MileTracker is cool but unfortunately it's got two major limitations: it's only available for Windows, and it's resident on your machine which means you can't access your consolidated balances from anywhere else.

For ease of access and full compatibility with Windows, Mac, Linux, and any other system (as long as it has a web browser), I recommend Yodlee OnCenter. It is web-based, so you can reach it from anywhere. Another major benefit is, not only can OnCenter keep track of all your miles and points, but it can also track all of your financial accounts as well - banks, brokerages, credit cards, loans, bills, etc. A very handy and time-saving tool, and it's totally free. You can store the usernames and passwords for all of your online accounts (so you can look them up if you forget them), and Yodlee will automatically update all your balances every day. It's fully encrypted and secured - I've been using it for more than 3 years and have not had a single security problem.

Anyway, that's my recommendation. :) No, I don't get any benefit by recommending them; I just like their service, and it's free.

I just checked out Yodlee and it looked VERY cool at first glance. I think it's a fantastic idea and the interface is user-friendly as well. However...and before I say this, I want to qualify that I'm not downplaying your recommendation, because I think it's a wonderful service that I wish I COULD use...but...as I looked for my accounts, I realized this: it had all airlines and most hotels (no La Quinta or Wyndham, I think), but no e-Rewards, and it didn't have my mortgage company, Propay, or my energy, water, or gas companies. They did have my brokerage companies and banks, though, and my phone and cable company.

Also, I realized it wouldn't let me add multiple accounts for one company- for example, I have an apartment and a house during a remodeling project, and I can't enter both of my phone bills in, as far as I can tell.

If it had all the companies I use, and I could add multiple accounts, I'd absolutely use it. VERY cool to be able to access all that info in one place, and I wish I could use it. Maybe in a year or so, they'll have gotten to my neck of the woods to bug my local utility companies into participating. : )

GG

You can have multiple accounts from the same company but you will have to name them differently.

I have used yodlee for a year or so and still have some reservations about security. I dont know how safe it is :confused:

Oh, good tip. Thanks! I had some concerns about Yodlee and security as well. Cepheid said three years and counting and no security breaches as yet. That counts for something with me, and the site is secure, so I might use it, but only if they had all the companies I use. Darned local electric company doesn't even let us pay our bills online yet. Pfft.

GG

That's one of the reasons why I went with Miletracker over Yodlee. The thought that someone would breach the security of my account would be devestating to my identity. Of course, I'm more paranoid than most when it comes to identity theft. ;)

It doesn't do e-Rewards automatically, no, but you can add that in as a "custom" account. Custom accounts aren't automatically updated but you can still store your user/pass and manually update your balances. Make sure you search thoroughly before saying companies aren't present - sometimes they are under a slightly different name than you might think, or possibly in a different category than expected.

Also, if you use MyCheckFree to receive/pay bills, Yodlee *does* support automatic updating of CheckFree. CheckFree is a free service, and your utilities probably support it - if you can pay your utility bill on their website using your bank account info, then you can do the same thing through CheckFree as well. (In fact, most companies that accept bank payments through their website are actually licensing CheckFree and using a customized version of it.) So, you might want to check out CheckFree and then, if you can use it, add it to your Yodlee account. It will show when bills are received, when and how much is due, what payments you've scheduled, etc. That way you can add your utilities to Yodlee indirectly, even if Yodlee doesn't support them directly.

But don't forget about Custom accounts, too... you can do that under any category. I've got some rewards accounts like e-Rewards and uPromise that I input manually, as well as a local credit union, etc. Not QUITE as handy as automatic updating, but still useful. Plus, the more people who add a specific site as a custom account, the more likely Yodlee will add it to the automatic list in the future. So add your e-Rewards as a custom account, and if enough of us do it, they might support it for automated updates. :)

That's definitely not true - I've got at least 6 or 7 providers where I have added the same company multiple times, because (for example) my wife and I have two separate accounts (e.g. frequent flier miles). The only catch is you can't add them both during the same adding session. In other words, add the first account and make sure it works properly. Then go BACK to adding accounts and add that company again, with the proper information for the second account. Hope this makes sense... if not, ask again and I'll clarify. But I know for a fact it's possible since I've got plenty of "duplicates" in my consolidator.

I'm one of the more paranoid people I know, and I trust them. As I mentioned in another thread, Yodlee's engine is licensed to numerous, very reputable (and secure) companies such as Citibank and Fidelity to use on their own sites as co-branded consolidators. (In fact, I discovered Yodlee because I originally used it THROUGH Citibank... they update their supported accounts less frequently than I preferred, so eventually I just went straight to the source, where upgrades would occur the fastest.)

Security is pretty important to Yodlee. Everything is encrypted, including your login AND all the information you view after login. In order to get any access to your accounts, someone would need to actually break your password - it's not sufficient to just VIEW your information, because they would not be able to log in to any of your accounts without your Yodlee password. The trick there is to use a strong, secure password composed of mixed-case letters AND numbers (and symbols would be even better). Change your password every few months if you want even better security.

Finally, remember that pretty much every one of your financial accounts include identity theft protections. You are not liable for any fraudulent charges made on your credit or debit cards, nor are you liable for unauthorized electronic transfers, as long as you notify the bank immediately when you notice the problem. If you read the fine print of your online account terms and conditions, it will include this kind of protection information. I'm reasonably certain that even your FF mile accounts include this kind of protection.

As I said, I'm very paranoid and I've been using Yodlee for more than 3 years. Not a single breach, and I've got over 50 accounts in my consolidator (a number of them are "custom" manual accounts).

(BTW, if anyone happens to get access to your computer [or steal it], MileTracker isn't too secure. With all the spyware and viruses out there... I've got more confidence in Yodlee's security than in Windows security. Yodlee is independent of your computer so you don't have that worry, at least.)

Quicken
 

I use Quicken with good results.

I have set up various currencies (e.g. Aeroplan points, Hilton points) and an account for each major FF program. I use the "reconcile" flag to help differentiate between status and non-status miles -- this will only work with some programs.

A few reasons why I use Quicken:

• My mileage balances are part of my net worth!
• You can link mileage earning with financial transactioins (e.g. buying an air ticket)
• The reporting and export functions work well

Yodlee
 

Thank you, this is very useful

Cepheid, you make some great points that I'm going to think about. I may give Yodlee another look. I don't care for manually updating anything, so I don't know how I'd enjoy that, but I do like the interface and concept.

I'm glad to have learned about Yodlee and appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and discuss my concerns.

: )
GG

another endorsement for Yodlee.

I use Fidelity's branded version (Full Viiew) and, doing a fair bit of work in the financial services industry, trust them to have given the security a pretty thorough going-over. Nothing is completely secure, as credit card and banks have found, but I trust them.

I just use an Excel file with different tabs for each airlines, hotel, etc. But then again, most of my mileage/points accrual isn't by flying/sleeping, so I don't have many bonuses to worry about!

fwiw re Yodlee...
 

I've opted for MileTracker over Yodlee because all of the information remains on my system for which i'll happily take responsibility. I use to work for a major financial institution (one of the largest credit unions in the country with multiple, etc., etc.), and they specifically declined to offer Yodlee to their membership after their review.

I keep an Excel file with separate worksheets for air, hotel and car rentals.

I keep printouts in folders. The folders are arranged in groups, depending on the purpose of the trip.