With plenty of new readers on Tricks of the Trade this month, we’ve been running some more beginner-oriented articles.
Today, I’m looking at one of the very first steps I recommend to anyone making a start with miles and points – signing up to AwardWallet.
One of the most time-consuming aspects of collecting points is keeping track of changes to your balances across multiple programs, not to mention remembering the many account numbers and passwords. So I leave all that to AwardWallet – which does it for me.
What is AwardWallet?
AwardWallet is a US-based company that has been in business since 2004. It keeps track of all of your frequent flyer miles, loyalty scheme and credit card points. They are currently tracking over 140 billion miles and points across 683 programs for users.
You can also store your travel itineraries and AwardWallet will alert you to any flight changes as well as sending you check-in reminders once online check-in is available, for example.
Here are some of the supported miles and points currencies that AwardWallet will track:
- British Airways Avios
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles
- Amex Membership Rewards
- Boots Advantage Card
- Hilton Honors
- Heathrow Rewards
- Tesco Clubcard vouchers – this is particularly useful for preventing fraudulent use of vouchers.
- Marriott Rewards
- House of Fraser Recognition
- Marks and Spencer Sparks
- Nectar
- Hotels.com Rewards
You can find a full list of supported programs here.
Should you use AwardWallet?
I use AwardWallet daily. It takes no more than a couple of minutes to refresh my balances in the 34 active accounts that I currently keep tabs on within the AwardWallet app.
It would take far too much time to check each of these accounts individually each day.
If you’re not like me and don’t feel a burning need to check your points balances every day ;-), AwardWallet will send you a weekly email with notifications of any changes.
What’s the best AwardWallet plan for me?
There are two types of AwardWallet membership: the Free version and AwardWallet Plus.
The free version is, well, free and the Plus version costs $30 per year.
Here are the differences between AwardWallet Free and AwardWallet Plus:
(Click to enlarge)
Get six months of free AwardWallet Plus when you join!
Using the code below, Tricks of the Trade readers can receive six months of free AwardWallet Plus membership when creating a new account.
1.) Register for AwardWallet using this link
2.) Fill out the various fields and click ‘Continue’
3.) You’ll then see the following page. Enter xexectricksofthetrade in the coupon code field.
4.) Click submit and you’re done.
On logging in, your account should reflect a free six months of AwardWallet Plus membership.
Note: This coupon code cannot be applied once your account is active so please make sure to input the above code during the registration process.
Is AwardWallet secure?
Personally, I’m comfortable with allowing AwardWallet to handle my logins and passwords based on the high levels of encryption they use. They also offer two-factor authentication.
If you’re still bothered by this you can choose to store your passwords locally on your device. This does mean that you can only access AwardWallet services on that device though.
To be honest, the likelihood of me spotting one of my accounts being hacked is far higher by using AwardWallet than without it – given that I run a daily update on all accounts and I’d notice any unusual changes straight away.
Verdict
AwardWallet is a hugely useful tool and I highly recommend giving it a go if you haven’t done so already.
It’s the only practical way for me to keep on top of the changes to the many programs I use. It also has the added benefit of remembering my many log in details so that I don’t have to.
As an ‘early user’ of AwardWallet I pay a ‘grandfathered’ rate of $10 a year for AwardWallet Plus membership, but I’d have no qualms paying $30 if required.
You can sign up for AwardWallet here
Don’t forget to use code xexectricksofthetrade if signing up as a new user to get six months of free AwardWallet Plus.
Do you use AwardWallet? How do you keep track of your miles & points?