Orbislo Miles
1 Mile is 1 cent. That is the whole exchange rate.
Almost every loyalty currency you have ever held was designed with two numbers: the one you are shown when you earn, and the one you discover when you spend. Points are issued at a flattering rate and redeemed at an unflattering one, and the gap between them is where the programme makes its money. Miles have one number. A Mile is a cent, on the way in and on the way out, and it is written into the terms rather than the marketing.
The tiers
Four rates. You start at 5% on your first purchase with nothing to activate, and you move up on what you spend across a rolling 12 months. Tier is evaluated nightly, and once you reach one you keep it for 12 months from the day you last qualified, so a quiet year does not knock you back to the bottom.
Traveller
5%
Every new account, from the first dollar
Silver
6%
After $150 spent in a rolling 12 months
Gold
7%
After $500 spent in a rolling 12 months
Platinum
8%
After $1,500, or from day one on Orbislo One Pro
The percentage applies to what you actually paid, after any discount or Price Guard refund, and it is credited when the order settles rather than when the data is used. That matters because our data has no expiry, so an order can settle in March and be used in November. You are not waiting until then to earn on it.
What earns Miles
| Action | What it pays | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Any data purchase | 5% to 8% of what you paid, by tier | Credited when the order settles, not when the data is used |
| Referring a traveller | $5.89 to each side, plus 250 Miles to you | Paid when they connect for the first time, not when they sign up |
| First successful install | 300 Miles | Once per account |
| A review with a photo | 200 Miles | Up to 3 a year, and we pay it whether the review is kind or not |
| Reporting a coverage error we confirm | 500 Miles | The Truth Index is better when travellers correct it |
The review line is deliberate and slightly uncomfortable to publish. We pay it whether the review is complimentary or not, and we pay it before we read it. A programme that only pays for positive reviews is buying reviews, and everyone can tell.
A worked year
Here is what an ordinary year looks like. Two decent trips and a long weekend, about $200.89 of data, one review, two friends who joined.
| Line | Miles | Value |
|---|---|---|
| $150 of data at the Traveller rate | 750 Miles | $7.89 |
| The next $50.89 at the Silver rate | 300 Miles | $3.89 |
| First install bonus | 300 Miles | $3.89 |
| Two referrals, Miles portion | 500 Miles | $5.89 |
| One review with a photo | 200 Miles | $2.89 |
| Total Miles on a $200.89 year | 2,050 Miles | $20.89 |
That is $20.89 in Miles, plus the $10.89 of referral wallet balance that sits alongside them, on $200.89 spent. The blended earn rate on the purchases alone is 5.25%. We are printing both numbers because quoting the combined 15.25% as though it were the earn rate would be the exact trick this page is complaining about.
1 cent
the value of 1 Mile, on the way in and the way out
No expiry
no inactivity clock, no minimum activity, no annual sweep
25,000 Miles
you can transfer per rolling 30 days, at no fee
What you can spend them on
Anything we sell. Wallet balance, which starts at $5.89 for 1 GB and falls to $1.36 a gigabyte at 50 GB. A country or regional pack. An unlimited day pass. An Orbislo Number at $3.89 a month, which is the one that gets your bank codes delivered. Or a month of Orbislo One at $20.89. There is no redemption catalogue of branded luggage, because a currency that can only be spent on things nobody wants is not really a currency.
Miles and money mix in the same basket. A $16.89 purchase can be paid as 800 Miles and $8.89 on the card, and the split is a slider rather than an all or nothing choice. There is no minimum redemption, so 40 Miles can take 40 cents off a $5.89 day pass if that is what you have.
Transfers
Send any amount to another Orbislo account by email address. It arrives immediately, there is no fee on either side, and the receiving account does not need to be in your country or on your plan. The one limit is 25,000 Miles out per rolling 30 days, which is $250.89, and it exists to stop bulk resale rather than to slow down anything a traveller would actually do.
Transfers are the reason Miles work for a family or a team. Combined with a shared balance in Pool, one person can carry the account and everyone else can top it up from their own earnings.
Where the balance lives
Your Miles sit next to your gigabytes in the app and in your account on the web, with a statement showing every credit and every spend and the reason for each. Nothing is rounded in our favour, and the balance never moves except when you move it. You can see the rates that Miles buy against on pricing, check the networks in a country on coverage, and start earning on your first purchase in the store.