New focus on financial services for Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook has unveiled a new focus on financial services, claiming it wants to help customers pay for their holidays in the current uncertain economic climate.
The tour operator went live with a travel insurance website today, and consultants in its shops are now being urged to sell a new Thomas Cook credit card to customers when booking their holidays.
Each time shop staff process an application for the card, they get paid £10. The incentive is paid even if the application is rejected.
The whole application process takes around eight to 10 minutes.
Financial services managing director Mark Nancarrow said some consultants were already selling it well.
Two staff processed so many applications in January that they earned more from the £10 incentives than from their actual salary, he said.
But he said those that were not yet fully comfortable promoting the credit card were being given further training.
Staff will soon be given access to a tool allowing them to automatically calculate the savings the card brings to each customer, making it easier to persuade customers to apply.
Thomas Cook is not yet advertising the new credit card. Instead it is promoting it to customers who come into its shops or book online, and also those who use its in-shop foreign exchange facilities.
“We have 5 million travel customers and another 4 million customers in foreign exchange, so there is huge potential,†said Nancarrow.
The card gives three months’ interest free credit to customers for their holiday booking, with an interest rate of 17.9% after that.
Users earn 2% in ‘Travel Pounds’ for money spent in Thomas Cook and 1% for all other purchases.
These “Travel Pounds’ can be put towards future purchases in Thomas Cook and, by the summer, customers will also be able to swap them for foreign exchange.
The company said a customer who spends £2000 on a holiday and another £1000 in spending money will save £169.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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