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Loyalty Newswire – June 28th, 2021

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on June 28, 2021

Every Monday, the editors at The Wise Marketer curate a list of the latest customer loyalty and marketing news to make it simple for busy professionals to quickly digest important, trending topics. Additionally, we cover the retail, travel, hospitality, payments, and data privacy sectors. Show your support by joining our mailing list to gain access to exclusive content, events, and promotions. Don't forget to follow us on social media!

  • Oxygen has unveiled its ambitious debit card loyalty program, Oxygen Elements
  • Chipotle marks the launch of Rewards Exchange with a limited time video game, giving players a chance to win a Tesla Model 3
  • Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) recently launched Hayak, a loyalty program designed for employees
  • Through its new partnership with Points, Bilt Rewards members can convert their points for travel rewards
  • 7-Eleven and Marathon agreed to sell over 200 retail outlets after FTC declares 7-Eleven’s acquisition of Marathon’s Speedway subsidiary violated federal antitrust laws
  • Kingsbarn Realty Capital announces the acquisition of Mills Fleet Farm's flagship store based in Appleton, Wisconsin.
  • New report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group finds consumer complaints about digital payments are steadily rising
  • New study reveals that nearly half of companies aren't concerned about regulatory fines
  • United Airlines has started to lift many of the restrictions in its MileagePlus program

LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS:

Oxygen Debuts “Elements” Loyalty Program for Debit Cardholders, New Look

Highlight: With the introduction of Oxygen Elements, debit cardholders will now enjoy leading cashback rates of up to 6% at approved merchants and retail and travel perks like Global Entry/TSA precheck reimbursement, in addition to a 100% Digital PriorityPass™ Select Global Airport lounge membership, the first of its kind in the US. “We recognize there is a pent-up demand for safe travel after the pandemic,” says Sheryl Pflaum, President for the Americas at Collinson and Priority Pass. “The Oxygen cardholder, independent and not tied to a specific location, can take advantage of Priority Pass, the first all-digital program in the US for a contactless experience within lounges. We are excited to unveil this partnership with Oxygen, which has a strong history of creating meaningful experiences for a digital-native consumer.”

Chipotle Launches Rewards Exchange With New Video Game And Tesla Model 3 Giveaway

Highlight: Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced it is celebrating the launch of Rewards Exchange, the biggest update to the Chipotle Rewards program since its debut in 2019, by introducing a new video game called Chipotle Race to Rewards Exchange on June 23. The interactive racing game, inspired by the recent resurgence of low-fi video game titles, will challenge players to earn game points and avoid obstacles for a chance to win a 2021 Tesla Model 3 and other prizes. "The new Chipotle Race to Rewards Exchange video game is a fun way to demonstrate the speed at which our loyalty members can now earn rewards," said Chris Brandt, Chief Marketing Officer. "This is one of the many ways we're super-charging our superfans and offering exclusive experiences to our most loyal guests."

DAFZA launches a customer rewards program “Hayak”

Highlight: Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) announced the launch of “Hayak” program, especially designed for employees from the companies operating at DAFZA and the first of its kind program across free zones in the emirate of Dubai. The new program provides its members with various offers and services from a group of partners and prestigious brands across different sectors. The program will benefit more than 18,000 employees working in over 1,800 companies across 20 sectors that have their regional headquarters in the free zone... "This initiative aims to enhance the experience of investors and companies in the free zone, aligning with our strategy, which is focused on satisfying our customers and providing the utmost support to their employees," said Amna Lootah, Assistant Director-General at DAFZA.

Points Partners with Bilt Rewards as exclusive travel exchange partner for first-ever loyalty program that lets you earn rewards on rent

Highlight: Bilt Rewards marks the first-ever rewards program for the housing sector and the $500 billion/year rental market at-large. “Housing is the single largest expense for the vast majority of Americans,” says Bilt CEO and Founder Ankur Jain, “And until today, it has been the only major expense you couldn’t earn points through. Over a renter’s lifetime, that’s thousands upon thousands of dollars that they’ve never been able to earn something back on. With the launch of the new Bilt Rewards program, renters will now be able to travel and take their next dream vacation just by paying their rent.”

