About
Prince of Travel is more than a travel blog. It is a carefully constructed Canadian digital media and travel services enterprise, founded and fronted by Ricky Zhang. Since its 2017 inception, the brand has ascended to become a leading educational authority in Canada for navigating the complex networks of credit card rewards and loyalty programs. Its mission is to demystify the process of accumulating and redeeming points for luxury travel experiences. The operation has evolved far beyond its origins as a personal project into a multi-channel business encompassing a high-traffic content platform, a tiered paid membership program, personalized consulting, and a luxury travel agency named Prince Collection, all operating under the federally incorporated entity 11620762 Canada Inc.
Prince of Travel: History and Growth
The story of Prince of Travel is closely linked to the biography of its founder, Ricky Zhang. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Zhang had a global upbringing with periods of residence in Hong Kong and Beijing, experiences he cites as foundational to his passion for travel. After graduating from the University of Toronto, he entered the corporate world, taking a position at one of Canada’s “Big 5” banks. It was during this time, in 2016, that he first conceived the idea for a platform dedicated to travel rewards.
Following a year-long search for an available and fitting domain name, the Prince of Travel YouTube channel was created on July 22, 2017, with the website launching in the same period. As the platform’s readership and affiliate revenue grew, Zhang made a pivotal decision. In early 2018, he left his full-time corporate job to dedicate himself entirely to the venture.
The brand’s growth necessitated an expansion from a solo operation into a structured organization. T.J. Dunn, a former speech-language pathologist, joined as Editor-in-Chief, transitioning from a part-time role during his graduate studies to a full-time position. Amy Tung, who specializes in content on family travel for her own family of five, came on board in 2020 as a Writer and Travel Consultant, a role she balances with her work as a Vacation Consultant affiliated with Expedia Cruises. The team also includes Jason Lee, listed as a Miles & Points Creator.
Key strategic milestones mark the company’s evolution. In November 2020, Prince of Travel tested a direct revenue model with a paid membership pilot on Patreon. The successful experiment led to the official in-house launch of the Prince of Travel membership program on September 17, 2021. The brand then expanded into the live events space, hosting the inaugural edition of its annual conference, The Travel Summit, in Toronto in October 2022.
Prince of Travel: Content and Style
The core of Prince of Travel’s content is educational and analytical, with a sharp focus on the Canadian market. The platform produces in-depth guides, news updates, and reviews covering Canadian credit cards and loyalty programs like Air Canada’s Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, and hotel programs such as Marriott Bonvoy. The style is deliberately approachable, designed to translate complex financial and loyalty program rules into actionable strategies for both beginners and advanced enthusiasts.
This content is distributed across two distinct video channels. The main @PrinceofTravel YouTube channel serves as the primary hub for educational explainers and reviews. Complementing this is the founder’s personal channel, @_Ricky, which focuses on experiential content, including personal travel vlogs and first-person reviews of luxury flights and hotels. This dual-channel strategy allows the brand to deliver technical information while simultaneously building Zhang’s personal credibility as an experienced luxury traveler.
How Prince of Travel Makes Money
The operational backbone of Prince of Travel is its legal entity, 11620762 Canada Inc., a federally incorporated Canadian corporation. A critical operational detail is its legal jurisdiction. According to its Terms of Service, the company is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario, with all legal disputes to be heard in Ontario courts. This stands in contrast to the founder’s residence in Vancouver. The discrepancy is explained by Zhang’s history, as he founded the company in 2017 while living and working in Toronto. The decision to maintain this legal domicile suggests a deliberate strategy for administrative continuity.
The company’s revenue model is diversified across four primary pillars:
Affiliate Marketing: This is the foundational revenue stream. The brand maintains affiliate relationships with nearly all major Canadian credit card issuers, including American Express, TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), and Bank of Montreal (BMO). Content explicitly discloses that the company earns commissions and referral bonuses for sending traffic to these partner sites.
Direct-to-Consumer Services: Prince of Travel has successfully developed recurring and direct revenue streams. A tiered subscription program—offering Gold, Platinum, and Royal Platinum levels—provides members with exclusive content, an ad-free website experience, and access to a private community on the Discord platform. The company also offers one-on-one paid “Points Consulting” sessions for personalized strategy and booking assistance.
Travel Agency Operations (Prince Collection): In a significant strategic expansion, the company launched its own in-house luxury travel agency, operating at princecollection.com. This venture was enabled by a partnership with Direct Travel, a major North American travel management company. This partnership provides Prince Collection with the necessary infrastructure and access to exclusive, invitation-only hotel preferred partner programs. The agency books cash-based hotel stays for clients, offering them value-added amenities such as complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, and hotel credits, typically valued at $100 USD, through programs like Virtuoso, Marriott STARS & Luminous, Hyatt Privé, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Rosewood Elite, and Mandarin Oriental Fan Club.
Events: The brand generates revenue and deepens community engagement through live events. Its flagship is The Travel Summit, an annual conference hosted in Toronto that attracts ticket-buyers and sponsors. Smaller-scale “Signature Events” and community meetups further solidify its position as a central hub for the Canadian travel rewards community.
Prince of Travel's Collaborations
Prince of Travel’s influence is built on a network of strategic partnerships. Beyond its extensive affiliate relationships with Canada’s top financial institutions, the company’s operational partnership with Direct Travel is fundamental to the existence of its Prince Collection agency.
Perhaps the most telling indicator of its industry standing is its relationship with Air Canada. In a powerful de facto endorsement, the airline’s official website has featured a video created by Prince of Travel’s Editor-in-Chief, T.J. Dunn, to explain complex changes to its own Aeroplan loyalty program. For a national carrier to use a third-party media entity to communicate with its own customers signifies an exceptional level of trust and recognizes Prince of Travel’s authority in the Canadian market.
Prince of Travel: Public Reception
The brand and its founder enjoy a strong public reputation and are frequently cited as subject matter experts by Canadian media outlets and podcasts. To further engage its audience, the company produces its own annual “Prince of Travel Awards,” a reader-voted initiative that recognizes the best products in the travel rewards space as determined by its community.
The research process did not uncover any major public controversies, legal incidents, or scandals associated with Ricky Zhang or Prince of Travel. However, feedback from within niche online communities of highly advanced hobbyists presents a more critical perspective. In a 2021 thread on the r/churningcanada subreddit, a forum for well-organized credit card rewards enthusiasts, some users questioned the value proposition of The Travel Summit. Comments described the event as “a bunch of hype” and debated whether the ticket price was justified by the information offered. One user characterized the founder as a “good marketer” while expressing skepticism about certain business development strategies. This feedback, while not widespread, indicates that a segment of the most informed users in the space holds a more reserved view of the brand’s paid offerings.
Prince of Travel: Philanthropy
A thorough investigation for philanthropic activities or charitable initiatives connected to Ricky Zhang or the Prince of Travel brand did not yield any verifiable information. The disambiguation process, a critical component of the research, identified several other individuals named Ricky or Richard Zhang with extensive and publicly documented histories of philanthropic work, confirming they were separate people.
Prince of Travel Today
From its origins as a solo blog, Prince of Travel has transformed into a well-organized and diversified Canadian enterprise. Under the leadership of Ricky Zhang, it has successfully layered multiple revenue streams—affiliate marketing, paid memberships, consulting, a travel agency, and live events—onto a foundation of authoritative educational content. With a structured team and a robust corporate framework, the brand has solidified its position as a dominant force in the Canadian travel rewards landscape. While its stated long-term ambitions include expansion into the larger U.S. market, its current success is a proof to its deep, specialized focus on serving its home audience.