airline-miles
(2)
utu
utu is a Singapore-based travel-technology and fintech company that helps international shoppers get more from their VAT and GST refunds. Instead of accepting the standard cash refund (often only 55-60% of the tax paid), travelers use utu to upsize their refund - taking up to 40% more value in airline miles or hotel points, or converting refunds into retail vouchers worth more than the tax paid. Founded by tax-free-shopping veterans Asad and Ameer Jumabhoy, utu links travelers, retailers, duty-free operators, VAT refund companies, airlines and hotels into a single rewards ecosystem across markets including Italy, Switzerland and the UAE.
Rove
Rove is a New York-based travel rewards startup building what it calls the first universal, transferable airline mile - a single points currency you can earn without a credit card. Users earn Rove Miles by booking hotels and flights through Rove's portal and by shopping online through a browser extension tied to thousands of partner merchants, then redeem those miles across a network of global airline and hotel loyalty programs. Founded by Wharton graduate Max Morganroth and Harvard dropout Arhan Chhabra out of Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch, Rove targets Gen Z and anyone locked out of traditional credit-card rewards.