AwardWallet explained

AwardWallet, LLC
Type:Private
Traded As:AwardWallet
Industry:travel management, information technology, loyalty programs
Foundation:2004
Founders:Alexi Vereschaga
Location:Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.

AwardWallet is frequent flyer miles and points tracking site.[1] [2] [3] [4] It is considered to be the first in the genre, founded in 2004, and tracked more than 400 sites as of 2011.[5] AwardWallet is based out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As of 2021, it has 700,000 users, despite some airlines blocking access to the app citing privacy concerns.[6] [7]

In 2012, AwardWallet was involved in a series of disputes with several airlines companies which denied access to AwardWallet's tracking software on their websites.[8] [9] [10]

History

AwardWallet was established in 2004 by Alexi Vereschaga and Todd Mera, two former employees and software engineers from the Aelita Software Corporation.[11] [12] The company began with reward programs by tracking transactions of frequent flyer users and later expanded its services by adding a variety of customer loyalty programs[13] [4] [14] [15] AwardWallet added a companion mobile application for iOS and Android devices circa 2010/2011.[16] [2] [17]

As of 2021, AwardWallet had over 700,000 members.[18] AwardWallet software has been discussed and cited in travel and technology sections of the media outlets such as The New York Times, BBC,[19] CNN,[20] Bloomberg,[21] Forbes,[4] Entrepreneur,[22] Vox[23] Los Angeles Times[24] [25] CNBC[26] and The Wall Street Journal, among others.[5]

As of 2022, Uber began collaborating with AwardWallet to introduce Uber Travel, a function that allows users to book rides covering their entire trip, including transportation from the airport to the hotel and restaurants. The feature aggregates flight, hotel, and restaurant reservations within the Uber app.[27]

As of 2024, AwardWallet was available on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The service tracks loyalty programs and rewards systems from over 700 travel and retail companies, providing travel alerts, email notifications for flight disruptions, and spending analysis to help users optimize point accumulation.[28]

Technology

AwardWallet's software is equipped with several APIs related to the travel space including an AwardWallet Email Parsing API, AwardWallet Web Parsing API, and AwardWallet Account Access API. For example, Email Parsing API retrieves travel reservations from confirmation emails. Travel reservations are then parsed by the API to return the reservation data in a structured JSON format[29] The AwardWallet Account Access API operates via OAuth protocol.[30] The AwardWallet Web Parsing API retrieves account balance, membership tier, expiration date and more from online accounts. It also provides access to travel itineraries and historical account activity.[31] A number of sources[17] [32] [33] indicate that the AwardWallet software is a part of an emerging API economy.[34] [35]

