Randy Petersen. The frequent flyer guru.

Randy Petersen has, by his own account, the best job in the world — and rightfully so. He seems never to travel alone: readers, fellow frequent flyers, and admirers find him no matter where in the world he goes. His gift, if there is one, is for knowing what’s next. Nearly every project he has launched has been a first in the industry — and every one has become part of how the industry now talks about itself.

He founded Frequent Flyer Services in 1986, back when “frequent flyer” was still a phrase requiring a hyphen and an explanation. Two years later, he created the Freddie Awards, the industry’s most credible loyalty-program awards — voted on by more than four million travelers a year. In 1995 he launched WebFlyer, the first frequent-flyer information source on the Internet, and FlyerTalk, the community that would become the loyalty industry’s town square. In 2008 came BoardingArea, today the most-read blog network in the category. Nearly four decades in, Randy remains the first to spot what’s next: in 2025 he founded Milepoint, the first AI-powered answer engine built for frequent flyers, and in 2026 his award-winning Mileslink introduced Voices and Packs — new ways for millions of travelers to personalize the miles-and-points news that matters to them. That same year he launched the BoardingAI studio to build and launch additional AI tools and projects based on the successes of Mileslink and Milepoint.

Randy has consulted for airlines, hotel groups, credit card issuers, and loyalty programs on six continents. He’s been called “the most influential frequent flier in America” by The Wall Street Journal and — most memorably — “the frequent flyer guru” by USA Today in 1988. The nickname stuck. So did the influence.

He credits the audience. Enough said.