Channeling Heritage, AmEx Creates Home For Travelers

ScreengrabWith its history of providing travelers checks for international travelers--and making arrangements for travelers through its own travel services programs--American Express is looking to create an online community for travelers to come together and share experiences, tips and information.

"Travel is a big part of our heritage," Bonnie Taffer, VP/alliances and content for American Express, tells Marketing Daily. "It's a place where we are credible and trusted."

According to company research, American Express cardholders are 90% more likely to travel abroad than others. Creating a site for them to come together was a way to build goodwill, loyalty and engagement for customers, as well as offering them a service, Taffer says. "Collectively, they have a great wealth of knowledge and a strong desire to connect," she says. "It's a way of letting our cardmembers define for us what they want from us as a company."

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The site, membersknow.com, is available to all cardholders who have activated Internet accessibility on their account. Features on the site include chat rooms where American Express cardholders can share information about favorite hotels and restaurants, as well as tips on special deals expressly for them. The site will also include weekly polls and a top 10 list of local favorite hot spots, based on cardholder receipt data.

The site will also include content and discussions led by editors of Travel + Leisure, which is published by American Express Publishing. The editors will host conversations on different travel topics every week, ranging from the best resort wear to great American spa destinations.

"We have a great content asset in Travel + Leisure," Taffer says. "[The site] is a way for them to talk with their readers. Not only will they be answering questions, they'll be asking them as well."

The site will receive some promotion through the company's home page, as well as through some banner and online advertising on other sites. It will also fall under the umbrella of American Express' "Are you a Cardmember?" brand campaign that touts the benefits of having an American Express card.

However, Taffer is hoping the site will take on a life of its own (it also includes a "tell-a-friend" button) to develop into a bona fide social network. "The real way to grow a community is to get the members to grow it for you,' she says.

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