Airline companies tracking controversy

AwardWallet was a part of controversy related to the denial of the airline companies to have tracking software programs in their API systems. In late 2012, AwardWallet (along with TripIt and MileWise) received a number of cease and desist letters from American Airlines, Delta,[10] [36] United Airlines[8] and Southwest Airlines, demanding that AwardWallet discontinue accessing their websites for tracking clients' miles rewards programs.[9] [3] In August 2013, American Airlines resumed its use of the AwardWallet by integrating its software in the company's API.[17] [37] [3]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Noonan . Laura . 2020-01-02 . JPMorgan to ban fintech apps from using customer passwords . Financial Times . 2021-12-18.
  2. Web site: Five Best Air Travel Apps. BBC.
  3. Web site: American Airlines corrects course, makes nice with AwardWallet and other loyalty tracking startups. PhocusWire.
  4. Web site: The 4 Best Apps To Track Credit Card Rewards . Forbes.
  5. News: McCartney . Scott . 2011-10-13 . Two Airlines Battle Mileage-Tracking Websites . en-US . Wall Street Journal . 2021-12-18 . 0099-9660.
  6. News: Paul . Trina . 2021-09-14 . These are the best apps for tracking your credit card, airline and hotel rewards . en . 2021-12-18.
  7. News: Perez . Sarah . 2012-09-15 . Delta Sends C&Ds To Startups Tracking Airline Rewards; MileWise, AwardWallet & Others Affected . en-US . 2021-12-18.
  8. Web site: United Is Latest Airline to Block Rewards Web Site. The New York Times. 18 December 2012 .
  9. Web site: Delta Sends C&Ds To Startups Tracking Airline Rewards; MileWise, AwardWallet & Others Affected. 16 September 2012 . TechCrunch.
  10. Web site: Delta forces loyalty point tracker AwardWallet to drop support for SkyMiles. 11 September 2012. Skrift.
  11. Web site: New Options in Choosing an ID Printer. Security Magazine.
  12. https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2011/10/17/5-online-tools-for-managing-airline-miles US News: 5 Online Tools for Managing Airline Miles
  13. Web site: A TOOL TO TRACK YOUR POINTS – AWARD WALLET . 19 November 2019 . Las Vegas Advisor.
  14. Web site: Track Frequent Flyer Miles, Avoid Expired Rewards . CBSNews.
  15. Web site: CreditCards.com: How to keep track of all those rewards points . 2022-03-11 . 2021-05-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210513144144/https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/how-to-keep-track-of-rewards-points-1277/ . dead .
  16. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/awardwallet/id388442727 AppStore: AwardWallet Track Rewards
  17. http://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2013/American-Airlines-and-AwardWallet-Offer-New-Reward-Tracking-Technology-for-AAdvantage-Members/default.aspx American Airlines News: American Airlines and AwardWallet Offer New Reward Tracking Technology for AAdvantage Members
  18. https://www.socialreport.com/insights/article/360000818643-Facebook-Groups-Spotlight-Award-Travel-101®-Builds-Community- Social Report: Facebook Groups Spotlight: Award Travel 101® Builds Community
  19. Web site: Tracking Travel Rewards: New travel tools help monitor your airline miles, credit card points and other loyalty programs, making free flights and hotels upgrades less elusive . BBC Travel.
  20. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/useful-travel-websites-bt/index.html CNN Travel: 10 most useful travel websites
  21. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-13/how-to-make-sure-you-get-frequent-flier-status-next-year Bloomberg: A Travel Hacker's Guide to Elite Status in 2017 and Beyond
  22. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224731 Entrepreneur: World Leaders Weigh in on the State of Business Travel
  23. https://www.vox.com/personal-finance/2015/2/6/7952869/frequent-flyer-miles-points Vox: 4 frequent flier mile pro tips that anyone can use
  24. Web site: First Person. Los Angeles Times. 20 September 2009 .
  25. Web site: Resolutions for 2019: Go ahead — be stingy, grouchy or lazy. But it could cost you. Los Angeles Times. 31 December 2018 .
  26. https://www.cnbc.com/select/30-year-old-manages-35-credit-cards-and-earns-free-flights/ CNBC: How this 30-year-old manages 35 credit cards and earns free flights
  27. Web site: Uber Takes Further Steps Into Travel Through Itinerary Aggregator, and More . Yahoo Finance . 20 June 2024 . 16 May 2022.
  28. Web site: Fan . Katherine . Track your credit card rewards and book the best award flights with the best apps and tools in 2024 . Business Insider . 20 June 2024.
  29. https://www.programmableweb.com/api/awardwallet-email-parsing ProgrammableWeb: AwardWallet Email Parsing API
  30. https://awardwallet.com/api/account#introduction Official Website: AwardWallet Account Access API
  31. https://awardwallet.com/api/loyalty AwardWallet Web Parsing API
  32. https://www.capitalone.com/tech/case-studies/award-wallet/ Capital One: Award Wallet + Rewards API
  33. https://www.eweek.com/development/capital-one-launches-devexchange-developer-portal E-week: Capital One Launches DevExchange Developer Portal
  34. https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/welcome-to-the-api-economy/ Gartner: Welcome to the API Economy
  35. https://searchapparchitecture.techtarget.com/definition/API-economy#:~:text=API%20economy%20is%20the%20exposure,a%20synonym%20for%20API%20management. SearchAppArchitecture: API economy
  36. News: Carrns. Ann. Delta Cracks Down on Mileage Tracking Sites. 29 December 2020. The New York Times. September 19, 2012.
  37. News: Leff. Garry. AwardWallet Can Track American AAdvantage Accounts Again. 29 December 2020. View From The Wings. August 6, 2013.

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