To use points and miles effectively, it’s critical to be aware of how many points or miles of a given variety you actually have. Fortunately, there are several great services that can help consumers keep track of their various loyalty programs and account balances by consolidating the information in a centralized location. I use AwardWallet, which seems to be the dominant player in the space; UsingMiles and TripIt are two other options, but UsingMiles cannot track Chase points (a deal-breaker for me), and TripIt charges a $50 annual fee (though I love TripIt for its free features).
The way it works is that you add your account number and password for all of the loyalty programs that you’d like AwardWallet to track, and then AwardWallet will automatically update your balances on a daily basis — with some exceptions, which I will discuss below. You’re free to add family members’ accounts to your dashboard as well, or the accounts of anyone else who’s willing to provide you with their login credentials. And AwardWallet isn’t limited to “loyalty programs” per se; it tracks bank points as well, like Ultimate Rewards points (Chase) and Membership Rewards points (Amex).
If you belong to several loyalty programs, the initial process of entering your various account credentials may take some time, but once you’ve done it you’ll never look back: all of your account numbers will be displayed on your dashboard, and your account passwords can be retrieved by asking AwardWallet to “reveal” them and entering your AwardWallet password. AwardWallet can even automatically log you into most loyalty programs’ websites with a single click.
Tracking your points and miles on AwardWallet is completely free, but users can also upgrade to AwardWallet “Plus” for a price that you choose. Strange, I know. If you’d like to avoid this cruel psychological experiment, I have ten free upgrade coupons for the first ten people to enter this code when signing up: free-bfhwvk. Awardwallet “Plus” users receive a few additional perks, the most notable of which is that all – rather than just 3 – of your accounts display the dates on which your points or miles are set to expire. I find this feature to be extremely valuable, and it has helped me avoid forfeiting points and miles on several few occasions.
Unfortunately, as I alluded to above, three major airlines – American, United, and Delta – have decided to prevent AwardWallet (and services like it) from automatically updating their customers’ data. These airlines disingenuously cite “security concerns,” but Gary from View from the Wing has written some incredible missives about how infuriating and intellectually dishonest this line of reasoning is, given that financial institutions like American Express and Chase don’t seem to the share these “security” concerns.
For United and Delta, AwardWallet has developed a clever workaround: users can direct their monthly account statements to a user-specific AwardWallet email address, and AwardWallet will then grab the user’s account balance and immediately forward the email to the user’s regular email address. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s still pretty helpful. American won’t even permit AwardWallet to display any account information whatsoever, which is even more absurd.
These exceptions notwithstanding, AwardWallet and services like it are tremendously helpful tools. If you’re even remotely interested in dabbling in points or miles, be sure to sign up for one.