optimum program will now get my business. Their prices are cheaper for the most part anyways so without the added benefit of airmiles I will shop there from now on. I will make sure to redeem all my miles before the change takes place though so I don’t lose what I have earned.
June 16, 2022 @ 5:15 am
I am not happy with this at all. I think Sobeys and Lawtons will lose a lot of customers because of this. Getting Airmiles and being able to use Airmiles cash towards groceries is a big plus for shopping at Sobeys and without that perk I will most likely shop somewhere where prices are lower. This is very disappointing news.
June 21, 2022 @ 6:51 am
I’m not happy with this. I collect airmiles. I shop exclusively at Foodland and Lawtons for this reason. Thankfully, there are other options in grocery and drug stores.
June 23, 2022 @ 12:37 pm
Not happy with this change at all, I too collect air miles for the discounts on food, I probably won’t shop at Sobey’s as much.
July 5, 2022 @ 10:18 pm
Big Mistake!!, I won’t be shopping there anymore!!! With Netflix, Disney plus, and many others available at home now with our television service, who wants to go a movie, when you can sit in the comfort of your own home!!!
July 12, 2022 @ 1:54 am
Very unhappy with this decision. Checked Scene+ partners and they mostly offer Cineplex rewards and points that you can redeem in several chains of restaurants that I am not interested in as I follow a very strict autoimmune diet and nothing there is compliant. I haven’t been in a theatre since 2019 and even before that I used to go just 4-5 times a year. In Quebec Sobeys has the IGA, Rachelle Bery and Marche Tradition chains and only Rachelle Bery had high quality unprocessed foods, but they keep disappearing being swallowed by IGA. Loblaws is improving a lot and has cheaper identical products. I won’t spend any money at Sobeys once Airmiles is replaced with Scene+. It looks like they’re targeting a younger population that is interested in movie tickets and hockey night food.
September 28, 2022 @ 4:12 am
Very dissapointed with the decision to drop airmiles. We have several of the larger grocery chaines in our area and we choose Sobeys since we like to collect airmiles. Without them, I will go back to shop Save-on or Superstore. This Scene program does not appeal to me at all. I do not go to movies, hockey night or things like that.
February 3, 2023 @ 11:26 pm
I agree we will not be going to any stores that have given up airmiles!!!
We were long time shoppers at SOBEYS and used airmiles to travel over the years.
Too bad we have to change now.