Wallaby and TPG hack travel and credit cards, putting more money in your wallet

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With Halloween solidly in the rearview mirror, the holiday shopping season is upon us.  The run up to New Years Eve means flights to see family, online shopping and, for Pasadena-based Wallaby, helping customers figure out how to make the most from their credit cards.

Hacking Travel, Earning More from Credit Cards

Wallaby, which describes themselves as a software technology company helping users to save money on their credit cards, is beefing up its partnership with The Points Guy (TPG), an online site devoted to hacking the travel industry, maximizing points and miles and providing readers with travel deals.  A new mobile app TPG To Go is a product of that partnership; readers of TPG can use the app to keep up to date with the latest breaking deals (like those sub $100 fares to Europe), reviews about hotels and other information.

While Wallaby’s strength lies in helping its users choose which credit card to use on a daily basis, it's still a software company at its core. Wallaby’s involvement helped integrate TPG’s instagram feed into the app and added location tracking, so users can see where TPG’s founder Brian Kelly is at any give time (Kelly travels more than 200,000 miles a year).  For users, that helps “bring that travel experience to life,” said Wallaby’s CEO Matthew Goldman. 

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App users can choose what type of travel information they want to see.  Wallaby managed to incorporate all blog postings into the app and articles are built to be read in-app, meaning it’s easy to use and readers don’t have to hop from app to other programs on their smart phone.  “We tie that ability to see [content of TPG] to an alerting system,” said Goldman, meaning users can get real-time alerts on travel deals.

Users who upgrade to TPG To Go Pro get the benefits of Wallaby’s tracking app.  It “adds another layer of functionality on top of TPG Tracker that enables users to get real-time feedback on how they are proceeding with earning credit card bonuses,” said Goldman.

For TPG readers, who often sign up for a particular card to get travel benefits, this can help them rack up mileage or other rewards. Users enter in what travel credit cards they have, regardless of whether it’s an old card or one that they recently signed up for, and the app helps them keep track of goals.  For instance, a new credit card might pay out a significant number of miles but only if users charge a certain amount to the card. Wallaby helps users keep track of their progress while combining their core strength – finding the best deal for each purchase – so that rewards and savings are maximized.  For the million plus monthly visitors to TPG’s site, it brings an additional way to save money.

Of course, the app continues to curate the best deals and most lucrative credit cards out there for its users.  

Saving $ During the Holidays

Beyond travel, the team at Wallaby is gearing up for the holiday season and aims to help consumers find the best deals from their various credit cards. Goldman thinks its difficult for users to know which card provides the best savings at any given moment, but that’s the company’s strength. For online users, their extension for Firefox and Chrome can tell shoppers what’s the best credit card to use when they hit the checkout page. This allows users to “stack” savings, using online coupons and cash-back or other credit card rewards.

Growth

TPG isn’t the only partnership Wallaby has up its sleeve. In January, the company plans to roll out a new partnership, but didn’t disclose details on who it’s with or what benefits it will bring consumers. In terms of partnerships, Wallaby has “a really great pipeline,” said Goldman.

For future growth, the company will focus on mobile wallets. Goldman's goal is to make Wallaby the easiest, friendliest option and integrate them with other companies.

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Wearables are also an area for growth. They’ve launched products with Pebble and Samsung Gear 2 and Android Wear, but they are keeping a keen eye on Apple’s wearables.

The team recently added a new risk management position, bringing their total staff to nine. They also moved to a new location in Pasadena: a planned new technology hub from Cross Campus.