Presidents Club for (Almost) Free: How Smart Businesses Use Points to Incentivize Teams
Are you one of those business owners who is sitting on $20K–$100K in hidden travel value and wasting it on 1¢ redemptions? This guide shows how businesses turn routine spend into business class flights, luxury retreats, and full-blown Presidents Clubs, all without inflating their travel budget
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Most small businesses leave $20,000 to $100,000 in annual travel value on the table. The average SMB spending $50K/month could generate 1.5–2 million points per year - but many are redeeming them for cashback or portal bookings at 1 cent per point (cpp) or less. With strategic redemptions through airline and hotel partners, businesses regularly achieve 3–6 cpp, tripling the effective return on spend without increasing their budget. That difference often funds entire sales retreats, leadership offsites, or Presidents Club experiences.
Case studies prove it’s not theory - it’s math. One 2-person consultancy used 226,000 points to book $11,000 worth of business class flights and luxury hotel stays, spending under $800 in taxes and fees. A 30-person roofing company redeemed points for a Turks & Caicos incentive trip, saving over $23,000 in travel costs. Both were able to offer tier-one rewards with tier-three out-of-pocket costs - all because they moved from unstructured spend to optimized redemption strategies.
The ROI on travel incentives is measurable. SMBs running Presidents Club programs funded by points report 15–30% sales lifts during contest periods and 60%+ retention improvements among top-performing team members. When travel is used to reinforce culture, build internal loyalty, and attract talent, the business case becomes obvious. But the only way to afford it consistently - especially during tighter quarters - is to turn expenses into leverage using points.
Redemptions aren’t perks - they’re assets. A business earning 1.2 cpp via cashback redemptions on $600K spend captures $7,200 in value. That same spend, redeemed at 4.3 cpp, unlocks $25,800 in travel - not as fantasy, but as booked tickets and hotels. Most SMBs don’t need new cards - they need new habits. And UpNonStop exists to help them convert passive points into powerful travel outcomes.
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Every January, companies across America kick off a new fiscal year with a mix of optimism and sales targets. By December, the same companies are trying to figure out how to reward the people who helped them hit those numbers - without blowing the budget.
This is where Presidents Club comes in: a high-touch, high-impact incentive that motivates teams, rewards performance, and reinforces culture. But for small and midsize businesses, the idea often gets tabled. Why? Because when you’re bootstrapping or managing tight margins, flying a sales team to Hawaii or booking a Cabo offsite sounds like a luxury reserved for the Fortune 500.
The truth is, that kind of thinking is outdated. Today’s smartest SMBs aren’t cutting these trips - they’re funding them with points. The difference between the company that books six coach tickets to Cleveland and the one that hosts a Presidents Club in Paris isn’t always revenue. It’s redemption strategy. And the ROI is staggering.
Let’s break down how businesses across industries are turning everyday spending into extraordinary team incentives - without touching their travel budget.
The Value on the Table: Corporate Spend → Points → Perks
The average small business in the U.S. spends between $30,000 and $100,000 per month on operational expenses through credit cards. For businesses in sectors like consulting, construction, ecommerce, and real estate, that number is often higher. Over the course of a year, that’s $360,000 to $1.2 million in swipable spend.
Here’s the opportunity: When that spend is routed through the right points-earning infrastructure - and paired with high-leverage redemptions - SMBs routinely generate $20,000 to $100,000 in annual travel value. Not as cashback. Not as generic gift cards. But as business class tickets, luxury hotel stays, and fully comped Presidents Clubs.
Compare that to a traditional incentive:
- 6-person team retreat to Miami: $9,000 in flights, $6,000 in hotels, $2,500 in food/events = $17,500 cash outlay
- Versus: Same retreat booked with 420,000 points across three programs, with $2,300 in out-of-pocket taxes and fees
In the latter case, the net savings are over $15,000 - and the team still gets the trip.
The only real difference? One company built their points strategy around intentional outcomes. The other let their points expire unused or cashed them out at a penny per point.
Case Study #1: The 2-Person Consultancy with a Presidents Club in the Sky
John and Melissa run a boutique real estate marketing consultancy in North Carolina. They work with developers across the Southeast and spend about $45,000/month on project costs, client travel, and subcontractors - most of which flows through a mix of Chase Ink and Amex Gold business cards.
Before working with UpNonStop, they cashed out Chase points for $0.01 per point and used Amex points through the portal at $0.0125. Their total annual return on spend was under 1.5%.
