The Points Guy

The Points Guy (TPG) is an American travel website and blog that produces news and stories on travel, means of accumulating and using airline points and miles, politics and credit cards, in particular credit card reviews.[3] The site was founded in 2010.[2] At the outset, the site was a blog written by founder Brian Kelly.[2] By 2017, a majority of the staff were engaged in content editorial activities harnessing about fifty freelance contributors;[4] a subset of the content serves as source material for video content.[2]

The Points Guy
Founded2010
FounderBrian Kelly
Key people
  • Brian Kelly (CEO)[1]
  • James Cury (editorial director, 2017- )[2]
Number of employees
 20 (2017)[2]
ParentRed Ventures
Websitethepointsguy.com
thepointsguy.com
OwnerThe Points Guy
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2010
Current statuslive

History

Prior to founding TPG, Kelly worked at Morgan Stanley, as an IT recruiter in the company's human resources department,[3] and he ran, for colleagues, an informal travel agency-type operation, aimed at maximizing return on earned travel reward points.[1] In 2011, TPG began affiliate marketing, which is the source of much of the company's revenue; shortly thereafter, Kelly quit his position at Morgan Stanley[3]

In 2012, Bankrate, a company that publishes and promotes financial content, acquired TPG.[3] In a 2014 interview, Brian Kelly made this comment: "I still have a vested ownership interest in TPG and I retain 100% editorial control".[5]

Between 2012 and 2017, Brian Kelly and ThePointsGuy supplemented their growth through the acquisition of a few competitors like Million Mile Secrets, Mommy Points, and Travel is Free. [2]

As of 2017, Brian Kelly was at number one on the Forbes list of Top Influencers for travel.[4] Bankrate was acquired by digital marketing company Red Ventures in 2017.[6] The company now operates out of offices in Austin, Charlotte, New York, and London. [2] London office was opened in 2019 as part The Points Guy’s expansion into the UK and UK-dedicated website. [7]

In 2020, Business Insider reported Kelly to abuse drugs and staff.[8]

Products and services

The business receives revenue in the form of 'marketing fees' from credit card companies based on traffic from the site related to credit cards participating in loyalty programs.[2] Among the company's partners Citi, Bank of America, Chase;[2] and Capital One.[1]

References
  1. Field, Hayden (November 29, 2018). "The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, Talks Success, Scalability and Money-Saving Travel Tips (Podcast)". Entrepreneur. Irvine, California: Entrepreneur Media. Retrieved January 12, 2020. it remains successful today, with the help of additional revenue streams via parterships with companies such as Capital One. On Entrepreneur's How Success Happens podcast, Kelly talks success strategies, his top growth tips for entrepreneurs and, of course, his best advice for saving money on upcoming travel.
  2. Willens, Max (December 18, 2017). "How The Points Guy built a business based on affiliate fees". Digiday. New York, New York: Digiday Media. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  3. Marikar, Sheila (June 29, 2017). "How to Travel Like a Millionaire? Ask the Points Guy". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017.
  4. O'Connor, Clare (June 20, 2017). "Forbes Top Influencers: The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, On Turning Miles Into A Media Empire". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  5. Martin, Grant (December 1, 2014). "The Blurring Ethical Lines Between Credit Card Companies and Travel Writers". Skift.com.
  6. Saxena, Aparajita (July 3, 2017). "Red Ventures to buy Bankrate for $1.24 billion". Reuters. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  7. "EXCLUSIVE INDUSTRY INSIGHT AND TRAVEL TIPS". www.hillsbalfour.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  8. "Inside the wild world of 'The Points Guy,' Brian Kelly: A massively profitable media empire and claims of non-stop partying, drugs and extravagant spending". BusinessInsider.com. March 14, 2020.

Further reading
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