Originally Posted by
pinniped
The original article was about credit cards and banks. It was only about travel in the loosest sense - the connection through miles/points that credit card rewards programs generate.
The whole idea of affinity/loyaty cards started in the early 1980s with American and United, so all the point/mileage schemes owe their history to travel:
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/evolu...lyer-programs/
https://thepointsguy.com/credit-card...-credit-cards/