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Bask Bank burst onto the points and miles scene in early 2020 with a revolutionary new savings account. Instead of earning cash interest, the Bask Mileage Savings Account offers travelers American Airlines AAdvantage® miles on their savings — all with no minimums or monthly account fees.![?gdpr=${GDPR}&gdpr_consent=${GDPR_CONSENT_78}&us_privacy=${US_PRIVACY}&cachebuster=[CACHEBUSTER]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Since that initial launch, Bask Bank also launched a traditional cash-earning interest account (the Bask Interest Savings Account) and has increased the interest rates on both accounts several times. Now, Bask Bank savers can choose between earning 2.5x miles per dollar saved annually or 5% APY interest.
I am an unabashed fan of Bask Bank and personally hold my savings at Bask Bank. That's why we've written quite a bit about these accounts on AwardWallet. But for those just getting started, here's a high-level recap of what you need to know about Bask Bank and its savings account options.
Current Bask Bank Sign-Up Offer
New account holders can earn 5,000 bonus AAdvantage® miles when opening and funding a Bask Mileage Savings Account by November 30, 2023. To earn this mileage bonus, you'll need to deposit $25,000 into your new Bask Mileage Savings Account within 15 business days of opening your account. Then, you'll need to maintain a minimum daily account balance of $25,000 for 90 consecutive days out of the first 120 days after account opening.
Keep in mind that these “bonus miles” won't count as Loyalty Points toward AAdvantage® status. For those looking to earn AAdvantage® status, it's worth noting that Bask Bank has previously offered 5,000 Loyalty Points as a sign-up bonus on the Bask Mileage Savings Account.
For more coverage of the current welcome offer — and how to use those miles — check out our full post on this Bask Bank bonus miles offer.
Current Bask Bank Savings Rates
The Bask Mileage Savings Account currently earns 2.5 AAdvantage® miles per dollar saved annually. At current rates, you'll earn 25,000 bonus AAdvantage® miles after saving $10,000 for a full year. That's around 2,000 AAdvantage® miles earned each month on a $10,000 balance, with the exact number depending on how many days are in the month.
When the Bask Mileage Savings Accountt originally launched, savers only earned 1 AAdvantage® mile per dollar saved annually. That means this current earning rate is a 150% increase, reflecting how Bask Bank continues to reward savers as interest rates have increased.
Meanwhile, the Bask Interest Savings Account currently earns 5% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). That's a highly competitive earning rate that's well ahead of the measly 0.40% APY national average for savings accounts (as of May 15, 2023).
Since launching this account to existing account holders in October 2021, Bask Bank has raised the interest rate 20 times:
| Effective Date | Bask Interest Savings Account APY |
|---|---|
| 7/31/2023 | 5% |
| 6/8/2023 | 4.85% |
| 4/27/2023 | 4.75% |
| 4/12/2023 | 4.65% |
| 3/20/2023 | 4.45% |
| 3/13/2023 | 4.35% |
| 2/3/2023 | 4.25% |
| 1/9/2023 | 4.15% |
| 12/13/2022 | 4.03% |
| 11/30/2022 | 3.85% |
| 11/2/2022 | 3.60% |
| 10/13/2022 | 3.05% |
| 9/26/2022 | 2.75% |
| 9/12/2022 | 2.53% |
| 8/16/2022 | 2.20% |
| 7/20/2022 | 2.02% |
| 6/23/2022 | 1.61% |
| 4/1/2022 | 0.80% |
| 1/20/2022 | 0.70% |
| 10/4/2021 | 0.60% |
Should You Earn Miles or Cash Through Bask Bank?
Both the Bask Mileage Savings Account and Interest Savings Account offer compelling earning rates. That can make it hard to choose between the two options.
When deciding whether to earn AAdvantage® miles or cash interest on your savings, it's not as simple as dividing the interest rate (5% APY) by the current AAdvantage® earning rate (2.5) and comparing that to your personal valuation of AAdvantage® miles. That's because there's a tax advantage to earning AAdvantage® miles instead of interest.
