Head for Points
Head for Points is a UK travel media platform founded in 2012 by Rob Burgess, providing daily editorial content, credit card directories, a reader forum and a Virtuoso hotel booking service on airline loyalty programmes, hotel points and travel credit cards for affluent UK business and leisure travellers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Head for Points does
Head for Points is a UK travel media platform founded in 2012 by Rob Burgess, operating as a sole proprietorship ("Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points") and regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as an independent credit broker (FRN 690573). The company is headquartered at 3rd Floor, 51 Eastcheap, London, and is described in source materials as the UK's biggest business and premium leisure travel site, serving an audience dominated by affluent UK-based business travellers and high-end leisure travellers interested in maximising airline miles (primarily Avios and Virgin Points), hotel loyalty currencies and UK travel credit cards. Reported scale metrics include 2.4 million monthly page views, 627,000 unique users, 80,000 email subscribers and roughly 55,000 forum comments per year, with 70% of traffic originating in the UK.
The core product is the WordPress-based headforpoints.com editorial platform, which publishes daily news, credit card directories, flight and hotel reviews, and a reader forum. Supporting products include daily and weekly email newsletters (67% open rate), dedicated UK airline and hotel credit card directories, a Virtuoso luxury hotel booking service that has transacted £1.7 million of room bookings to date across properties such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Ritz Carlton and St Regis, and recommended third-party tools such as SeatSpy. The technology stack is conventional: WordPress CMS, email marketing platform, forum software and an affiliate link management system — there is no public API or software platform functionality.
Revenue is generated through three documented streams: affiliate commissions on credit card sign-ups and travel bookings (the company is described as the biggest UK affiliate for many travel brands excluding cashback sites), display and newsletter advertising (£3,000+VAT starter packages, £10,000–£30,000 medium-term campaigns), and event sponsorship around the biennial Summer Party and Travel & Loyalty Awards dinner. Content is free to access under a freemium model. The customer base is a horizontal mix of UK frequent business travellers, London-based finance and professional services professionals, SME owners/directors seeking business card rewards, and premium leisure travellers; on the supply side, partnerships with British Airways, American Express, Virgin Atlantic, Barclaycard, Hilton, Marriott and IHG form the commercial backbone.
Head for Points firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Head for Points
- Legal name
- Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points
- Website
- https://headforpoints.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Head for Points is a UK travel media platform founded in 2012 by Rob Burgess, providing daily editorial content, credit card directories, a reader forum and a Virtuoso hotel booking service on airline loyalty programmes, hotel points and travel credit cards for affluent UK business and leisure travellers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Head for Points industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Travel Loyalty Media
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810), Travel Agencies (56151)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms (THAKAAAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Reputation, Reviews & Sentiment Intelligence (THALAIAK), Destination/Activity Booking Marketplaces (Tours & Tickets Aggregators) (THAKAAAH)
Keywords
Where Head for Points is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Head for Points business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Affiliate commissions: Commission revenue from credit card sign-up links, travel product promotions, and hotel/flight booking referrals. They are the biggest UK affiliate for many travel brands.
- Advertising: Banner advertising, site sponsorships, newsletter placements, sponsored content, and competitions. Packages start from £3,000+VAT with typical medium-term campaigns costing £10,000-£30,000.
- Event sponsorship: Revenue from annual Summer Party and Travel & Loyalty Awards dinner events, with sponsorship packages from travel brands.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free content access |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Head for Points product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Head for Points is a UK-focused editorial media site providing daily news, guides, and reviews on Avios, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, hotel loyalty programmes, and travel rewards credit cards. Its free content is distributed via the headforpoints.com website, daily and weekly email newsletters (80,000 subscribers), and an active reader forum (~55,000 comments per year), and is monetised through affiliate commissions and advertising. It also operates a paid Virtuoso luxury hotel booking service that delivers guaranteed extra benefits at properties such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and The Ritz Carlton.
Product overview
Head for Points is a UK-focused editorial content platform providing news, guides, and community resources on airline miles (primarily Avios and Virgin Points), hotel loyalty programs, and travel rewards credit cards. The core product is the Head for Points website offering daily editorial content, supplemented by email newsletters (80,000 subscribers), a reader forum (55,000 annual comments), and a Virtuoso luxury hotel booking service. The company also publishes comprehensive credit card directories covering UK airline and hotel reward cards, and promotes third-party tools like SeatSpy for reward flight availability tracking.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Head for Points Editorial Website Free editorial platform providing daily news, in-depth guides, and reviews on Avios, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, hotel loyalty programmes, and UK travel rewards credit cards for UK business and premium leisure travellers. Generates 2.4M monthly page views and 627K unique users (70% UK).
- Daily and Weekly Email Newsletters Free email newsletters delivering Head for Points articles directly to subscribers, including a three-part daily news edition delivered by 6am and a Saturday weekly summary covering 20+ articles. The newsletters reach 80,000 subscribers with a 67% daily open rate.
