Making the Most of A New Airport Rewards Program

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When you’re at the airport as a customer, you’re at a significant disadvantage. If you need to purchase a charging cable because you lost yours at the TSA checkpoint, or if your plane is delayed and you’re hungry, there’s no opportunity to shop around for the best price. If possible, here are four things you should avoid spending money on at the airport.

Airports always seem to jack up the prices, and there’s not much you can do about it. Ever wonder why airport food costs so much? Well, there are reasons for it. But when you’re stuck deciding between eating at some random “Gastropub” or just giving in to a Cinnabon, it’s a tough call.

It’s not all bad news since airports have improved their offerings by bringing in local restaurants and turning the terminals into shopping malls. Fortunately, just because you’re stuck buying something at the airport doesn’t mean you can’t earn some loyalty points with your purchases. Airports are adding their own shopping programs which let customers earn points for purchases. We’ve seen programs from Boston Logan (BOS) with BOS Rewards, which focuses on their home location but allows you to earn points at airports around the US.

MCO Rewards

Partnering with the same company as BOS, Orlando International Airport has now launched its own program called, not surprisingly, MCO Rewards.

The program works like a dining program where you register a credit card and all eligible purchases automatically earn points. These points are in addition to any reward points you’ll earn from your credit card, making it an excellent double-dip opportunity.

The main difference I noticed from before MCO launched its own version of a rewards program and now is that seemingly every vendor in the airport is participating, even those you might think wouldn’t otherwise be involved. For example, you can earn points at the restaurants in the Hyatt Regency, including the incredible Hemisphere restaurant.

Cask & Larder locations at gates 100-129 and in Terminal C are also on the list.

While I’m not surprised to see restaurants on the list, I am shocked to see the theme park stores included.

Other Airports

You can also earn points at other airports in Florida and around the US. Some examples are at  Salt Lick in Austin Airport.

Or you can have a meal at One Flew South in Atlanta Airport.

Redeeming MCO Rewards

There are several ways to redeem the points you earn. Alaska Airlines is the only loyalty program partner. You can redeem 1000 MCO Rewards points for 500 Mileage Plan points.

If you want to cash out before earning 1000 points, you can redeem points for various gift cards. You’ll get 1 cent per point for most of these, but you can use 500 points for a $5 card.

There’s also the option to get a cash gift card at the same value.

This could be a good set-and-forget way to earn some extra points. All you have to do is remember to use the card you’ve registered with MCO Rewards.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary