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AwardWallet helps users with numerous facets of award travel. The site tracks points and miles balances for an unlimited number of programs, creates alerts when balances are set to expire, and much more — all for free. One of the lesser-known aspects of AwardWallet actually comes in the form of its own rewards program. Users earn bonus points through successful referrals to the site. Read more about the details of the award program tracker's award program below.
How Many Bonus Points Do You Earn With an AwardWallet Referral?
Referral bonus points are earned when you refer someone to AwardWallet and they sign up for an account. The number of bonus points you earn directly corresponds to the subscription dollars paid by the referred users. For each dollar spent by a referred member, you earn 15 bonus points. For example, a $30 AwardWallet plus membership would generate 450 referral bonus points.
How to Make Referrals
There are two ways to refer others to AwardWallet. Users have the option to send emails or to generate invites with a direct link. You can even track invites you've sent.
Even better, note the free upgrade coupons available for first-time users.
Redemption Options
AwardWallet offers a total of seven partner programs for redemptions after you earn a referral bonus: four hotel and three airline programs. A unique aspect of the redemption possibilities is that no two transfer ratios are the same.
That's because we want to reward you
The table below displays not just the redemption options and ratios but also translates the value of each redemption using AwardWallet users' average redemption values.
| Hotel / Airline Program | AwardWallet Bonus Points needed for a redemption | Miles / Points after redemption | AwardWallet User Average Value | Value per Referral |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Honors | 500 | 1,000 | 0.58¢ | $5.49 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 625 | 1,000 | 0.95¢ | $7.20 |
| IHG One Rewards | 675 | 1,000 | 0.69¢ | $4.87 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1,882 | 1,000 | 1.23¢ | $2.94 |
| World of Hyatt | 2,400 | 2,000 | 2.19¢ | $8.33 |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 2,750 | 2,000 | 1.52¢ | $4.91 |
| Delta SkyMiles | 3,763 | 2,000 | 1.38¢ | $3.37 |
From the chart above, a couple of items stand out. First, the ratios and redemption points aren't the same for all programs. Second, you'll need more successful referrals to earn enough points for redemptions in some programs than others.
Users might find Marriott Bonvoy a more convenient redemption to utilize, too, given it only requires 625 bonus points for a transfer. Meanwhile, Hyatt requires almost four times as many bonus points from an AwardWallet referral. But keep in mind that World of Hyatt award nights begin at just 3,500 points per night for off-peak Category 1 stays, which you could get from 4,800 AwardWallet bonus points (earned by 11 successful referrals to AwardWallet Plus accounts). Those 11 referrals could give you a free hotel night.
Remember that these point values are simply the average redemption value from AwardWallet users, and the value extracted from all of these options will undoubtedly vary by how you use your points.
Example Redemptions
While the hypothetical redemptions are endless, some practical redemption options help illustrate just how rewarding AwardWallet's referral bonus can be.
Hyatt
Following the Hyatt Category 1 off-peak redemption option from above, let's put that into action. Consider a stay in early 2024 at the Hyatt Regency in Sofia, Bulgaria. A standard room, off-peak award at this Category 1 property costs 3,500 points.
Paying cash for the same room on the same day costs almost $260!
This translates to a redemption value of over 7.4¢ per Hyatt point — an incredible use of points.
It takes 11 AwardWallet premium subscription referrals to earn enough Hyatt points for this redemption. However, each referral would translate to over $23 in value in this scenario.
Southwest
Airline redemptions might not provide the chance at outsized value that Hyatt redemptions might offer. However, they might be a bit more practical or realistic, depending on travel plans.
For instance, Southwest offers a wide array of flights within the United States and to nearby international destinations. Among these route options are intra-island flights within Hawaii. Hawaiian Airlines serves the same routes several times each day, and the one-way cost on either carrier seldom rises into triple digits. While the options on Southwest might be much less frequent, two free checked bags might come in handy for travelers on vacation in Hawaii.
For instance, a one-way flight between Maui and Kona costs less than $50 later this year in November:
Booking the same flight as an award costs just over 2,500 Southwest Rapid Rewards points:
Although the implied redemption value of 1.48 cents per point does not stand out, this award requires so few points that it becomes value. Do note that you'll need to earn an AwardWallet referral bonus 14 times to get the points for this flight solely from referrals. That translates to just $3.10 in value per referral.
Why Travelers Should Use AwardWallet
AwardWallet offers all travelers various benefits — whether you use the free version or upgrade to AwardWallet Plus. Many features of the service do center around award travel, though not all. See a detailed list of site features (also accessible via the site FAQ) below:
Although not noted above, AwardWallet allows users to track passports, as well. Nothing derails international travel plans quicker than realizing your passport will expire between now and your flight's departure. The tracking and notification system from AwardWallet helps prevent that from becoming an issue for you or for family members.
Plus, for just $30/year (that works out to just $2.50/month), you'll unlock or expand a number of features. Examples include an unlimited number of expiration date displays for points and miles (a big improvement over the maximum of three associated with free accounts). In particular, users with a multitude of rewards accounts who also track accounts for family members stand to benefit greatly from a premium account and its ability to “update all accounts” at 5x the speed.
Final Thoughts
AwardWallet provides great value to its users, simplifying the cumbersome activity of keeping track of rewards balances, tracking free night expiry dates, creating a timeline for your upcoming travel bookings, and more. It also can bring additional value to users in the form of referrals. Referral links are easy to create and send, and the person you refer can reap the benefits of AwardWallet’s offerings. In turn, you can convert AW bonus points to hotel points or airline miles to use toward your next redemption!
Did you know the AwardWallet referral bonus existed? Have you ever used it before? Let us know in the comments.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I wonder whether there would be a nice way to refer people by forwarding trip booking confirmations etc? I often travel with other people who would benefit from AW.
TT – At this time, there are just the 2 referral methods we highlighted: Sending an email or providing a referral link.
This is extremely convenient. For the capability of converting to mentioned programs, AwardWallet points are quite useful and worthwhile.