Building More Than Structures: Turning $1M in Spend into $62K in Loyalty, Luxury, and Long-Term ROI
A construction agency spending $90K/month was earning just 2% back—until they restructured their cards, centralized points, and unlocked over $62K in travel and client value. Business class flights, Bora Bora Getaway, and loyalty perks—all without spending a dollar more.
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A regional construction agent spending $90,000 per month across materials, travel, SaaS tools, and client costs was relying on a flat 2% cashback card, yielding roughly $1,800/month—or $21,600/year. Meanwhile, they had more than 900,000 points spread across multiple programs going unredeemed, creating confusion and unrealized value. No one on the team had the time, expertise, or incentive to manage rewards as a line item, resulting in overlooked value despite steady, predictable spend.
With our intervention, the company shifted to a category-optimized card setup aligned by vendor and expense type. Monthly point generation jumped from ~90,000 to over 279,000, representing a 211% increase in rewards efficiency. Categories like client travel (12% of spend) earned 10x points via co-branded hotel cards, and software tools (14%) were rerouted to 3x cards. Over 12 months, they earned more than 3.3 million points from the same $1.08M in spend—enough to yield a conservative redemption value of $47,400.
From that pool, they strategically redeemed 828,000 points in the first year for $26,000 in high-leverage redemptions, including a Bora Bora getaway for a project manager (what a perk!), business class flights to Europe for a design expo, and client thank-you weekends that helped improve retention and referrals. More than 1.9 million points remain banked, with a conservative projected future value of $28,000–$38,000. Combined, that’s a total ROI of ~$62,000 on the same budget.
Beyond redemptions, the impact was cultural and strategic. Turnover dropped, client satisfaction improved, and the team now tracks points like a performance metric. Employees suggest spending routes that yield more points, and clients discuss loyalty experiences during project planning. In year two, the company plans to use points for a full-team retreat and create a dedicated client gift program powered entirely by rewards—not cash.
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Overview
This case study examines how a regional construction agent used UpNonStop to transform scattered points and flat cash-back returns into a focused, strategic rewards system. Within 12 months, the company converted its $90,000/month business spend into $34,000+ in real value—through high-end travel, client retention experiences, and employee morale programs.
Despite working in a high-spend, vendor-heavy industry, the agency had no formal system for tracking, maximizing, or redeeming its points. The business relied on a single flat-rate 2% cashback card and a handful of neglected travel points across unrelated programs.
- Industry: Construction Representation and Design Coordination
- Monthly Credit Card Spend: $90,000
- Pre-Optimization Return: ~1.8%
- Post-Optimization Return: ~4.3%
- Annual Points Value Realized: $34,180
- Team Size: 9 full-time (5 client-facing)
- Implementation Timeline: 7 weeks
The Problem: High Volume, Low Strategy
The company’s spend was substantial and steady—approximately $1.08M annually—but it was unintentionally wasteful. A flat 2% cashback card captured only part of the value, and redemption was inconsistent. Over time, the owner accrued balances across multiple travel programs that remained unused.
Monthly Spend Breakdown:
| Category | % of Spend | Monthly Value |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor Deposits & Materials | 48% | $43,200 |
| Client Travel & Accommodations | 12% | $10,800 |
| Digital Tools & SaaS | 14% | $12,600 |
| Trade Show & Event Costs | 9% | $8,100 |
| Internal Travel | 10% | $9,000 |
| Miscellaneous | 7% | $6,300 |
This unstructured approach left more than 900,000 points unredeemed across five programs and over $21,000 in potential annual value on the table.
“We knew we were leaving value behind, but no one had the time or knowledge to manage points like a business asset.”
— Principal, Construction Agency
Step 1: Strategic Card Assignment by Spend Category
We started by auditing all historic card statements and redemption activity. The business had 3 cards in rotation—one earning 2% cashback, and two co-branded airline cards used sporadically.
The new approach mapped card selection to business expense categories, maximizing multipliers without compromising accounting ease.
| Expense Category | Card Assigned | Multiplier | Monthly Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor Deposits | Amex Business Platinum | 1.5x (>$5K spend) | 64,800 |
| Client Travel | Amex Hilton Business | Avg. 10x | 108,000 |
| SaaS/Tools | Ink Business Preferred | 3x | 37,800 |
| Trade Shows | Amex Gold | 4x (non-categorized) | 32,400 |
| Internal Travel | Chase Sapphire Reserve | Avg. 3x | 27,000 |
| Misc | Ink Business Unlimited | 1.5x | 9,450 |
Total Monthly Points Earned (Post): 279,450
Pre-Optimization Monthly Points: ~90,000
Points Gain: +211%
Step 2: Award Booking and Redemption Optimization
With points now concentrated and organized by program, we began to unlock high-leverage redemptions. These weren’t just flights—they were loyalty accelerators, brand builders, and retention strategies.
