Comparison

Minnesota 511 vs Points Compass

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Minnesota 511

Access real-time traffic and road condition information for Minnesota highways. Get audio alerts, view maps with event icons, and check winter road conditions, incidents, and closures. Includes camera feeds, construction updates, and rest area information.

Highlights
  • Real-time traffic information
  • Audio notifications
  • Interactive map with event icons
  • Winter road conditions
  • Road closures and incidents
  • Roadwork and construction updates
  • Camera images and live video
Features
Read full description

Minnesota 511 is the Minnesota Department of Transportation's traveler information resource. The 511MN app provides statewide, real-time traffic information for Minnesota highways and interstates, including: - Hands-free, audio notifications of traffic events while you drive - Zoom-enabled map with selectable event icons - Near real-time updates on winter road conditions, traffic incidents, and road closures - Roadwork and construction - Travel time delays associated with traffic reports (look for the orange glowing icons) - Current traffic speeds - Roadside camera images and live video capabilities - Road weather information - Snow plow camera images - Electric vehicle charging locations - Rest area locations including real-time truck parking availability for select state-run rest areas - Electronic roadway sign messages Learn about Minnesota's Law on wireless communication devices in vehicles at https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=169.475 The MnDOT privacy policy can be found at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/information/disclaimer.html#privacy Drive safely! Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Points Compass

This app helps you understand the true cost of waiting to redeem travel rewards. It calculates how much value you lose as points devalue and trips become more expensive. It provides insights into when to book and whether paying cash is a better option.

Highlights
  • Calculates cost of waiting for rewards
  • Analyzes award inflation and devaluation
  • Compares cash vs. points redemption
  • Estimates currency shedding value
  • Identifies hard expiry cliffs
  • Provides real earning rate estimates
Features
Read full description

Points Compass answers one question that no balance tracker will: what does waiting cost you? About a third of the travel rewards issued each year are never redeemed. Not because people lose them — because they hold them, waiting for a better redemption, while two things happen at once. Each point quietly loses value. And the trip they are saving for quietly gets more expensive in points. Points Compass prices both, separately, and adds them up. Type in what you hold. There is no airline login, no hotel login and no bank connection — the app is not connected to any of them and never asks. Name a trip and give it both prices, what it costs in points and what it costs in cash. Then the app draws two lines: the points you will hold over time, and the points the trip will cost over time. Where they meet is the earliest month you could book it. The gap between them, until that month, has a dollar figure — and the app shows you both halves of it. It is honest in both directions. Some currencies really are worth holding: when your miles have gained value over the year, or the award price has been flat, the app says so instead of telling you to spend. And when the points are the expensive way to buy a trip, it tells you to pay cash. What it works out for you: The month your balance finally covers the trip, and the cost of waiting for it, split into award inflation and devaluation. What each currency you hold is shedding, in dollars, every month. Where the hard expiry cliffs are, the last safe date to reset each one, and what hitting one would cost. Whether this particular redemption beats simply paying cash. Your real earning rate, derived from your own balance updates rather than typed in. And a log of every verdict the app has given, graded later against what actually happened — including the times it was wrong. Every figure is arithmetic you can see. Open "How this was worked out" on any verdict and the whole calculation is there, with every assumption editable. There is no score, and no number the app will not explain. Points Compass Pro, an optional subscription, adds unlimited trips compared side by side, burn order with the reason for every placement, transfer paths, the full month-by-month history, the complete decision log, and a plain-English second opinion written from your own numbers. It is $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, with a 7-day free trial for eligible accounts. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and you can manage or cancel it any time in your App Store account settings. The free plan is not a demo. It prices one trip completely, end to end, including the part this app exists for. Points Compass is an educational planning tool. Every cents-per-point, drift and award-inflation figure in it is an estimate you can change, not a live data feed. It recommends no financial product, opens no account, moves no money, and is not affiliated with any airline, hotel or card issuer. Always confirm award pricing and availability with the programme before you book or transfer. This is not financial advice. Privacy Policy: https://preview.apppublishing.ai/legal/437/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://preview.apppublishing.ai/legal/437/terms

Screenshots

Minnesota 5114 screens
Points Compass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Points Compass at 100% against Minnesota 511's 16%. Points Compass also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.5) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). Minnesota 511's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 5). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Points Compass sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Minnesota 511 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Points Compass holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Minnesota 511 has 1.6K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of Minnesota 511's written reviews are positive against 100% of Points Compass's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Minnesota 511 versus Points Compass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinnesota 511Points Compass
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (1.6K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMinnesota Department of TransportationYeison Ochoa

Customer experience

Minnesota 511

All ratings1,417 ratings
Positive30.4%
Neutral6.8%
Negative62.8%
Written reviews104 reviews
Positive16.3%
Neutral5.8%
Negative77.9%

Points Compass

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Minnesota 511

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App can't remember password
  • Cameras don't work, app crashes
  • Issues with updates, app not functioning properly
  • Incomplete and inaccurate road condition information

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add road condition legend and explanation of color codes
  • Improve user interface and navigation, make it more intuitive
  • Provide more accurate and up-to-date road condition information
  • Add option to view future road closures and construction projects
  • Improve coverage of major roads and highways

Points Compass

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Minnesota 511

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Points Compass

Subscriptions2
  • Points Compass Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Points Compass Pro Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Minnesota 511 free?
Minnesota 511 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Points Compass free?
Points Compass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Minnesota 511 or Points Compass?
Points Compass is rated higher. Minnesota 511 averages 2.5 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Points Compass averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Minnesota 511 or Points Compass have ads?
Neither Minnesota 511 nor Points Compass shows ads.

Other comparisons