Bask Bank, American Airline offer

[cerralee]

In my emails today was an offer through American Airlines involving Bask Bank. The offer in the simplest terms gives you 1 mile for every dollar you put into a savings account saying $60,000 in two years will get you 120,000 AA miles. The value being much more than what you would make in interest. Not saying I have that much cash sitting around in my savings account but if I did what might be the downfall here? https://www.baskbank.com/?utm_campa...XXXX_COUSA_XXXEN_AAIRDB_AAEM_07_EN_JP_SPONEML

 

[am1]

In my emails today was an offer through American Airlines involving Bask Bank. The offer in the simplest terms gives you 1 mile for every dollar you put into a savings account saying $60,000 in two years will get you 120,000 AA miles. The value being much more than what you would make in interest. Not saying I have that much cash sitting around in my savings account but if I did what might be the downfall here? https://www.baskbank.com/?utm_campa...XXXX_COUSA_XXXEN_AAIRDB_AAEM_07_EN_JP_SPONEML

afilliate link?

 

[A.Win]

Most people would translate the miles earned to be worth between 1% and 3%. A 3% return would be very very good. But AA miles are only worth 1.5% to me, so I'll pass. I have plenty of other miles and travel credits to spend in the next couple years. Plus I am reluctant to fly now.

 

[cerralee]

afilliate link?

I’m not getting anything out of the post if that’s what you are asking. Just a question of what could go wrong with switching funds from one savings account to this one besides a slap up side of the head for not having cash in something with a better return!

 

[am1]

I get 4% at my bank. Not much but keeps pace with inflation.

 

[GetawaysRus]

This isn't brand new. Here's a bunch more links that you can read from write-ups published by some of the Internet travel bloggers:

https://viewfromthewing.com/bask-bank-savings-account-earn-miles-for-saving-money/
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/bask-bank-savings-earn-american-airlines-aadvantage-miles/
https://thepointsguy.com/news/introducing-bask-bank-a-new-way-to-earn-miles/

Notice that you're going to get a 1099. How much that hurts (how much that diminishes the value of the miles awarded) depends on your income tax bracket.

You're earning miles rather than interest. But in a very low interest rate environment, you're not giving up a lot of dollars in bank interest. Most banks are paying peanuts these days, and then those peanuts are taxable.

You will then need to redeem your AA miles for flights on American or its partners. How good a deal that will turn out to be will depend on the availability of award seats and the "cost" of those award seats in miles. There's nothing to stop AA from making award tickets more difficult or most costly to obtain (that is, devaluing their award program).

Although I don't have a Bask Bank account now, I did have a miles earning BankDirect account in the past. It allowed me to build a good-sized stash of AA miles at a time when interest rates were very low and those miles have served me well for award redemptions. A poster above me says that AA miles are worth 1-3%. I'll agree, but it has gotten harder in recent years to get much more than about 1.5% (1.5 cents per mile) when redeeming for an award ticket.

I'll admit that I'm thinking about opening an account as well. In the current interest rate environment, it's getting harder and harder to find places to stash your money where you can earn any reasonable return.

What's a reasonable alternative? Do you have an Ally Bank account?

 

[controller1]

I get 4% at my bank. Not much but keeps pace with inflation.

What bank is paying 4% in today's low-interest rate environment?

 

[bnoble]

If I am reading the terms correctly, the miles only accrue for the 12-month balance, so this is money you need to park for at least a year to accrue miles. Rather than comparing it to an interest-bearing savings account, maybe it is better to compare against a slightly less-liquid option?

 

[am1]

What bank is paying 4% in today's low-interest rate environment?

Non US. No taxes either. I actually shifted it to another bank and then to stocks that are up 25% this past month. I was a little worried with the banks giving breaks to people with car loans and mortgages the money was safer in the market with only a little more risk.

 

[cerralee]

If I am reading the terms correctly, the miles only accrue for the 12-month balance, so this is money you need to park for at least a year to accrue miles. Rather than comparing it to an interest-bearing savings account, maybe it is better to compare against a slightly less-liquid option?

I found this in the faq’s, so if you leave it in for two years you would get the following result:

What do I have to do to get AAdvantage® miles the second year?
As long as you maintain a balance in your Bask Savings Account, you will continue earning AAdvantage® miles. Miles are awarded monthly based on your average balance. If you keep a $60,000 balance for a full 24 months, you will earn 120,000 AAdvantage® miles.