Airline Frequent Flier Programmes - more flexible ways to earn and burn

Sep 5, 2022

One way in which airlines can give their loyalty programmes renewed relevance, when traditional travel benefits may be less appealing or available, is by giving members the opportunity to earn and burn points on everyday shopping. While the online commerce space is familiar territory for FFP’s, (Frequent Flyer Programmes), the points accrual process via traditional affiliate marketing solutions is filled with friction which can negatively impact customer engagement. The reality is that few people see their favourite airline loyalty programme’s landing page as an appealing destination to shop for anything other than flights.

Solutions like Pointspay from Loylogic, sit at the intersection of affiliate marketing and payments systems., allowing members of a loyalty programme to earn and spend their points when purchasing goods directly from the website of programme partner retailers. This opens new avenues through which members can earn and burn their points/miles — and with the option to pay with points in combination with cash, they gain real flexibility not available with most programmes.

Burning frequent flyer miles for gifts is a concept that has been available from in-house initiatives provided by airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa for some years. The difference here is that the flexibility to work with partners is made much simpler, such that customers can earn and spend miles with the retail partners of airlines directly.

Loylogic recently teamed up with the online supermarket, Farmy, giving SWISS Miles & More members the ability to pay for their everyday groceries with a mixture of points and cash, as well as earn. Indeed, for every one franc spent on groceries via Pointspay, members will receive one mile paid directly and instantly into their Miles & More loyalty account offering a new way to earn points.

For FFP’s, capturing a share of online retail spend was previously seen as an opportunity to generate incremental revenues outside of their core business. Today however, it is a vital way for programmes to make points more liquid and to stimulate additional earning of miles ensuring that flyers stay loyal.