As ‘The Points Guy,’ this Pitt alumnus helps travelers leverage loyalty
Of course, Brian Kelly was aboard a flight, waiting for liftoff, when he heard the news. The week it hit shelves in March 2025, his first book-length travel guide became an instant New York Times bestseller, soaring to No. 5 on the Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous book list.
In 2010, Kelly (A&S ’05) founded “The Points Guy” — originally a travel blog, now a leading travel media platform with more than 150 employees and millions of readers — to help educate travelers on airline and hotel points and loyalty programs. Fifteen years later, his “How to Win at Travel” is a one-stop shop for anyone who wants to better navigate the industry that Kelly has studied and leveraged nearly his whole life.
“When I started in 2010, loyalty was sort of niche. It was this sub-community of people who did it as a hobby, and now it’s a driving force in every aspect of travel,” says the award-winning travel influencer. For those who don’t have the time to read hundreds of blog posts to piece together travel packages, Kelly’s bestseller offers tips and advice in one place.
In 1995, Kelly was 12 years old when he began his journey as a travel savant. That’s when he booked a family vacation to Grand Cayman, using the points his father had accumulated as a traveling sales executive. After he arrived at Pitt in 2001, Kelly continued using points to tour the globe.
From a summer studying abroad in Spain to the conferences he attended as president of the Student Government Board and the Resident Student Association, Kelly traveled so frequently that he earned U.S. Airways Gold status in his third year at Pitt. His Pitt experience prepared him to move to and live in New York at 22, start and grow his own business and publish his bestselling book.
“Pitt is a great campus where there’s so many activities and study abroad opportunities and internships,” he says. “The extracurriculars can truly change the direction of your life in ways that at the time you may not realize.”