RETAIL NEWS:

FTC Orders the Divestiture of Hundreds of Retail Stores Following 7-Eleven, Inc.’s Anticompetitive $21 Billion Acquisition of the Speedway Retail Fuel Chain

Highlight: 7-Eleven, Inc. and Marathon Petroleum Corporation have agreed to divest hundreds of stores used to sell gasoline and diesel fuel in 293 local markets across 20 states to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that 7-Eleven’s acquisition of Marathon’s Speedway subsidiary violated federal antitrust laws. 7-Eleven consummated the acquisition on May 14, 2021, even though the company knew the acquisition violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act... According to the complaint, markets for retail gasoline and retail diesel fuel are highly localized, and consumers have no economic or practical alternatives to the retail sale of gasoline or diesel fuel.

Kingsbarn Purchases Retail Center Leased to Mills Fleet Farm for $55.1 Million

Highlight: "While many retailers are closing stores, Fleet Farm is expanding, having opened six new stores over the past two years," stated Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori. "Founded in 1955, Fleet Farm is a proven product that has been operating for over 65 years. They have an e-commerce resistant product mix, as they are similar to wholesale club stores like Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's Wholesale Club," Pori further explained. Fleet Farm currently operates 53 stores throughout the upper Midwest. Fleet Farm was acquired by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in 2016 for $1.2 billion. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co carries a Standard & Poor's "investment-grade" credit rating and has more than $165 billion of assets under management.

PAYMENTS NEWS:

How digital payment apps put consumers' cash at risk

Highlight: Consumers are increasingly using digital payment apps for convenience. The peer-to-peer (P2P) apps were originally marketed as a way for friends to split expenses. But, perhaps due to a concern for contactless payments during a pandemic, consumers are using them for more and more transactions, opening their bank accounts to scammers. Consumers don’t realize that the instantaneous transactions are not reversible, nor that they have fewer consumer protections when they use a payment app or service. So, complaints are way up. The three most commonly complained-about issues involving digital wallets are problems managing, opening or closing accounts; problems with fraud or scams; and problems with transactions (including unauthorized transactions).

DATA & PRIVACY NEWS:

New Corinium Research Report Reveals Data Privacy Compliance Top Priority for Companies, Yet Nearly Half Not Concerned About Regulatory Fines

Highlight: Research uncovered that the vast majority of participants (94%) ranked data privacy compliance as a top priority for their organization. Yet nearly half (45%) aren't concerned about regulatory fines and penalties despite a growing number of regulations and data breaches. Instead, their motivations are focused more on building trust with their customers and partners. “It has never been more important for all business leaders to understand the relationship between their organization’s privacy and cybersecurity programs, how the two overlap, where the challenges are, and how they can build upon one another to protect customers, employees, partners and the organization’s brand,” said Nick Halsey, Okera CEO.

TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY NEWS:

United Eases Loyalty Program Restrictions with Future Business Travel Demand in Mind

Highlight: United Airlines has loosened restrictions in its MileagePlus program, a move the carrier hopes will help stimulate business travel demand later in the year. Recent changes have included eliminating blackout dates for all members—previously, Premier members and qualified co-branded Chase cardholders had no blackout dates, but it has now been expanded program-wide—and cutting award prices on certain routes. One-way Economy fares on some routes to Europe, including Madrid, Lisbon and Reykjavik, have been cut to 22,500 miles, and some domestic routes are available for as little as 5,000 miles, according to the carrier. Additionally, it has increased premium cabin availability for upgrade rewards and discounted the co-pay for upgrade requests to Europe.

Did you miss last week's newswire? Stay informed: Loyalty Newswire – June 21st, 2021

The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the staff at The Wise Marketer.