Travelution, a travel membership platform, privately registered its "travelution.ai" domain on October 8, 2024, operating as the sixth spinoff of the Mavie Global Ponzi scheme. While Travelution's website makes no mention of Mavie Global or its CEO, Michael Prazenica, the platform clearly features on Mavie Global's own site.
Travelution markets two retail membership tiers. An annual membership costs 240 USDC, while a lifetime option is priced at 720 USDC. USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, often favored by such schemes for its perceived stability and ease of international transfer outside traditional banking scrutiny. Beyond undisclosed third-party discounts, Travelution claims to offer an "AI City Guide," an "AI Map," and an "AI Concierge" service. Payments made through Travelution are also said to generate "MyLife points," which the company website vaguely states can be used to "discount attractions, stays, and more."
The multi-level marketing (MLM) component of Travelution primarily compensates affiliates for recruiting new members. The company pays out only 70% of earned commissions in cash. Twenty percent of the remaining 30% is allocated as MyLife points, with the final 10% directed to an undefined component called "BonusHub." No marketing materials, nor either the Travelution or Mavie Global websites, provide a definition for BonusHub.
Travelution's compensation plan features eighteen distinct affiliate ranks. These ranks, presented as "NFTs," include designations such as Iron NFT, Gold NFT, Diamond NFT, and ultimately, Legendary GOAT NFT. The company does not, however, disclose the specific qualification criteria required for affiliates to achieve any of these ranks.
Affiliates earn a 7% referral commission on membership fees paid by individuals they personally recruit. A "Fast Start Bonus" offers a 50% refund on an affiliate's own membership fee if they recruit five new affiliates who join at the same membership tier.
Residual commissions are paid through a binary compensation structure. In this model, an affiliate sits atop a binary team, split into a left and a right side. The first level holds two positions, which then each split into two more positions for the second level, creating four positions. Subsequent levels generate as needed, with each new level doubling the positions of the previous one. Direct and indirect recruitment fills these positions, and there is no stated limit to how deep a binary team can grow. At the close of an unspecified pay period, Travelution tallies new membership volume on both sides of the binary team.
The heavy reliance on recruitment for revenue, coupled with vague product details and an opaque compensation structure, aligns with the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme. In these models, new investor funds are used to pay earlier investors, creating an unsustainable system that typically collapses when recruitment slows. Financial authorities worldwide consistently issue warnings against multi-level marketing programs that emphasize recruitment over genuine retail product sales, particularly those operating with digital currencies and offering undefined rewards like "BonusHub."