We will spare you the math. To help you figure out your break-even point, here's the cash interest rate you'd need to earn to justify earning cash interest instead of 2.5x AAdvantage® miles:
For instance, say you value AAdvantage® miles at 1.7 cents each, your marginal tax rate is 25%, and you have $10,000 in savings. You have the choice between earning:
- 25,000 AAdvantage® miles per year through Bask Mileage Savings Account — worth $425 at 1.7 cents per mile
- $500 cash interest through Bask Interest Savings Account
Since the value of the miles ($425) is less than the cash interest ($500), you might initially think earning cash interest is better. However, you only have to pay ~$26 in taxes on the mileage earnings vs. ~$125 on the cash interest. That means your after-tax return is higher earning miles instead of cash interest.
For deeper analysis and math behind this calculation, check out our full guide to when earning AAdvantage® miles beats earning cash interest on your savings.
Of course, you don't have to commit to earning exclusively cash interest or AAdvantage® miles. You can open both a Bask Mileage Savings Account and Interest Savings Account to earn a mix of both. Having both accounts at the same bank makes it super easy to shift funds between strategies.
Final Thoughts
We've been encouraged to see Bask Bank continually raise earning rates on both the Bask Mileage Savings Account and Interest Savings Account many times over the past couple of years to stay competitive with rising interest rates.
After falling a bit behind, a recent improvement to the earning rate on the Mileage Savings Account should make it the top choice for mileage travelers once again. Now's a great time to use your savings to earn miles that can take you to over 1,000 destinations.
The current sign-up bonus can earn you 5,000 AAdvantage® miles. That can provide a nice boost to your mileage earnings. If you're interested in earning this mileage bonus, don't delay. You'll need to sign up for a new account by November 30, 2023.
Terms & Disclosures:
Bask Bank is a division of Texas Capital Bank. Member FDIC. The sum of your total deposits with (i) Bask Bank and (ii) Texas Capital Bank are insured up to $250,000. Additional coverage may be available depending on how your assets are held.
The annual percentage yield is effective as of Monday, June 12, 2023. Rate is variable and subject to change after account opening. There are no monthly account fees. If an account remains unfunded for fifteen (15) days, we reserve the right to close that account. Read Terms and Disclosures here.
AAdvantage® bonus miles are awarded within 10 business days upon meeting offer qualifications and may take 6 to 8 weeks to post to your AAdvantage® account. The value of this bonus offer will be reported to the IRS, and the recipient is responsible for any federal, state or local taxes on this offer.
American Airlines reserves the right to change the AAdvantage® program and its terms and conditions at any time without notice and to end the AAdvantage® program with six months notice. Any such changes may affect your ability to use the awards or mileage credits that you have accumulated. Unless specified, AAdvantage® miles earned through this promotion/offer do not count toward elite-status qualification or AAdvantage® Million Miler™ status. American Airlines is not responsible for products or services offered by other participating companies. For complete details about the AAdvantage® program, visit aa.com/aadvantage.
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How long do you need to keep the funds in the account?
Six months. We include all of the details of this bonus in this post: https://awardwallet.com/blog/earn-bonus-aadvantage-miles-with-bask/
An interesting bonus opportunity.
A word of warning. You note that you keep funds in both Aadvantage Mile Savers accounts at Bask and traditional interest rate accounts at Bask in order to be able to shift funds between accounts to take advantage of both mileage and cash interest strategies. But you won’t get the bonus described in this post if you add funds to the mileage account from an interest account. The T&Cs say that “Funds transferred from an existing account with Bask Bank or Texas Capital Bank will not qualify as new deposits.”
Paul – That’s correct. It must be “new” money for bonuses, but the ongoing interest rate opportunities are still worth considering if you keep money in both types of accounts and can move them to whatever account works best for you.