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Losing Track of Your Miles and Points? Acruw.com May Help

Whatever the public's current opinion of the free market, it offers advantages — especially for travelers.

The need to keep customers loyal in the face of fierce competition has led to airline frequent flyer and elite programs, and then caused those ideas to spread to hotels, car rentals, and other travel providers. Many travelers hold multiple award memberships.

One downside has been that there are few centralized places to track, coordinate, and figure how to make the most of all the miles and points these programs generate.

"Tracking can be complicated," notes the financial advice website, SmartMoney.com. "But by neglecting to use [all your awards], you could be missing out on hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, in discounts and other perks."

Free market innovation seems to have triumphed again, bringing us Acruw.com. A creation of Philadelphia brothers Tim and Jeff Raybould, this new website has a highly defined mission: "The basic service we offer," say the Raybould brothers, "is the ability to track all your frequent flyer miles, hotel points, etc. in one location, which you can access from anywhere. What makes us unique is that, aside from simply keeping tabs on your balances, we also help you really get the most out of your points."

A Uniform Yardstick

This is done by assigning the awards in each of your programs a dollar value, creating a uniform yardstick against which to judge, for example, an American Airlines mile worth $.0155, against a JetBlue point worth a whopping $2.99.

With this comparison in mind, it's easier to judge which program's assets to commit for any given award or upgrade to get the most for the least. And should the data show that paying cash beats surrendering awards, the site helps you make that decision as well. In fact, a "points or cash" calculator does the math for you.

That's the heart of what Acruw.com can do, but it's also just the start: Given access to the websites of your award programs, Acruw will automatically update your various accounts; it will digest the rules for each program; automatically generate information on how close you are to the next level; and even warn you when points are about to expire.

Reviews of the new site have been generally positive.

Hacker News (which is about reviewing new websites, not hacking) had its members check out Acruw. Comments include "great idea," "like the overall look and feel of the site," and "awesome idea and clean execution."

However, there was adverse opinion as well, including an objection to submitting passwords for other sites to Acruw, a requirement for automatic updating. (You can manually update, if you like.) One reviewer also asked that the award programs of international airlines be added. The site has a video tour that explains all the bells and whistles clearly, as well as a blog written by its founders, explaining the award valuation formula.

But perhaps the best news about Acruw.com is that it helps the free market score again in another way ... literally. The service is free.

For more insider tips and strategies on how to make your travels more comfortable and productive, visit the Wing Tips archives page.