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In 1987 The Walt Disney Company created their private currency called ‘Disney Dollars,’ which they used to generate billions of dollars in revenue, make purchases, pay off debts and reduce their cash expenses for 29 years until they discontinued new currency creation in 2016. However, the Disney dollars already created are still being used at Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Stores.
If you’ve ever collected, received, or given Walmart gift cards, gift certificates, trading stamps, discount coupons, phone cards, or scrips to anyone, you’ve used Walmart’s private currencies. The only difference is that it probably never occurred to you that it’s Walmart’s private currency and that you could also issue your currency.
CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES used PRIVATE Currency to become the WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE line!
If you’ve ever received or used gift cards, prepaid cards, gift certificates, vouchers, reward points, airline frequent flyer miles, loyalty points, land scrip, company scrip, phone cards, trade certificates, trading stamps, token coins such as subway tokens, IOUs, arcade tokens, tickets, points on some credit cards, or “points” on some websites or discount coupons, you’ve used private money (currency) that a private company printed. The only difference is that it probably never occurred to you that you were using another company’s currency and that you could also issue your personal currency, and it’s 100% legal.
Although these companies don’t identify these items as their company’s private currency or money, that is exactly what it is. Anything that has unquestioned monetary value and is accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or means of payment is a currency.
A general term for these forms of money is “SCRIP.”
WHAT IS SCRIP?
SCRIP means “substitute money,” “private currency,” “alternative to legal tender,” or “an I.O.U… a promise to render specific products or services to the bearer at some future date in time,” issued by a private entity, be it an individual, a commercial business, a nonprofit, or a decentralized common enterprise.
So, scrip is a form of credit that entitles the bearer to receive something in return. It is often used in the same way as money or exchanged for goods at a company store.
Scrip is a currency you can create yourself… that can be bought and sold or used as a medium of exchange instead of CASH. Your scrip could be a sheet of paper that promises to deliver a specific product or service at a future date. It’s only a matter of printing the scrip and then issuing it in exchange for needed products or services. An airline’s frequent flyer miles program is a typical example of scrip, the airlines’ private currency.
Scrip (private currencies) in the form of gift cards, vouchers, airline frequent flyer miles, loyalty points, company scrip, phone cards, trade certificates, etc. are being issued by thousands of companies such as:
1. Starbucks 2.Amazon.com 3. MasterCard 4. Wal-Mart 5. Target 6.Home Depot 7. Lowe’s 8.Costco 9. Best Buy 10. Walgreens 11. CVS 12. American Express 13. Bed Bath & Beyond 14. McDonald’s 15. Whole Foods 16. Shell 17. Exxon Mobil 18. BP 19. Southwest Airlines 20. American Express 21. VISA 22. Dunkin Donuts 23. Cabela’s 24. Barnes & Noble 25. Meijer 26. Texas Roadhouse 27. Outback Steakhouse. 28. Subway etc.
In an effort to win the loyalty of business passengers, the frequent flyer program was started in 1981 by American Airlines. Now, most airlines offer such a program. A frequent flyer miles program is each airline’s “PRIVATE CURRENCY.” These frequent flyer miles enable the customer to acquire airline tickets or numerous products and services when miles are earned. Amazingly, the major US airlines have issued trillions of air miles worth billions of dollars.
This private currency (miles program) is now a massive profit center for airlines. It accounts for more than half of all profits for some airlines, including American Airlines Group Inc., the world’s largest. Airlines earn upwards of 50 percent of their income from selling miles to credit card companies, banks, financial institutions, and other companies.
According to FORBES, in United Airlines’ disclosure about the MileagePlus program, the mileage program generates $1.8 billion in earnings. American Airlines reported $5.5 billion in loyalty program revenue. American Airlines’ own filings show that the airline had been losing money from its passenger operations even before the coronavirus pandemic sent airline travel into a tailspin. However, by generating billions of dollars in loyalty program revenue, the airline has reported billions per year in profit. Thus, American Airlines make more profit from the miles program than from its passenger operations and are now dependent on their mileage programs for survival.
AIRLINES USE PRIVATE CURRENCY TO RAISE BILLIONS.
According to Harvard Business Review, in 2020, U.S. carriers used their loyalty programs (private currency) as collateral security to raise billions in loans. United Airlines raised $6.8 billion in June. Spirit and Delta quickly followed suit with $850 million and $9 billion respectively. And in March of 2021, American Airlines set a new record for the largest ever financing transaction in aviation history with a total of $10 billion backed by the AAdvantage program (its private currency). British Airways raised $1 billion by selling frequent flyer miles.
According to Harvard Business Review, a third-party appraisal of the American Airlines AAdvantage program (i.e., American Airlines’ private currency) placed the value of just the U.S. portion of the AAdvantage program at $24 billion. As of March 2022, American Airlines has a market cap of $10.87 Billion. The situation is similar for United Airlines’ MileagePlus program. As of March 2022, United Airlines Holdings has a market cap of $13.74 billion. Yet, in an investor filing, United valued its MileagePlus program at $22 billion. Thus, Airlines’ frequent flyer programs are worth more than the airlines themselves.
Like the airlines, YOU can issue and use your “company money” to achieve your goals.
While only your imagination can limit the advantages that having your own legal tender can do to benefit your business, here’s just one to think about. Say there is something your company or employer (or you, personally) really needs or wants to acquire, but you can’t afford it on a cash-paying basis. Using your own “currency,” where the cost is based on the cost of supplying the goods and services and where you take delivery now but pay for it much, much later – you can afford to acquire the needed item.