BankDirect has long been a favorite of American Airlines travelers because they could earn AAdvantage miles on their deposits. Unfortunately, this relationship is ending and BankDirect will stop giving American miles on deposits as of August 31st. From that point on, customers will earn interest instead of airline miles.
If you want to continue earning miles on your deposits, keep reading to find out how. Plus, you can earn some exciting bonuses if you act before June 30, 2020.
Read: How to Earn Miles Instead of Interest on Your Bank Account
In This Post
What is BankDirect and how could I earn miles?
BankDirect is an online bank that offers checking and savings accounts. It is a division of Texas Capital Bank and a sister company to Bask Bank.
The bank offers multiple deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and CDs. Its deposit products had the option to earn American Airlines miles instead of interest, which was a great deal for some customers.
Depending upon which BankDirect deposit account you had, you could earn American Airlines miles in multiple ways:
- Account opening bonus
- Making direct deposits
- Using online bill payments
- Debit card purchases
- Referring new customers
- Based on your balances
Read: Bask Savings Account Review: A new way to earn American Airlines miles
BankDirect will stop giving American miles on deposits
As with most things in the miles and points world, no promotion lasts forever. BankDirect recently sent out letters to customers letting them know that BankDirect will stop giving American miles on deposits effective August 31, 2020.
In this letter, BankDirect gives customers a couple of options:
- Keep their BankDirect account to earn interest
- Convert their BankDirect account to Bask Bank to earn miles and a bonus
Customers who wish to move their deposits to Bask Bank can earn an exclusive sign-up bonus of 5,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. To qualify, they need to open the account by August 31, 2020, and deposit at least $5,000. Then, maintain a minimum balance of at least $5,000 from September 1 through September 15, 2020. The bonus will be deposited into your American Airlines AAdvantage account within 30 days.
If you don’t make a decision by August 31, 2020, your account will automatically be converted into a BankDirect interest-bearing account.
Read: 12+ Ways to Earn American Airlines Miles Without Flying
Why you need to act by June 30th to maximize your bonus
The exclusive bonus offer of 5,000 miles for BankDirect customers is nice. But, if you wait until August, you’re missing out on the opportunity to earn a lot of extra miles.
BaskBank is ending three great promotions on June 30, 2020. With these promotions, you can earn much more than the 5,000 miles offered by BankDirect.
The three promotions are:
- Account opening bonus of 5,000 AAdvantage miles
- Feedback bonus of 1,000 AAdvantage miles
- Balance bonus up to 40,000 AAdvantage miles
That’s up to 46,000 bonus AAdvantage miles that you can earn in the first year. These bonus American Airlines miles are in addition to the 1 mile per $1 you’ll earn each year based on your average balance.
For more details on these bonuses and to learn how to qualify, visit Bask Bank.
The Bald Thoughts
It is sad that the BankDirect opportunity to earn miles is ending. It was only a matter of time before BankDirect stopped giving American miles on deposits. Interest rates are near all-time lows and the program was probably unprofitable given today’s financial environment. However, when one door closes, another opens.
You can wait until August to take advantage of the BankDirect promotion to earn 5,000 miles from Bask Bank. Or you can act before June 30, 2020, to open your Bask Savings Account to earn up to 46,000 bonus American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Personally, I’d rather act now to earn as many miles as I could.
What are you planning to do with your BankDirect deposit accounts? Will you be switching to Bask Bank or would you rather have the interest?
