Points Addict

So today I received a comment from Michael, the CEO over at GoMiles.com.  The entire comment is under the original mileage tracker post but for anyone who wishes to give them a try during their beta testing phase, they have a referral code for 25 people who wish to sign up.  The code is POINTS-ADDICT-FRIENDS.  As noted by another commenter, no it is not the most fully featured tracker out there and yes there are other trackers which have more programmes, more features, more of this and that… but remember, they are new and this is beta testing after all, it cannot be perfect on the first day and they are not even claiming to be perfect.  Maybe it is the entrepreneur in me but I do want to see them succeed in this and I really think we should give them a chance before we start complaining about what they are missing and dismissing them right off the bat because of it.  Every company began with a basic version of their product which they improved upon to get the reputation they have now.  In this case we can help to create the reputation they have because GoMiles.com is directly asking for our comments, impressions and suggestions.  How often can you say that your suggestion to a company has been directly considered and possibly even implemented?

As a disclaimer for those who may be wondering, I have no personal stake in GoMiles, I am not related to the owners or employees and have nothing monetary or otherwise to gain or lose by them succeeding or failing.

Okay, how many people are sick of tracking miles in a spreadsheet or having to go to each individual website each time they want to check balances or if something posted?  At first, the answer seems to be Points.com.  After you go to Points.com however and try to use it you notice two things.  First, pre-change, didn’t support enough programmes.  Second, post-change, the site layout is not exactly convenient.  Enter GoMiles.com…  While it is not the most fully featured mileage tracker out there (after all it did just get started recently and they are making improvements based on user feedback) it has a nice visual presentation, and allows you to track multiple accounts in the same programme.  So if you want to track all your family accounts in one place, GoMiles allows that.  Of course one of the other good news features is that it is free.  They also include an interesting little feature which allows you to view your points balances in terms of number of points or by type of award.  This allows you to see how many domestic tickets you may have on a given airline instead of only seeing the total number of miles.  Now the bad news, since it is new, there are still some small issues to get worked out.  Sometimes pulling the account info takes some time, expiry dates are not on the homepage, nor is elite status (you must actually click on each programme for details to get that information).  While this may not be the most convenient, it is certainly not a deal breaker.  I also like the idea of supporting a new company trying to get off the ground and make its mark.