| Date: | 28-29 October 2025 |
| Location: | New York City, US |
| Delegates: | 100+ |
In Association With:
Co-Brand & Travel Rewards 2025
Ten Top Lessons to learn at Co-brands and Travel Rewards 2025
Loyalty revenues have grown significantly important to airlines, hotels and travel companies and the biggest part of that comes from co-brands. Travel still continues to grow – with some domestic weaknesses in some markets – but there are other headwinds emerging. Whether it’s the tax man, regulators or increasing competition from non-card payments there is plenty to learn and prepare for. The co-brand and travel rewards event is a one stop shop, whether you are a loyalty program, an issuer or one of the many other players in a complex ecosystem, to connect with top presenters and industry peers.
Here are just ten of the topics and trends that the event, that took place in NYC on 28/29th of October:
- AI and Big Data – often talked about, but who is using them to get more cards into more wallets (and how)?
- Personalisation – big data makes for smarter targeting
- Digital Wallets – threat or opportunity? What do wallets mean for co-brand uptake and use?
- New products – will co-branded debit make a splash?
- Co-branded Virtual Cards – coming soon in the B2B market. Are you ready?
- Reward Cost Management – unique experiences are great, but how do you manage redemption economics
- Promo Abuse and Fraud – with co-brands issuing the majority of miles and points how vulnerable is your program to misuse and fraud?
- Digitalisation – app first programs and integrating payment and rewards into one seamless experience
- Tech and Fintech – from RFP to digital wallet in 6 months? Fintech is rewriting the timeline
- Travel Platforms – is getting in on the redemption process – beyond the core loyalty program – the way to learn and/or grow margins?
This content-rich event is designed to maximise insight while minimising time away from the office.
View the presentations in the agenda below:
Venue
The venue for this event is the PENN 1 building in Manhattan, New York City
Venue for Co-Brand 2025 2025:
Work Life Meetings
2nd Floor
PENN STATION, PENN 1, 250 W 34th St., New York, NY 1011
Phone: +12122397405
Hotels
50 W 36th St., New York, NY 10018, United States
Phone: +12127761024
15% OFF at Best Western Premier Herald Square
Other Hotel Discounts of 25% provided by Access Developent
Click here for to search
Use Sign-up Code: ACCESS25VIP
CO-BRAND & TRAVEL REWARDS 2025
Tuesday 28th October 2025
2.30pm – 3.00pm
Welcome Coffee & Registration
3.00pm – 3.30pm
Chairman:
– Ian Young, Head of Loyalty Account Management, Comarch
>Download Presentation Here
How to enter the US Co-brand market with a different proposition to miles
– Jonathan Rossman, Head of Co-brand Credit Card, Booking.com in conversation with
– Darren Gillmor, Head of Co-brand Business Development, Visa
3.30pm – 4.00pm
State of the Union Address: Where are co-brands and travel reward cards heading to?
– Bill Hanifin, CEO, Wise Marketer Group
Access the Barclays 2025 Travel Rewards & Loyalty Report by clicking here
>Download Presentation Here
4.00pm – 5.00pm
The Famous Ai Events Lions’ Den: Innovative product pitches
Back by popular demand the Lions’ Den new products and service pitching contest returns to the Co-brand and Travel Rewards conference. The sessions is for innovative start-ups (or brand new products from estasblished players) pitch for 5 minutes each, and then take 5 minutes of questions from our experienced judges. Judges will choose a Best Product, while the audience will choose Best Pitch.
We will also have John Ventura, Chief Development Officer of Skeps and a previous Lions’ Den winner sharing an update on business progress!
Ringmaster and Lions (Judges)
– Michael Smith, Board Director, Ai Events (Ringmaster)
– Steve Mathwig, Senior Manager Loyalty Program Engagement, Best Western Hotels
– Jonathan Clarkson, Chief Product Officer, Southwest Airlines
– Chris Daugherty, Director of Loyalty & Co-Brand, Spirit Airlines
Pitchers
– Darwinium Download Presentation Here
– kalder Download Presentation Here
– Celitech Download Presentation Here
5.00pm – 7.00pm
Networking Reception taking place at Avenida Restaurant (in same PENN 1 building). The session will feature games benefitting Kids First Fund.
