Personal Finance

Bask Bank Increases Mileage-Earning for AAdvantage Savings

In recent months, the United States economy has seen several trends emerging at once. While the most notable of these has been inflation, increasing interest rates and growing demand for travel have been two other major stories. Combining those latter two, this week, Bask Bank announced a change to its airline miles-earning account.

Launched in early 2020, the Bask Mileage Savings Account allows customers to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles instead of cashback. Since its debut, this earning rate was pegged at 1 mile per $1 saved annually. For example, a customer who held $10,000 in their account would earn a total of 10,000 AAdvantage miles over the course of one year. These miles are accrued daily and paid out directly to linked American Airlines AAdvantage accounts monthly.

Now, for the first time, Bask is increasing its mileage-earning rate. As of August 1st, customers will now earn 1.2 miles per $1 saved annually, amounting to a 20% increase. This adjustment comes as savings account APYs are climbing quickly following a series of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

According to The Points Guy, American Airlines AAdvantage miles have an approximate value of 1.77¢ each (as of August 2022). Using this figure, the effective return from Bask’s account would be 2.12%. For comparison, Bask Bank also offers a high-yield savings account, which recently increased its rate to 2.02% APY.

Upon initially announcing the Bask Mileage Savings Account in 2020, the president and CEO of parent company Texas Capital Bank Keith Cargill stated, “This new digital bank is the next step in Texas Capital Bank’s ongoing strategy to meet customer needs. We were one of the first to launch a digital bank over 20 years ago, and Bask Bank will open up new possibilities and rewards to customers across the nation.”

While Bask Bank’s steady mileage accrual rate was definitely beneficial to travelers and savers when savings account APYs were low, it’s nice to see that Bask is now keeping up and making their unique account competitive with other options. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Bask’s American Airlines AAdvantage-earning account isn’t just for frequent flyers, as it could also be beneficial to more casual travelers looking to enter the world of “points and miles.”

In fact, with AAdvantage miles once again expiring after a pandemic pause, one hidden perk of Bask is that the monthly mile deposits perpetually prevent mileage expiration since the AAdvantage account remains active. Of course, for those who still prefer cash, Bask’s newer Interest Savings Account may be a good option with its relatively strong 2.02% APY.