NEW YORK, April 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Swift Exchange, an innovator in the facilitation of global commerce, today announced that it will officially unveil its powerful, breakthrough commerce eco-system as a Silver Sponsor of the 2012 Freddie Awards, to be held this week, April 25-27, at the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Since 1988, the heralded Freddie Awards have been widely recognized by frequent flyers and travel industry executives as the preeminent honor for frequent travel programs.
Introduced by InsideFlyer magazine's Randy Petersen, the "Freddies" have grown in stature and importance to become the most prestigious member-generated awards in the travel loyalty industry. The Freddies were inspired by the late Sir Freddie Laker. Known for his passion for the travel industry and marketing savvy, Laker revolutionized the industry in the 1970s by establishing the first airline to offer no-reservation, low-cost service. In 1978, Laker was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to commercial aviation and the British economy.
"When you consider the rich legacy of achievements in this industry generally and the historic, visionary accomplishments of Sir Freddie Laker in particular, it is truly an honor to be participating as a Silver Sponsor of this year's Freddie Awards," said Richard Postrel, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Swift Exchange. "It is more than coincidental that Swift Exchange has this opportunity to associate itself with someone who literally transformed an industry. We look forward to following in Sir Freddie's pioneering footsteps in the months and years ahead at Swift Exchange."
Each year, the Freddie Awards ceremony recognizes the best programs throughout the world, as chosen by those who know these programs best – the frequent traveling public. The goal of the Freddie Awards is to give voice to the frequent flyer and to honor the efforts of an industry that counts more than 300 million members worldwide.
The conference kicks off on the evening of April 25 and is distinguished by the 22nd Annual Freddie Awards the following night, at which 33 publicly voted awards will be bestowed on participants in the travel and hospitality marketplace. The Awards are followed on Friday April 27 by The Second Annual Randy Petersen Travel Executive Summit, which will feature an opening presentation by Richard Postrel. The Travel Executive Summit, which includes American Express as a sponsor, offers attendees a rare opportunity to venture behind the scenes of loyalty programs worldwide and join industry leaders as they discuss issues impacting their business today.
As part of its participation in the Freddies, Richard Postrel and Swift Exchange will participate in an exclusive panel, "Cash, Credit or Miles – Miles as an Emerging Payment Currency," an in-depth look at the complex promises and pitfalls behind longstanding efforts to turn miles into a robust form of currency. "The dream of truly monetizing reward currencies has remained just that, a dream, for far too long," said Mr. Postrel. "Swift Exchange is at the vanguard of a new era of utility, ubiquity and flexibility for all participants in the loyalty industry."
About Swift Exchange
An innovator in global commerce, Swift Exchange has developed a first-of-its kind, powerful, scalable and highly transformative loyalty operating system designed to provide unprecedented liquidity, transparency and usability of reward points and miles. Using patent-protected technology, Swift Exchange is opening the doors to an entirely new marketplace that will allow consumers to quickly and easily combine rewards they have accumulated across a multitude of loyalty programs and spend them as easily as cash. Swift Exchange is owned and operated by Signature Systems LLC. For more information, visit www.swiftexchange.com.