Rove Just Got a Huge Upgrade! Here’s What Points & Miles Travelers Need to Know

If you’ve been paying attention to Rove lately, you probably already know that it’s becoming a pretty interesting player in the points and miles world. But as of August 28, Rove just rolled out its biggest expansion yet, and there are quite a few updates that could make earning miles on everyday spending a whole lot easier.

We’re talking dining rewards, instant-earning gift cards, a brand-new mobile app, in-store earning, better browser extensions, and a completely rebuilt hotel booking platform.

Basically, Rove is making a big push to become more than just another shopping portal. Here's what points and miles travelers should know.

First Things First: What Is Rove?

Rove is a free travel rewards platform that lets you earn Rove Miles without opening a travel credit card. In fact, through our partnership with Rove and the Wonderland On Points podcast, we can give you 1500 FREE MILES if you sign up via our referral link.

You can already earn miles by:

• Shopping through Rove’s online portal

• Using the Rove browser extension

• Booking hotels and flights

• Shopping with thousands of participating merchants

Rove Miles can then be used toward flights with more than 140 airlines, hotel stays, or transferred to select loyalty partners. And now, there are even more ways to earn them!

The Rove App Is Here

Rove officially launched its iOS app, with a public Android beta also available. The app basically puts the entire Rove ecosystem in your pocket. PLUS, it helps insure proper tracking of your purchases, which we really appreciate!

You can:

• Track your Rove Miles

• Find current earning opportunities

• Purchase gift cards

• Browse participating restaurants

• Shop through Rove

• Book flights and hotels

• Manage your account

Rove also says the app will eventually become more personalized, showing earning opportunities based on your interests and spending habits. For those of us who already have approximately 37 travel apps on our phones, what’s one more?

Rove Dining Might Be One of the Most Interesting Updates

Rove is officially entering the dining rewards game with Rove Dining. Compared to some other popular dining programs, the concept is wonderfully simple:

• Link an eligible credit or debit card to your Rove account.

• Eat at a participating restaurant.

• Pay normally with your linked card.

• Earn Rove Miles automatically.

No coupons. No receipt uploads. No remembering to activate an offer before dinner. Can I get an Amen?!

Pending miles should appear automatically and generally post within a week. Rove Dining is starting in select cities, with plans to continue adding restaurants and expanding nationwide.

This is where things could get especially interesting if Rove Dining rewards stack with credit card rewards. For example, if you use a card earning bonus points on dining, you could potentially earn your normal credit card points plus Rove Miles on the same meal. Those are exactly the kinds of double-dip opportunities points people should be watching for.

Gift Cards That Earn Rove Miles Instantly

Okay this is a big one, this might be our favorite addition! Rove now has a gift card marketplace where eligible gift card purchases earn Rove Miles immediately. Yes, immediately.

Obviously, buying gift cards for stores where you were already planning to spend money can be another easy way to earn rewards. But there’s another very points-and-miles-specific use case here.

Imagine you find the award flight you want, but you’re just a few thousand miles short and need to top off your miles. Instead of waiting days or weeks for shopping portal rewards to post, you could potentially:

• Buy a gift card you know you’ll use anyway

• Earn the Rove Miles instantly

• Use those miles toward your redemption

Anyone who has ever watched award availability disappear while waiting for points to post knows how useful that could be. GAME-CHANGER!! Plus Rove has some incredible transfer partners including Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, SAS, and Finnair Plus.

Rove Hotels Got a Major Overhaul

Rove has also completely rebuilt its hotel platform. The updated version includes:

• Tens of thousands of additional hotels

• Stronger mileage earning opportunities

• Clearer room and bed information

• Easier-to-understand cancellation policies

• More meal-plan options

• A major expansion of Rove’s Loyalty Eligible hotel rates (which is super important for us points and miles travelers!)

What Are Loyalty Eligible Rates?

Normally, one of the biggest problems with booking a chain hotel through a third-party platform is that you may give up things like hotel points, elite night credits, status benefits, etc. Rove’s Loyalty Eligible rates are designed to let you book through Rove, earn Rove Miles and still remain eligible for applicable hotel loyalty benefits. Rove says Loyalty Eligible rates now cover around 99% of eligible chain properties on its platform. That doesn’t mean every benefit is guaranteed, eligibility can depend on the hotel, rate and loyalty program, but it makes these rates especially worth comparing against booking directly.

Our Advice

Before booking a hotel, compare: Direct hotel rate vs. Rove Loyalty Eligible rate + Rove Miles earned. If the price is similar and your hotel loyalty benefits still apply, Rove could potentially give you another layer of rewards without sacrificing the perks you care about.

You’ll Soon Be Able to Earn Rove Miles In Stores

This is another big one! Rove is also beginning to roll out in-store shopping rewards. You’ll link an eligible card, shop at a participating brick-and-mortar retailer and pay normally with that card. Rove Miles will then be earned on the purchase.

The company says this will eventually expand to thousands of retail locations, with personalized offers and opportunities to enroll in higher mileage promotions at certain stores. In other words, Rove is starting to blur the line between a traditional shopping portal and a card-linked-offer program.

Why This Matters for Points & Miles Travelers

The biggest takeaway isn't any single new feature. It’s that Rove is creating more opportunities to earn miles on money you were already planning to spend. And that is always where we want to focus.

You don’t need to suddenly start buying extra gift cards or eating at restaurants you wouldn’t normally visit just because there are miles attached. Instead, look for opportunities to layer Rove into your existing spending.

Think:

• Restaurant + dining credit card + Rove Dining

• Online purchase + shopping credit card + Rove extension

• Hotel stay + hotel loyalty program + Loyalty Eligible Rove booking

• Planned retail purchase + Rove gift card + instant Rove Miles

• In-store purchase + linked-card Rove offer + credit card rewards

The goal isn't to spend more money to earn miles. It's to earn more miles from the money you're already spending. And with this latest expansion, Rove just gave points and miles travelers quite a few more ways to do exactly that.

If you haven't signed up for a free Rove account yet, use our referral link to get started with 1500 transferrable miles!

If you haven't already, be sure to catch Episode 245 of Wonderland On Points where we interview Rove's Director of Travel and Marketing, Carissa Rawson.

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