First Officer for Consulting

Your Client Travel and Software Should Be Earning 3x to 4x.

Consulting firms have one of the best spend profiles for card optimization. Travel, dining, software, and advertising all fall into high-multiplier categories. Most consultants earn 1x on a personal Amex when they could earn 2.2 to 2.8x across a business card stack.

Your numbers

See What You're Leaving Behind

Adjust the sliders to match your monthly business spend. Each category shows which card earns the most and why.

Monthly spend calculator
$6,000
3x on the right card for travel
$3,000
May code as software. up to 4x on the right business card
$2,000
4x on the right business card for restaurants; 2x on a gas-bonus card
$4,000
3x on the right business card or 4x on the right business card
$3,000
Office supplies 5x at office supply stores; rest 2x on a catch-all card
Total monthly spend$18,000
Without optimization
$0
~1x base points / year
With First Officer
$0
2.2 to 2.8x optimized / year
You're leaving $0 per year in unrealized value
The mistakes

What Consulting Firms Get Wrong

These aren't obvious. Nobody in the consulting firms industry talks about points optimization. Here's what we see over and over.

01

Using a personal card for business travel

Personal cards don't separate business spend for accounting, and you miss business card signup bonuses entirely. Business cards have higher limits, separate credit reporting, and often better multipliers. Your $6K/month travel spend on the right business card earns 3x. that's 216,000 points per year.

The math

$6K/month travel on the right business card at 3x = 216K pts/year = $3,240 to $6,480 in redemption value.

02

Running all expenses through one card

Travel, software, dining, and advertising all earn different multipliers on different cards. A consultant spending $18K/month across these categories captures 2.2 to 2.8x blended with a 4-card stack versus 1x on a single card.

The math

$18K/month at 1x = 216K pts/year. At 2.5x blended = 540K pts/year. Difference: $4,800 to $9,700 in travel value.

03

Booking flights and hotels through OTAs instead of direct

Online travel agencies (Expedia, Booking.com) often strip your loyalty points, elite night credits, and room upgrades. Book direct, put it on the right card, and you earn both card points AND hotel/airline points. Double-dipping is how consultants travel in business class for the price of economy.

The math

$2K hotel stay via OTA: earn 2K card points only. Direct: earn 2K card points + 10K hotel points + potential upgrade. Over a year: 50K+ extra hotel points.

04

Not timing card applications around big client projects

New client engagements with large upfront travel and software spend are the perfect time to hit signup bonuses. Time a new card application before a $10K-$15K project sprint and the minimum spend requirement meets itself.

The math

the right business card 100K + the right category card 70K = 170K points = $2,500 to $3,500 in travel. Minimum spend met by normal project expenses.

How it works

Your vendors. Our routing.

Every vendor sends a merchant category code (MCC) when you swipe. That code determines your multiplier. The same $5,000 payment earns 5,000 points on the wrong card or 20,000 on the right one. We match every vendor to its highest-earning card.

MCC
Vendor Code Analysis

We've mapped how your vendors code with card networks. Verified, not guessed.

CAP
Spending Cap Tracking

Every bonus category has annual caps. We shift routing before you hit a ceiling and drop to 1x.

CPP
Transfer Partner Math

Earning is half. We route redemptions to partners where points are worth 2x to 5x more than cash.

Your card stack, routing rules, and redemption strategy are built specifically for your vendors and spend. See what yours looks like.

Real math

What This Looks Like for a $18K/Month Consulting Firm

Same spend. Different strategy. Different outcome.

Annual breakdown

Monthly business spend$18,000
Annual spend$216,000
Points earned (unoptimized, ~1x)216,000 pts
Points earned (First Officer, ~2.5x avg)540,000 pts
Signup bonus points (year one)~220,000 pts
Total optimized points (year one)760,000 pts
Value at 1 cent/point (statement credit)$7,600
Value at 2 to 4 cents/point (travel partners)$15,200 to $30,400

Hypothetical example for illustration. Actual results vary based on your specific vendors, card products, and redemption choices. This is not financial advice.

How it works

Four Steps to Full Optimization

No apps to download. No spreadsheets. Just a conversation.

01

Message us

4 questions. Takes 2 minutes.

02

We map everything

Cards, balances, credits, programs.

03

Get your game plan

Card stack, routing rules, bonus calendar.

04

We watch. You win.

Proactive alerts, weekly digests, strategy.

Trusted across industries

The same routing intelligence, applied to 20+ verticals. Different vendors, different MCC codes, same rigorous math.

Restaurants. HVAC. Dental. Salons. Fitness. Landscaping. Veterinary. IT. Consulting. Cleaning. Property Management. Auto Repair. And yours.

20-Minute Spend Audit. Free.

Message us. We'll tell you exactly what your consulting firm business is leaving on the table.

💬 Start on WhatsApp