Loyalty Newswire – October 10th, 2022

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on October 10, 2022

In this week's Newswire you can enjoy a curated list of the latest customer loyalty, technology, payments, and other relevant marketing news. We include a spectrum of topics, all with the intention of keeping you informed and enabling you to star in your next big meeting.

The Loyalty Newswire makes it simple for busy professionals (e.g. YOU) to quickly digest important industry news and trending topics. Keep reading!

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  • Ann Taylor and LOFT launch StyleRewards
  • Giant Food delivers more value through Flexible Rewards Loyalty Program with new promotion on store brand products
  • Delta Air Lines making changes to SkyMile Medallion program
  • Korean Air selects Amadeus to transform its Skypass frequent flyer program
  • Alef Group (UAE) launches new loyalty programme mobile app
  • Mobivity and P97 Networks partner to offer gaming and brand rewards at more than 65,000 fuel stations across the globe
  • Mana Interactive debuts checking account and rewards program designed for gamers
  • ShopNEXT partners with Visa to launch the first-ever Web3 Loyalty Platform

Ann Taylor and LOFT Launch StyleRewards

Highlight: Women’s retailers Ann Taylor and LOFT announced (1) the launch of StyleRewards, a fresh and modern collaboration between these two Ascena owned brands. Featuring a multi-tender loyalty program that enables clients to earn and redeem perks across brands including Ann Taylor, LOFT, Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet. Members earn a rebate between 2 – 4 percent depending on method of purchase. Program details can be found here.

Giant Food Delivers More Value Through Flexible Rewards Loyalty Program with New Promotion on Store Brand Products

Highlight: Giant Food is celebrating the milestone of serving one million Flexible Rewards program members through a promo that allows members to redeem rewards points for store brand products at reduced point requirements. The campaign runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, and deliver an average of 50-75% discount to members buying private label products compared to typical redemption rates. The Giant Flexible Rewards program offers customers the opportunity to save and earn rewards on grocery savings, gas savings and special rewards through their usual shopping at all Giant stores and online at giantfood.com

Delta Air Lines making changes to SkyMile Medallion program

Highlight: Delta is making sweeping changes to its SkyMiles program, the first since 2015. The new program rules add benefits for Platinum and Diamond level flyers while increasing the Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) for gold, platinum, and diamond Medallions. Gold Medallions will need to accumulate $8,000 in MQDs, a 33 percent increase. Platinum and Diamond status costs also increase by about one-third, to $12,000 and $20,000 respectively. Speculation is that the program was due for an update, this being the first change to MQD thresholds since 2015. It could also be that as travel rebounds post-pandemic, the competition for seat upgrades has intensified to the point where the qualification bar needed be raised. The new rules go in effect January 1, 2023, and the earliest impact felt by program members would be in the 2024 year of membership.

Korean Air selects Amadeus to transform its Skypass frequent flyer program

Highlight: Korean Air has selected Amadeus Customer Loyalty Suite to manage its lifestyle loyalty program, Skypass. Skypass is one of the largest and most recognized frequent flyer programs in Asia Pacific, in operation for more than 35 years. A press release quoted Young Soo Yoo, Managing Vice President & Head of Loyalty, Korean Air saying “Of all the partners we considered, we found Amadeus to be the most trustworthy, not only in its willingness to collaborate, but also in its technical abilities. We will be able to seamlessly integrate our existing systems – and those of our partners too, whether it’s other airlines, alliances, or service providers. This will enable us to differentiate Korean Air’s loyalty program and boost engagement with our passengers.”

Alef Group (UAE) launches new loyalty programme mobile app

Highlight: Alef Group is a privately held lifestyle experience provider founded by the late Sheikh Khalid Bin Sultan Al Qasimi in 2013. Headquartered in Sharjah UAE, Alef Group holds AED 7 billion worth of assets and a land bank of AED 1 billion. The company is a pioneer in developing premier lifestyle communities, destinations, and experiences through investment and strategic joint ventures.

A newly launched Alef Be mobile application offers customers, investors, and partners an elevated shopping, purchasing, and business experience. The app provides relevant information quickly and easily and adds to a seamless, positive experience while using Alef’s products and services.

Read more in the company’s press release here.

Mobivity and P97 Networks Partner to Offer Gaming and Brand Rewards at More Than 65,000 Fuel Stations Across the Globe

Highlight: Mobivity is integrating its cloud-based Connected Rewards into P97’s mobile commerce platform delivering instant, real-world rewards to gamers and brands. Two pilot programs are commencing as a regional c-store and a national fuel brand seek to leverage fuel and product incentives to reward mobile game players in-store and at the pump.

The Mobivity-P97 partnership will help game publishers incentivize fuel and c-store consumers with:

  • In-game rewards where gamers can instantly receive discounts on fuel and products at thousands of Convenience and Fuel brands
  • Restaurant and Convenience brand promotions to drive game and app adoption, rewarding consumers with instant fuel savings delivered directly to their phones
  • Fully customizable digital fuel rewards that have the flexibility to discount fuel on a per gallon or dollar amount directly from any game or brand’s smartphone app

Mana Interactive Introduces Financial Services and Rewards Program Designed for Gamers

Highlight: Mana Interactive Inc. is a Boston based firm founded in 2021 by a team of passionate gamers. Mana is a checking account and debit card for people who enjoy playing video games and want to get rewarded for doing what they know and love. For those of you who like to dissect the origins of brand names, Mana means “Bread” in Spanish. Mana Checking Account and related banking services are provided by MVB Bank, Inc. Mana users can earn points on gaming and entertainment subscriptions, including PlayStation Plus / Now, Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch Online, EA Play, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify and more.

ShopNEXT partners with Visa to launch the first-ever Web3 Loyalty Platform

Highlight: ShopNEXT is a Web3 Loyalty Platform powered by VISA and BNB chain. It utilizes card payment, NFT and gamification in a new Shop-To-Earn model. ShopNEXT allows users to earn token rewards from daily shopping while helping merchants grow their businesses. Users can link any VISA cards to ShopNEXT mobile app and start to earn token rewards by shopping at millions VISA supported merchants. The ShopNEXT token is an exchangeable loyalty currency developed on blockchain. ShopNEXT utilizes the card-linked feature of the Visa Offers Platform that allows any user to link a Visa card to their mobile app. Through VisaNet, ShopNEXT will be able to track all successful card payment transactions and reward users with the token.

Stat of the Week:

What country has the highest penetration of smartphone penetration? The just released report “How the world goes digital” from PYMNTS.com crunched data collected from over 15,000 consumers across 11 countries between April and May 2022 to report that Spain and Italy held the highest shares at 93.2 and 90.1 percent respectively.

Quote of the Week:

Tim Cook, Apple CEO added his personal perspective on the Metaverse during a recent European tour. He cast some doubts on how the Metaverse is defined and made clear his preference for Virtual Reality technology, saying “I always think it’s important that people understand what something is … and I’m really not sure the average person can tell you what the metaverse is.” He added “I think AR is a profound technology that will affect everything.”

Miss the previous newswire? Stay informed: Loyalty Newswire – October 3, 2022

The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the hard-working, customer-centric, data-driven staff at The Wise Marketer.