Key Redemptions in Year One:
| Redemption | Points Used | Estimated Cash Value |
|---|---|---|
| Two Business Class Tickets to Milan for Expo | 140,000 | $8,200 |
| Bora Bora Honeymoon for Project Manager (Hilton) | 240,000 | $6,800 |
| Client Thank-You Weekend in Miami (Marriott) | 120,000 | $3,100 |
| Flight + Hotel for Las Vegas Design Conference | 98,000 | $2,300 |
| Client Project Completion Gift (Aspen resort) | 160,000 | $4,500 |
| Last-Minute Hotel for Site Visit | 30,000 | $600 |
| Equipment Offset via Amex Offers | 40,000 | $500 |
| Total Redeemed | 828,000 | $26,000 |
Another 1.9 million points were banked for Year 2 use, conservatively valued at $0.015–$0.02/point. That’s an additional $28,000–$38,000 in future redemptions already earned.
Step 3: Loyalty, Leadership, and Internal ROI
Once travel became a tool—not just a perk—the agency began using it strategically across stakeholders.
- Client Loyalty: Sending key clients on curated trips ($3K–5K) after milestone completions increased renewal rates and referrals.
- Talent Retention: A honeymoon package to Bora Bora was offered as a reward for 5 years of leadership. The project manager stayed—and turned down a higher offer elsewhere.
- Professional Development: The firm used points to fly senior staff to design expos in Europe, where they identified suppliers and techniques that later won them new business.
“The Bora Bora trip wasn’t just a reward—it was the moment my team realized how seriously we take investing in them.”
— Principal
Internally, the agency added a real-time dashboard showing team members how their projects generated spend—and thus, how they helped generate future travel or rewards.
Year-End Financial Impact
Annual Spend Optimization:
| Category | Annual Spend | Points Earned | Estimated Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor Payments | $518,400 | 777,600 | $11,600 |
| Client Travel | $129,600 | 1,296,000 | $17,000 |
| Tools/SaaS | $151,200 | 453,600 | $6,800 |
| Trade Shows | $97,200 | 388,800 | $5,800 |
| Internal Travel | $108,000 | 324,000 | $4,500 |
| Miscellaneous | $75,600 | 113,400 | $1,700 |
| Total | $1,080,000 | 3,353,400 pts | $47,400 est. value |
Realized Redemption (Year 1):
- Redeemed Points: 828,000
- Realized Value: $26,000
- Cashback (pre-optimization): ~$19,400
- Net Year 1 ROI from Strategy: +$14,600
- Future Banked Value (Unredeemed): $28,000–$38,000
Operational Lessons
- Travel strategy is a growth strategy.
Rather than pocketing 2% cash back, the business reinvested its rewards into experiences that influenced client trust and staff loyalty. - Category-matching earns exponentially more.
Aligning spend with the right multipliers created more than 3 million points in 12 months—without increasing total outlay. - Outsourcing award booking eliminated friction.
The team no longer feared the complexity of points. With white-glove booking and strategy in place, they moved fast.
Culture Shift: From Points Confusion to Points Ownership
The biggest transformation wasn’t just financial. It was cultural.
Now, every purchase is viewed as a potential advantage. Employees suggest where to route spend based on point yield. Clients ask about redemption stories during lunch meetings. Even vendors have taken notice, as thank-you perks become embedded in the firm’s delivery strategy.
“I don’t think we realized how powerful points were until they became part of our leadership conversations.”
— Design Director
This business no longer sees points as a passive benefit. They treat them as a line item with ROI, accountability, and strategic influence.
Looking Ahead
Year two goals include:
- Launching a “client milestone gift bank” using points exclusively
- Creating a rotational team retreat powered entirely by hotel points
- Shifting supplier payments to new 2-card system to unlock 300K more points annually
The foundation is set. From here, they’re building upward—with smarter rewards fueling every layer of growth.
Final Thoughts
This construction agency didn’t need to find more clients. It just needed to find more value in how it already operated. With UpNonStop, they didn’t earn more money—they unlocked more meaning from the money they already spent. The result? A stronger culture, deeper loyalty, and a clear competitive edge.
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