CO-BRAND & TRAVEL REWARDS 2025
Wednesday 29th of October 2025
8.30am – 8.50am
Registration, Check-In and Breakfast Sponsored by Access
8.50am – 9.00am
Welcome from the Chair – Opening Remarks
– Ian Young, Head of Loyalty Account Management, Comarch
>Download Presentation Here
9.00am – 9.25am
The Flying Blue Story – how KLM/Air France launched their co-brand outside their home market
– Peter Schinasi, Loyalty Director USA Canada Mexico, Air France KLM in conversation with
– Ian Young, Head of Loyalty Account Management, Comarch
>Download Presentation Here
9.25am – 9.50am
Kong v Godzilla: US Banks and Airlines in the fight for Traveller Loyalty
– Jay Sorensen, President, IdeaWorksCompany
9.50am – 10.15am
Using Credit Orchestration to maximise card uptake
– Mike Isom, Spirit Airlines in conversation with
– Tushar Srivastava, CEO, Skeps
>Download Presentation Here
10.15am – 10.45am
Networking and Coffee Break
10.45am – 11.15am
Getting more cards in to more wallets: How to break the Credit Barrier
– Pedro Silva, CEO & Co-founder, Alviere
>Download Presentation Here
11.15am – 11.40am
Managing Mileage Profitability
– Manolis Bardis, Head of Loyalty Team, WTW
>Download Presentation Here
11.40am – 12.30pm
Panel Session: As premium co-brands fight it out with ever bigger fees and bonuses is this mileage and point inflation and will that kill the whole loyalty play?
Moderator
– Michael Pool, Consultant & former International Co-brand at Marriott
Panellists
– Spenser Marrich-Simon, Head of Loyalty, Allegiant
– Aleks Kaczmarek, VP Loyalty, CarTrawler
– Gökçe Güven, Founder & CEO, kalder
– Paula Sierra, Business Development Manager, Comarch
12.30pm – 2.00pm
Lunch & Networking
2.00pm – 2.30pm
Fireside Chat: How to build fraud free promotions and why loyalty Account Take Over should be on your radar screen
– Ben Davey, Co-Founder & Head of Products, Darwinium
– Chris Staab, Co-Founder, Loyalty Security Alliance
>Download Presentation Here
2.30pm – 3.00pm
Personalised marketing – how using data and AI can actually deliver real results
– Katya Nieburg-Wheeler, Executive Director, deluxe
>Download Presentation Here
3.00pm – 3.30pm
How A Neobank/Fintech Is Helping Take Co-Brand Card Partnership To The Next Level
– Katlin Mathison, Strategic Partnerships Director, Neo Financial
>Download Presentation Here
3.30pm – 4.00pm
Coffee Break & Networking Sponsored by Comarch
4.00pm – 5.00pm
Panel Session: Digital and Account to Account Payments, Open Banking and Wallets: Threat or Opportunity for Co-brands?
Moderator
– Michael Smith, Board Director, Ai Events
Speakers & Panellists
– Janaki Talati, Senior Director New Products, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
– Yosef Peterseil, Chief Operating Officer, Blings
– Tom Trotta, VP Sales & Partnerships, Allianz
– Pedro Silva, CEO & Co-founder, Alviere
5.00pm – 6.00pm
Networking Reception Sponsored by Blings
Companies that have registered for Co-Brand & Travel Rewards 2025:
Access Development
Ai Events
Air France-KLM
Allegiant Air
Alviere
American Express
Bank of America
Best Western Hotels
Bilt Rewards
Booking.com
CardHippo
CarTrawler
Cathay Pacific
Celitech
Clarity Pay
Comarch
Competiscan
Concora Credit
Darwinium
Delta Air Lines
Deluxe
Do Good Points
Ebbo
Galileo – SoFi
Generali Global Assistance
IBS Software
IdeaWorksCompany
interCaribbean Airways
Jetblue
Kalder
Leading Hotels of the World
Legendary Vision Consulting
MacPaw Way
Maritz
Marriott International
Mastercard
Merit Incentives
Nayax
Neo Financial
Obsidian
Phocuswright
Priceline
Skeps
Southwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines
Sunbit
Switchfly
The Mallet Group
The Wise Marketer
TripGift®
Union Plus
Visa
WTW
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Co-Brand 2025 Hot Topics
- AI and Big Data – often talked about, but who is using them to get more cards into more wallets (and how)?
- Personalisation – big data makes for smarter targeting
- Digital Wallets – threat or opportunity? What do wallets mean for co-brand uptake and use?
- New products – will co-branded debit make a splash?
- Co-branded Virtual Cards – coming soon in the B2B market. Are you ready?
- Reward Cost Management – unique experiences are great, but how do you manage redemption economics
- Promo Abuse and Fraud – with co-brands issuing the majority of miles and points how vulnerable is your program to misuse and fraud?
- Digitalisation – app first programs and integrating payment and rewards into one seamless experience
- Tech and Fintech – from RFP to digital wallet in 6 months? Fintech is rewriting the timeline
- Travel Platforms – is getting in on the redemption process – beyond the core loyalty program – the way to learn and/or grow margins?
Are we missing a topic/area that you think needs addressed for the 2025 event? Please drop an email by clicking on the hyperlink to Michael Smith, the Conference Chairman, or to speakers@AiConnects.us
Sponsorship Hot Items
Conference Lanyards – You provide us with your branded lanyards to be used in the conference
$999 USD
APP Sponsor – Your logo will be featured prominently in the event app. Includes 1 attendee
$3,999 USD
Closing Drinks – We brand the closing drinks with your logo. Includes 1 attendee,
$2, 999 USD
Sponsors
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