Instead of earning pennies on the dollar for keeping your funds in a standard bank account, Bask Bank allows you to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
Now, the bank has increased the number of miles you’ll earn for every dollar kept in your account …. again!
What Is Bask Bank?
Bask Bank is a unique banking concept that allows you to earn either traditional interest or frequent flyer miles, depending on how much money you have in your savings account.
You’re able to choose which currency you’d like to accrue. However, note that the only frequent flyer miles you can earn are American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
You can use your miles earned through Bask Bank to travel in business class. Image Credit: Daniel Ross
Increased Earning
Up to this point, you’ve only been able to earn 1.2 AAdvantage miles for every dollar in your account. Now, with the increase in interest rates, you’re able to earn 1.5 AAdvantage miles per dollar in the account.
You earn miles on a monthly basis based on the daily balance averages. Bask Bank provides the following example:
If you have $60,000 in your account in January of a given year, you’ll earn 7,644 AAdvantage miles. This is calculated by taking $60,000, multiplying that by 1.5 miles per dollar, dividing by 365 days in a year, and finally multiplying by 31 days in a month.
Because the miles earned are based on the actual calendar days in a month, you’ll earn fewer miles in February because it has fewer days (you’d earn 6,904 miles that month). If you were to keep $60,000 in your account as an average balance over the course of a year, you’d earn 90,000 miles.
This is a considerable amount of miles. However, of course, you’ll have to consider whether the cash interest rate is more valuable than the miles themselves. If you earn 90,000 miles a year, these could be used for approximately 4 one-way domestic first class tickets, 1.5 one-way trips in business class to Europe, or 1 one-way business class ticket to Australia.
Each of those trips, if purchased with cash, can be in the thousands of dollars, which is well more than the interest you’d earn on any money banked in your account.
Hot Tip: Take a look at all of the best ways to redeem AAdvantage miles for maximum value!
Final Thoughts
Putting money in a bank account that earns airline miles instead of traditional interest isn’t for everyone, but for those who feel they can get value from AAdvantage miles, the increased earning rate of 1.5 miles per dollar is certainly well worth considering.
Before opening any account, you may want to speak with a tax advisor regarding any tax implications of the earning of miles instead of interest and how this may impact your decision.