- Head for Points Forum Free community discussion forum where readers ask questions and share information about travel loyalty programmes, credit cards, and reward redemptions, hosting approximately 55,000 comments per year.
- Virtuoso Luxury Hotel Booking Service Paid luxury hotel booking service offering guaranteed extra benefits (over and above booking direct) at properties including Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, and St Regis, operated by Rob Burgess as a Virtuoso agent. The service has booked £1.7M of rooms to date.
Quantifiable outcome
- £600,000+ sales generated from single Avios promotion
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Head for Points
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Head for Points technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Head for Points partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- British AirwayscorePrimary airline partner with exclusive credit card offerings (BA American Express cards). Site generates significant BA-related content and affiliate revenue through Avios promotions.
- American ExpresscoreKey credit card partner with multiple co-branded card promotions (Gold, Platinum, Business cards). Major advertising client with exclusive reader offers.
- Virgin AtlanticcorePrimary loyalty programme partner covering Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Points. Featured in credit card guides and redemption articles.
- BarclaycardcoreExclusive issuer of Barclaycard Avios credit cards promoted extensively on the site. Major affiliate partner for credit card referrals.
- Hilton HotelsmajorMajor hotel partner for reviews and promotional content covering Hilton Honors loyalty programme and debit card partnerships.
- Marriott InternationalmajorHotel partner for Marriott Bonvoy programme coverage including exclusive debit card offers and points promotions.
- IHG HotelsmajorHotel loyalty partner for IHG One Rewards coverage including Revolut debit card launch promotions.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Head for Points competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- AwardWallet: Loyalty programme tracking and management platform for points and miles enthusiasts. Overlaps with HfP's audience and editorial scope, but operates a software/SaaS model rather than pure content/affiliate.
- Secret Flying: Travel deals aggregator focused on mistake fares, promo fares, and loyalty sweet spots. Overlaps in audience and affiliate monetisation mechanics, but with a deals-first rather than editorial-first approach.
Broad incumbents
- TripAdvisor: Global review-led travel discovery and booking platform. Operates in the same review-driven discovery funnel as HfP but at massive scale and across all travel categories, not loyalty programmes specifically.
- Skift: Travel industry media and research company covering aviation, hospitality, and loyalty. Comparable in monetising travel B2B advertising and intelligence, though positioned as trade media rather than consumer-facing.
- Money Saving Expert: Major UK consumer finance publisher covering credit cards, banking, and travel money with affiliate-driven monetisation. Overlaps significantly in UK credit card affiliate economics, though at broader consumer-finance scale.
- Telegraph Travel: Established UK mainstream travel section of The Telegraph newspaper covering destinations, hotels, and travel advice. Broader editorial reach than HfP, but comparable in monetising affluent UK traveller audiences.
Direct peers
- The Points Guy: The leading US-based travel loyalty media site covering credit cards, miles, points, and airline/hotel reviews. Direct analogue of Head for Points' UK model, recently acquired by Capital One, validating both the audience and the affiliate economics at scale.
- View From The Wing: Long-running US-based points, miles, and loyalty commentary site. Comparable niche focus and affiliate-driven revenue model targeting premium leisure and business travellers.
- OneMileAtATime: Independent travel loyalty blog with detailed airline, hotel, and credit card reviews, monetised via affiliate links. Closest direct competitor in editorial format and target reader to Head for Points.
- Luxury Travel Diary: UK-focused luxury and premium travel blog with hotel reviews, loyalty programme coverage, and affiliate bookings. Closest UK analogue outside the loyalty niche, sharing target demographic and affiliate model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Head for Points social profiles
Digital presenceHead for Points financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Head for Points leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Head for Points funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Head for Points M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Head for Points
What does Head for Points do?
Head for Points is a UK-focused editorial media site providing daily news, guides, and reviews on Avios, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, hotel loyalty programmes, and travel rewards credit cards. Its free content is distributed via the headforpoints.com website, daily and weekly email newsletters (80,000 subscribers), and an active reader forum (~55,000 comments per year), and is monetised through affiliate commissions and advertising. It also operates a paid Virtuoso luxury hotel booking service that delivers guaranteed extra benefits at properties such as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and The Ritz Carlton.
Is Head for Points a public or private company?
Head for Points is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Head for Points founded?
Head for Points was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Head for Points based?
Head for Points is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Head for Points make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Affiliate commissions are the primary driver. The others are advertising and event sponsorship.
Who are Head for Points's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are AwardWallet and Secret Flying. Broad incumbents are TripAdvisor, Skift, Money Saving Expert and Telegraph Travel. Direct peers are The Points Guy, View From The Wing, OneMileAtATime and Luxury Travel Diary.
Does Head for Points have an API?
No public API is recorded for Head for Points.
What industry is Head for Points in?
Head for Points's product category is Travel Loyalty Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAAAN, Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms, with a secondary code of THALAIAK, Reputation, Reviews & Sentiment Intelligence. Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7311.