Rove Miles: The Travel Rewards Program Canadians Need to Know About

If you’ve never heard of Rove Miles, you’re not alone, but you’re going to want to pay attention to this one.

A new transferable rewards currency has launched that gives Canadians access to airline transfer partners that have historically been very difficult to earn into without an American credit card. We’re talking Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air India, and more, all accessible without needing to be a US cardholder.

The best part? Rove allows you to “triple-dip” when it comes to points: you earn Rove Miles, points from your credit card, and points from your airline or hotel loyalty program, all at the same time. Sweet, right?

All you need to sign up is a phone number with a +1 country code. As a Canadian, you already have that.

If you’re already convinced about Rove Miles, use the link below and receive 500 miles on sign-up!

Otherwise, read on for everything you need to know about Rove Miles and why it’s worth adding to your travel rewards toolkit.

Note: Rove Miles is a free program and no credit card is required to join.


What Are Rove Miles?

Rove Miles is a flexible travel rewards currency, similar in concept to Amex Membership Rewards or Aeroplan, but without needing a credit card to earn them.

You accumulate Rove Miles by booking hotels and flights through their platform, shopping online through their browser extension or portal, and referring friends.

Once you’ve built up a balance, you can use your miles to book travel directly through Rove, or transfer them to one of their airline and hotel partners. Miles never expire, so there’s no rush to use them before they disappear.


Transfer Partners

This is where Rove really stands out for Canadians. Their transfer partner list includes programs that are genuinely hard to earn into from Canada without a US-issued credit card:

  • Japan Airlines (JAL)
  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • Air India Flying Returns
  • SAS EuroBonus
  • Air France / KLM Flying Blue
  • Finnair Plus
  • And more

All transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, meaning you won’t lose value in the conversion. Programs like Japan Airlines and Virgin Atlantic in particular are highly regarded in the points community for offering outsized redemption value on premium cabin flights, and now Canadians have a direct path to earning into them.


How to Earn Rove Miles

There are a few different ways to build up your Rove Miles balance:

Hotel Bookings

This is the fastest way to earn and the earning rates are unlike anything we’ve seen from a mainstream travel program.

Rove typically offers up to 25x miles per dollar spent on hotel bookings through their platform, but you can find hotels with higher multipliers too. During promotions, this can go up to 50x on certain properties when sorting for the highest multipliers.

The tip here is to sort hotels by the highest miles-per-dollar rate so you can immediately see where you’ll get the most value. The difference between properties can be significant.

Something amazing is that alongside earning Rove Miles, you can still earn your regular hotel points through your bookings made on Rove, meaning you’re getting more bang for your buck.

One other thing worth knowing: if you book a non-refundable hotel stay, your miles are credited instantly. That means you can book a hotel, receive your miles right away, transfer them to an airline partner, and use them to book a flight, all in the same day. No other mainstream program moves that fast.

Flights

You can also earn Rove Miles when booking select flights directly through the Rove platform, giving you 1-10x Rove Miles per dollar spent. Note that even though you’re earning Rove Miles, you can still earn your airline miles, just like if you booked directly with the airline.

Shopping

Rove has a shopping portal and browser extension that lets you earn miles on everyday online purchases at a wide range of retailers. Note that some retailers appear just on the shopping portal, some on the browser extension, and some on both. Rove recommends checking both while shopping to ensure you’re getting the best deal for what you’re buying.

Referrals

When you refer a friend to Rove, they earn 500 bonus miles just for signing up. Once they hit 250 earned miles, you receive a 500-mile bonus plus 10% of everything they earn for their first six months, up to 50,000 miles per referral.


How to Redeem Rove Miles

When it’s time to use your miles, you have a few options:

  • Book with miles: Use your balance to pay for flights and hotels directly on the Rove platform
  • Miles and cash: Don’t have quite enough miles? You can combine miles with a card payment to cover the difference
  • Transfer to partners: Move your miles to one of Rove’s airline or hotel partners to book award travel

For travellers looking to maximize value, transferring to a partner like Japan Airlines or Virgin Atlantic for a business class redemption is where Rove Miles can really shine.


Who Should Use Rove?

Since Rove lets you earn its miles on top of the points you’d normally earn by booking directly with a hotel or airline, it’s honestly a program that works for just about anyone.

That said, it’s an especially great fit for travellers who don’t hold premium co-branded credit cards. Rather than applying for a card with a high annual fee or a minimum spending requirement, Rove gives you a straightforward way to accumulate transferable points and access world-class airline programs without any of that friction.


Tips for Getting the Most Out of Rove Miles

  • Sort hotels by the highest miles-per-dollar multiplier to find the best earning opportunities
  • Book non-refundable rates if you’re confident in your plans and you’ll get your miles immediately
  • Use the shopping portal for everyday online purchases to keep your balance growing passively
  • Consider transferring to Japan Airlines or Virgin Atlantic for premium cabin redemptions, as these are programs Canadians have historically struggled to earn into
  • Refer friends and family, since the 10% ongoing earning bonus adds up quickly if you refer frequent travellers

The Bottom Line

Rove Miles is a very interesting program for Canadian travellers, especially if you’ve ever wished you had a way to earn into programs like Japan Airlines or Qatar Airways without relying on a US credit card. The hotel earning rates are some of the most competitive out there right now, the transfer partner list is strong, and the program is completely free to join.

It’s not a replacement for Aeroplan or your existing points strategy, but it’s a smart addition to it. The best points travellers stack multiple programs, and Rove just became one worth stacking.

If you want to get started with 500 free Rove Miles, sign up through my referral link below. No credit card required.

Happy travels!

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