We helped them centralize all spend into unified, high-earning categories and switch from default redemptions to transfer partners. Here’s what that meant in practice:
- Trip 1: Business Class to Lisbon
- 2x Air France business tickets via Flying Blue = 106,000 points + $512 in fees
- Cash value of same flights = $6,800
- Effective redemption value: 6.1 cents per point
- Trip 2: Offsite in Sonoma
- 4 nights at Alila Napa Valley (Hyatt SLH partner) = 120,000 Hyatt points
- Cash value: $4,200
- Effective redemption value: 3.5 cents per point
John called it “the best money we never spent.” Melissa noted their clients were blown away by the optics of the Lisbon trip - without knowing it was funded by credit card points.
The consultancy’s year-end net benefit? Over $11,000 in saved travel costs - and two unforgettable experiences that doubled as business development tools.
Case Study #2: The Roofing Company That Went to Turks & Caicos
A roofing and exterior repair company in the Midwest with 30 employees and $70,000 in monthly spend approached us last fall. The owner had always wanted to do a Presidents Club-style incentive for his top-performing project managers and lead crews - but the travel costs felt excessive, especially in peak winter.
We did a 90-day Points ROI reset:
- Consolidated spend into Amex Business Platinum and Chase Ink Preferred
- Redirected $40,000 in uncategorized vendor spend to 3x categories
- Set up a travel playbook using American Airlines and Marriott transfer partners
Six months later, here’s what they booked:
- 4x round-trip business class flights from Chicago to Providenciales via British Airways (Avios)
- 280,000 Avios + $784 in taxes
- Cash equivalent: $13,200
- 3 rooms x 5 nights at The Ritz-Carlton, Turks & Caicos (Marriott)
- 480,000 Bonvoy points
- Cash equivalent: $11,750
Total out-of-pocket? Under $1,500.
Total redemption value? $24,950.
This trip, once deemed “too corporate for us,” turned into the biggest morale boost they’d had in years. And it cost less than a minor equipment upgrade.
Travel Incentives Drive Real ROI (Not Just FOMO)
Presidents Club isn’t just a vacation. It’s operational leverage disguised as a reward.
The companies that run these trips consistently report:
- 15–30% lift in sales productivity during contest periods
- 60%+ retention boost among top-tier team members who qualify
- A measurable increase in pipeline close rates post-trip from improved team cohesion and internal competition
What’s more, the optics matter. For small companies trying to recruit talent in competitive sectors - construction, marketing, SaaS, healthcare - a travel incentive program sends a powerful message. You don’t need to compete on base salary alone. You can compete on culture, lifestyle, and experiences.
But none of that happens if the trip gets killed in budgeting. And that’s why points matter.
Points Are a Business Tool, Not a Hobby
Too many business owners still think of points like consumers do: as a perk, not a tool. They either ignore them, redeem for gift cards, or let someone in accounting cash them out to offset statement balances. That approach caps returns at around 1%.
Strategic redemptions regularly unlock 3–6 cents per point. That’s a 3x–6x multiple on the same dollar spent. And it’s not hypothetical.
Here are average redemption values across common programs (as of mid-2025):
- Air Canada Aeroplan (business class to Europe): 4.5–5.8 cpp
- Avianca LifeMiles (US–Europe): 4.0–6.0 cpp
- Hyatt SLH hotels: 2.8–4.5 cpp
- British Airways Avios (short-haul J or off-peak biz): 3.0–5.0 cpp
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (first class JFK–FRA): 6.0+ cpp
If your company is spending $600,000/year and redeeming at 1.2 cpp, you’re realizing just $7,200 in travel value. Move that same spend to 4.0 cpp redemptions, and you’re looking at $24,000+ in Presidents Club potential.
It’s Not About More Spend - It’s About Smarter Structure
The playbook isn’t complicated, but it does require discipline:
- Structure spend to maximize category multipliers (3x/5x earnings)
- Centralize points across programs - ideally Chase, Amex, or Capital One
- Transfer, not cash out - move points to airline/hotel partners
- Book smart - avoid portals, use award charts, and plan around availability
- Track redemptions like financial assets, not afterthoughts
UpNonStop works with founders and operators who know how hard it is to earn those points - and want to make every one count. Presidents Club isn’t the only outcome, but it’s one of the most impactful. And it changes how your team views the brand.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need a private jet budget to fly your team in lie-flat seats. You just need to stop burning your points at 1 cent a pop. Presidents Club, team retreats, incentive trips - they’re all back on the table if you treat your credit card rewards like capital.
Most businesses are sitting on a five-figure travel budget they didn’t even know they had. Our job is to help you unlock it.
If you’re serious about using your points to fund your next team trip, grab the Presidents Club Playbook. It’ll show you exactly how to turn your current spend into next quarter’s best incentive.
You earned the points. Let’s make them fly.
