New App Rewards You Just for Getting Up and Going Somewhere

In a perfect world, everything would be free. Until then, earning discounts for doing things you would probably already be doing—like driving to work—is the next best thing.

As spotted by The Daily Dot, a free iOS app called Miles lets you earn points simply by getting up and going somewhere, whether it's by foot, car, bus, or plane. Rack up enough points and you'll be able to redeem gift cards and discounts for retailers like Amazon, Starbucks, Target, and Whole Foods, to name a few.

The app is designed to encourage eco-friendly travel, so the amount of reward miles, or points, you earn depends on your mode of transport. One mile in a car translates to one mile earned through the app, but a ride in an Uber or Lyft will get you double the points. Public transportation yields three points per mile, biking is five points per mile, and walking is 10 points per mile.

Flying, on the other hand, will only accrue 0.1 points per mile. You won't have to log your trips either because they're recorded automatically in the app. Of course, for this to work, users have to allow the app to track their location at all times, which might make some people squeamish for privacy reasons. The app's CEO told The Verge that raw data collected from the app isn't shared with the company's partners—only abstract insights about your movement patterns.

To contextualize how much you'd need to travel to reap the rewards, something like a $5 Starbucks or Amazon gift card requires 2500 reward miles (or 250 miles of walking, for instance). Still, if you're OK with sharing your travel patterns with companies, it's a passive way to cut costs on items you'd already be buying (like groceries, or your go-to morning latte).

The app isn't currently available on Android but it should be coming soon, according to The Daily Dot.

[h/t The Daily Dot]