Loyalty and rewards

Uber’s latest app update adds a stored-value account that incentivises riders to dive deeper into the Uber ecosystem — and away from their bank or mobile wallet provider.

The loyalty and rewards landscape is in a state of flux. Consumers are being bombarded with a bewildering range of options, and they are primed to jump ship when a better offer comes along – perhaps half have switched to a new credit card in the past year.

How banks are vying for leverage in the rewards space and where their points of vulnerability may lie.

Amazon Go may be stealing the spotlight, but it is far from alone in the rush to revolutionize in-store checkout through the use of sensors, scanners, mobile devices and more.

While the battle for the consumer’s coffee or tea beverage, both hot and cold, is increasingly moving in a mobile direction, the challenge remains as to whether Dunkin’s recent moves are enough for it to succeed against Starbucks.

To expand its Asia Pacific regional reward redemption program, Pay with Points, Citi announced that it is enabling credit cardholders to spend their rewards points and miles to pay for a Spotify premium account.

When engaging in an increasingly competitive credit card rewards and benefits market, issuers have to make sure their programs and pitches to consumers are as simple as possible. But that's hard to do when perks range from points and rewards to the very materials used to build the cards.

Air Canada and its banking partners sweetened their bid for Aeroplan, winning over Aimia’s board and an activist shareholder that was seeking a higher price.

Cardlytics has added Wells Fargo to the list of banks using its card-linked offers platform after a successful pilot, joining JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, the latter of which has leaned on Cardlytics’ marketing service since 2012. Notably, these rivals aren’t demanding exclusivity.

Tailoring company objectives to customers’ changing expectations is no longer a choice. Customer loyalty programs are not just the source of bringing repeated business but also the determinant of the future key players across all industries, writes Donika Kraeva, Communications Manager at Dentacoin Foundation, Netherlands.