Matador Creators Tool Spotlight: MintPass, the New App Where You Can Earn Travel Awards

MintPass also wants to simplify the travel planning process by integrating booking tools directly into the platform. Users can discover and book accommodations, flights, and experiences based on the recommendations of other travelers.

But, one of the most intriguing aspects of MintPass for us is its creator program, which is currently in beta. By sharing their travel experiences and insights on the platform, creators can earn points that can be redeemed for a range of rewards, including discounts on future trips and exclusive merchandise. This incentivized approach is hoped to encourage creators to produce high-quality content and help foster a dynamic and engaged community.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Matador: Tell us about how creators benefit from MintPass.

Sam Simmons: 84 percent of travel booking decisions are made based on recommendations from people we trust, and we’ve found that for many of us, that includes the travel creators we follow. MintPass provides a way for creators to document their lived experiences more easily, share them with their community and our traveler network as recommendations, and earn rewards.

If we consider an Instagram or TikTok feed to be the highlight reel window shopping experience, MintPass is the experiential deep dive atop the link in the bio. We’re building a product for all the text messages, spreadsheets, and notes that contain lists of favorite travel hot spots built for sharing, discovery, booking, and rewards. MintPass fully captures the depth and diversity of past travel experiences, allowing creators to own their recommendation lists while extending reach to new audiences seeking travel inspiration from trusted resources.

Photo: MintPass

Can users monetize?

While we aren’t a direct monetization tool, MintPass offers booking at the point of recommendation, allowing friends, family, and followers to book through our travel partners when they receive a recommendation via the platform. Soon after our public launch, we will provide reward points for various platform engagements, including bookings generated from a recommendation. These points can be redeemed for free travel, merchandise, apparel, giveaways, and other benefits, but unlike traditional loyalty points, they can be sold, traded, or gifted to other travelers.

What made you want to partner with travel creators specifically?

We’ve found that creators are often the most helpful to others in their travel planning inspiration due to their extensive experience. However, it’s a challenge to use existing means to adequately document, share, and generate value from one’s recommendations. We are a solution for creators and other tastemakers to better convey their extensive travel experience to current and new audiences while being recognized in our network and rewarded for the adventures they inspire.

Are specific creators a better fit?

Across all channels, social media can often be restrictive for creating travel content of substance, limited to captions and story highlights for documenting recommendations. In contrast, MintPass is designed from the ground up to be a product for discovery and booking travel experiences from verified word-of-mouth suggestions. Thus, our focus is on providing a platform for all types of travel creators who seek to provide informational planning content to audiences. These are those who specialize in providing tangible advice designed to educate and activate their communities, often via itinerary-based recommendations.

How can we try out MintPass?

MintPass’ creator program is launching soon, and we’re pleased to invite Matador Network community members to our exclusive invite-only launch by getting the app today. Those interested can download on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, start logging trips, and build their tastemaker scores before our public launch. Join our Discord to connect with fellow creators, travelers, and the MintPass community.