Rove Miles, Explained: A Transferable Currency With No Credit Card
What Rove is
Rove is a transferable-miles program that works much like Chase or Amex points, with one difference: there is no credit card behind it. You sign up free with just a phone number, no credit check and no annual fee, then earn Rove Miles by booking flights and hotels or shopping through Rove. Because you still pay with your own rewards card, you collect Rove Miles in addition to whatever your card earns on the same purchase. New members start with a sign-up bonus.
How you earn Rove Miles
There are three channels. Hotels: booking cash hotel stays through Rove earns up to 25x miles, the richest rate. Flights: cash airfare booked through Rove earns roughly 1x to 10x. Shopping: a Rakuten-style portal and browser extension earn bonus miles at more than 13,000 online stores. Each of these is paid with your existing card, so the same charge also earns your card points. See shopping portals.
Transfer partners and value
The reason Rove Miles matter is transfers. They move 1:1 to around 18 airline and hotel programs across all three alliances (Accor transfers at 1.5:1), including programs U.S. cards rarely reach such as Lufthansa Miles and More, SAS EuroBonus, Japan Airlines, and Turkish Miles and Smiles. Transfers need a 2,000-mile minimum and then move in 100-mile increments. That partner access, earned with no card, is what makes Rove a real addition to a points strategy. See Rove transfer partners and transferable points.