VIA Rail Canada announced that its new gift cards are available for those who wish to offer the gift of travel to family and friends - in time for those traveling on special occasions like Mother's Day and during the long Victoria Day weekend.

"These gift cards are appropriate for all kinds of gift giving occasions, and will particularly appeal to subscribers of the AIR MILES Reward Program, because they offer the possibility of exchanging reward miles for VIA gift cards, thus reducing travel costs," said Steve Del Bosco, Chief Customer Officer at VIA.

The gift cards are available at all VIA stations throughout Canada. They are sold in denominations of $25, $50 and $100. VIA also offers Flex value cards, in which case the card holder determines the exact dollar amount on the card. Introduced in September 2005 - in time for the Christmas holiday season - these cards were extremely popular. In fact, gift cards are taking consumers by storm, according to a study done by Statistics Canada last year. They are attractive because they offer flexibility in that they are valid for a given period and they are an appealing gift for the "person who has everything".

This VIA gift card is also of great value to those who rely on rail transportation for their travel needs across the country.