Tesco Ireland adds buy and fly! to Clubcard
Tesco Ireland has partnered with the points-based travel and leisure reward programme Buy and Fly! to offer flights, travel and leisure rewards to the its Clubcard loyalty programme members.
The partnership only extends to Clubcard members in the Republic of Ireland, who can now choose to have their Tesco Clubcard points automatically converted into buy and fly! points. These points are then redeemable for a range of travel and leisure rewards including flights with eighteen airlines around the world.
"This partnership is great news for Clubcard members and also for current buy and fly! collectors," commented Catherine Conroy, head of customer loyalty for Tesco Ireland. "It adds a new and exciting reward dimension to Clubcard, and mean that customers can collect faster and go further."
Other partners In Ireland, buy and fly! points can already be collected from other companies such as Statoil, Nikon and American Express. Now, with Tesco as the main points collection partner, the programme's UK-based operator, Landround Plc, expects these travel rewards to become much more attainable than before.
The programme has also experienced considerable growth in the UK over the past year with the signing of new point-distributing partners, including Morgan Stanley (the 'buy and fly! Mastercard') and Shop Direct.
Expansion planned "Offering a choice of valuable and achievable rewards is at the heart of the buy and fly! programme," said David Lyne, Chief Executive for Landround plc. "Partnering with Tesco Ireland is a landmark in buy and fly!'s history and will provide a platform for the future growth of the entire programme."
In an interview with Tony Short, Landround's commercial director, The Wise Marketer was told that the new partnership came about because Tesco Ireland's brand - and its affinity with buy and fly! - is very strong. "We want to make this a successful programme in Ireland, and provide value both for Tesco Ireland and for its customers," said Short.
What about Tesco UK? According to Short, the company plans to use this opportunity to prove the value and business case for the programme in major grocery retailer's environment. Asked if this would lead to a similar partnership being discussed with Tesco in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, Short replied that "When buy and fly! is tried and tested at Tesco Ireland, and when it proves successful, there are so many possibilities."
But - despite obvious competition from Tesco's contract with Air Miles in the UK - the question of whether or not Tesco UK would be on the list of partners waiting in the wings remains unanswered. According to Short, nothing can be positively ruled out.
For additional information: · Visit Tesco Ireland at http://www.tesco.ie · Visit Landround at http://www.landround.com