I’ve written extensively about the huge rewards being offered right now for opening a no-fee Brex Cash account, and in this post I wanted to talk about what can be done with those points. For background on this amazing offer, see my previous two posts:
Why you should get a Brex Cash account
For a limited time, small businesses in the U.S. (excluding sole proprietorships) can earn up to 110,000 points for opening a Brex Cash account. That bonus is structured as follows:
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on your new Brex Card (this is an exclusive, limited time offer for OMAAT readers)
- Earn 10,000 additional bonus points after spending $3,000 on your next Brex Card within the first three months
- Earn 20,000 bonus points when you link payroll to your Brex Cash account
There’s no credit pull for opening a Brex Cash account, and no fees for opening or maintaining an account. This is just about the best deal I’ve ever seen on opening any sort of an account.
How to redeem Brex points
By opening a Brex Cash account you can earn up to 110,000 points, but not all points currencies are created equal. How can you redeem points earned with Brex Cash?
Brex points earned with the Brex Cash can be redeemed in one of four ways:
- For cash back, at the rate of one cent per Brex point
- For gift cards, at the rate of one cent per Brex point
- Through the travel portal, at the rate of one cent per Brex point
- Through the mileage transfer feature, at the rate of one airline mile per Brex point
All of these redemption options are available directly through Brex’s website, by going to the “rewards” section.
Which of these options is best? Let’s take a closer look at how each of these works.
Redeem Brex points for cash back
Arguably the most straightforward redemption option for Brex points is to redeem them for cash back, at the rate of one cent per point. If you choose this redemption feature, the cash will be deposited in your Brex Cash account immediately.
This means you could redeem 110,000 Brex points for $1,100 cash back. Not bad for a no fee account, eh?
Redeem Brex points for gift cards
In terms of cash equivalent redemption options, Brex points can be redeemed for gift cards at the rate of one cent per point. There are dozens of gift card options to choose from, ranging from Amazon, to Mastercard prepaid gift cards, to gift cards with all kinds of retailers.
Now, in general if I were to redeem my Brex points for one cent each, I’d rather get cash back than a gift card. There are still a few circumstances where a gift card could make the most sense, though:
- Maybe you’d like to get gift cards as a reward for employees
- Maybe you’d like to redeem a gift card for a personal splurge, where that’s easier than adding any balance to your business account
Redeem Brex points through travel portal
Brex has a travel portal that’s managed by TravelBank, and it’s quite robust. You can use this whether you’re looking to pay cash or redeem your Brex points towards an airfare or hotel purchase. If redeeming points, you can expect that each Brex point will get you one cent of value.
While there might be niche cases where this makes sense, generally speaking I’d shy away from this redemption option. Why? Because you could instead transfer your Brex rewards into your Brex Cash account, and then book travel through this portal and earn bonus points on the amount you spend. You’d earn more rewards that way.
Convert Brex points into airline miles
Brex points can be transfered into airline miles at a 1:1 ratio. Currently Brex has eight airline partners, and it’s expected that over time the number of transfer partners will continue to grow:
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Emirates Skywards
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Singapore KrisFlyer
There are a few things to note about converting Brex points into airline miles:
- You can transfer Brex points to airlines in increments of 500 points
- You can transfer Brex points to the frequent flyer account of anyone on your Brex account; you can instantly add others to your account at no cost, so this offers a lot of flexibility
- In terms of instant gratification, Brex points from purchases and bonuses post really fast (almost immediately), so you don’t have to wait weeks to redeem your rewards
The process of transferring points to a Brex airline partner is easy. Just select the frequent flyer program, and then select the person you want to transfer points to.
From there you’ll just have to enter the account number, and then the process will be initiated. Some transfers are instant, while some may take a few days.
Personally I plan to convert my Brex rewards into airline miles, because this is how I’ll get the most bang for my buck. Why? Because you can get outsized value when redeeming airline miles if you know how to do so, whether you’re looking to travel domestically on JetBlue, or to somewhere exotic in Emirates first class.
Bottom line
Right now you can earn up to 110,000 points for opening a no-fee Brex Cash account, which is an unbelievable opportunity for anyone with a small business.
Hopefully the above sheds some light on how those points can be redeemed, ranging from $1,100 cash back, to 110,000 frequent flyer miles with an airline partner.
Any other questions about redeeming Brex points that I can answer? If you have a Brex Cash account (or plan on getting one), how do you intend to redeem your rewards?
