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TRAVEL LOYALTY
IS OVERDUE
FOR DISRUPTION
Skift Take:
Being a member in loyalty programs
today is about as engaging as a trip
to the auto mechanic. For most,
complex rules and constraints
take much of the utility out of
the programs while other, more
motivated travelers simply find them
uninspiring. To survive, tomorrow’s
loyalty programs will need much
more than blockchain — they’ll need
true disruption.
We're in an era of copy-and-paste loyalty programs. pay for a ticket," said Jonathan Khoo, a software
Cowed by active investors and afraid of straying engineer who travels frequently for work. "Now,
too far from the pack, operators of today's airline, I pretty much make flight booking decisions on
hotel, and car loyalty programs run the conser- wherever the cheapest flights take me."
vative game of offering nearly the exact same
thing that the competition delivers. It annually According to research f rom Skift, tomorrow's
takes 25,000 miles and $3,000 in spend to earn travelers are less interested in the drumbeat
low-level elite status on the major U.S. carriers. of accumulating points for their weekly flight
Stay in a big-brand hotel for 10 nights and the between Omaha and St. Louis and more in how
loyalty benefits start to roll in. they can use those points for unique experiences.
In short, they want faster gratification and deeper
Writer: Grant Martin
That formula may work for now, but tomorrow's engagement from their loyalty programs. Even
consumers want more from their loyalty program. shorter: they want disruption.
"Airline loyalty programs stopped becoming useful
to me after all of the airlines started determin- If only it were so easy. Most legacy loyalty programs
Sponsored by Illustrator: Amanda Berglund ing status in the same way — by how much you are so intertwined with co-branded credit
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