Points International Ltd., operator of points.com, reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2004.

The company reported revenues of $1.98 million in the 2004 third quarter, an increase of 20 percent over 2003. New business established in both the second and third quarters, as well as price increases for consumer activity implemented at the end of the third quarter, contributed to the increase in revenue, and are expected to continue the trend.

Points saw the online exchange of 6.5 billion points and miles, up from 5.3 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2004 and 3 billion at 2003 year end. The average transaction size per exchange increased to 18,041 points, up from 15,663 in the third quarter of 2003.

CEO Rob MacLean chalked much of the growth to an increasing partnership stable. “New relationships launched or announced in the third and early fourth quarter include partners such as British Airways, Prime Hospitality, GoldPoints, Frontier Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines,” MacLean said.

Several new partners were expected to join the exchange and/or launch additional private offerings to customers using points.com in the fourth quarter 2004.

In the second quarter of 2005, several changes to the Web site will be launched. Over the course of the spring and summer, points.com will add purchase, earn, and — interestingly enough — “suggestion” functions.

The new system will be driven by an Amazon-style engine that makes relevant suggestions by association. This uses the member’s individual program, reward goals and point balance data to suggest ways to the site’s various tools.

Points.com currently works with more than 40 loyalty operators worldwide, including major programs such as American Airlines’ AAdvantage, Delta Air Lines’ SkyMiles, eBay’s Anything Points, InterContinental Hotels’ Priority Club Rewards and Starbucks.