The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer
From the Editor
November is here, which means we are in the final sprint of the year 2025. Check your priorities and marshal your resources. The end of this year is sure to bring more news and surprises.
This week we report on new alliances, new research and share some worthwhile reading on building trust and delivering stellar customer experience.
This week, we bring you a CRMC Webinar, “Anonymous Shoppers: Goldmine or Blind Spot,” coming on November 6, featuring RONA and sponsored by Exchange Solutions.
And later this month,
- New webinar “The Role of Habit in Building Customer Loyalty” - Are Habit Loops the marketer’s friend – or enemy? This takes place on Tuesday, November 18, at Noon ET and features presenters from ebbo and Loyalty Science Lab.
- Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional (CLMP™) workshop, hosted by our UAE Partners, QBF Consulting, November 18 - 20, 2025, at the Rove Downtown Hotel.
If you have any questions or would like more details, please feel free to reach out.
We are here to help you succeed. Let us know how we can help.
Bill Hanifin, Managing Editor, The Wise Marketer
Short Takes
- [Global] How employers can earn loyalty
- [US] New Amex Offer: Earn Bonus Points on Dunkin’ Purchases
- [US] Earn 300 Points During Marriott Bonvoy Week at Starbucks in November
Last Chance to Register for New CRMC Webinar: Anonymous Shoppers: Goldmine or Blind Spot?
Anonymous shoppers are one of retail’s largest untapped opportunities, yet most brands struggle to engage them. Join us on November 6, 2025, 1pm ET for this discussion moderated by The Wise Marketer with Marie-Helene Cusson, Senior Director, Digital Merchandising & Analytics at RONA. Marie-Helene will share how RONA turned unknown browsers into loyal, high-value buyers with a simple, personalized, in-session approach.
RONA is a leading Canadian retailer of home improvement and construction products and services, owned by U.S.-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners. This webinar is part of the ongoing CRMC Webinar series and is sponsored by Exchange Solutions. Register here.
Marqeta Powers Expansion of Klarna Debit Card Across Europe
Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ: MQ) announced it is working with Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, to expand the Klarna Card into 15 new European markets. This launch extends Marqeta’s long-term partnership with Klarna and leverages Visa’s Flexible Credential (VFC) technology, enabling customers to choose between paying now or later, all through a single debit card experience.
This new expansion follows the successful U.S. launch of the Klarna Card in June 2025 and builds upon Marqeta and Klarna’s long-term partnership. In July 2024, Marqeta became the first issuer processor in the U.S. certified for Visa Flexible Credential.
Merkle Partners with Airship to Create Mobile Loyalty Accelerator Solution for Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Merkle, dentsu's leading customer experience transformation consultancy, announced a new agreement with Airship and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, creating a solution for more connected customer loyalty experiences in mobile.
Now, brand marketers and product managers who are leveraging Salesforce for loyalty management can tap into Airship to help turn customers’ mobile signals into action, loyalty and value, faster. Read the full press release here.
BOUNZ, UAE’s #1 Rewards Program with 1.5 Million+ Members, Enters Bahrain
UAE-based loyalty program BOUNZ has announced its expansion into Bahrain. With over 1.5 million members and 40+ partner brands, BOUNZ has established itself as one of the UAE’s successful loyalty programs since 2021, partnering with leading names such as Choithrams, Joyalukkas, Eros, Sharaf Travel, Gulf News, Wafi Restaurants, and more.
BOUNZ is a free-to-join lifestyle rewards program designed to deliver more value on daily purchases. Members earn BOUNZ when they shop with partner brands and redeem them later for savings.
Gamified Loyalty Experiences lead at Weigel’s
Weigel’s operates 85 convenience stores throughout Tennessee. Reflecting what it says is a growing trend across the convenience retail industry, they announced “Win What You Spend,” a new gamification experience designed to engage guests in fresh, rewarding ways through the MyWeigel’s Rewards program.
“This new campaign is more than just a giveaway—it’s an experience,” said Jessica Starnes, Director of Loyalty at Weigel’s. “Gamification allows us to connect with guests on a deeper level. It brings energy and anticipation into something as simple as a morning coffee or a fuel stop, making every visit more meaningful.”
Accor Launches New Dining Promo for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa
Accor has launched a new dining promotion for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, running from November 10 to March 22, 2026. ALL Accor members can earn 3X when they wine and dine at participating hotels (see the list below) during the promo period, IF they have also registered for this offer.
Get all the details on the Accor website here.
Accor is Building Loyalty Beyond Transactions
The most successful brands in hospitality today are not just building transactions; they are building trust. In a world where consumer expectations shift by the hour and where attention spans are short, but the competition list is long, the brands that win on customer loyalty are those that combine strategy, culture, and customer experience into one seamless whole.
Kerry Healy, Chief Commercial Officer Accor, explains why trust is core to the approach at Accor, making it the foundation of its journey across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific (MEAAPAC).
Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways join FFP Benefits
Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways have launched a frequent flyer partnership, enabling members of ShebaMiles and Etihad Guest to earn and redeem miles across the airlines’ networks.
The joint venture between the airlines allows passengers to earn miles travelling on Ethiopian’s network of destinations, including Kampala, Uganda; Kinshasa, DRC; Lusaka, Zambia; and cities in the UAE and Asia.
World Egg and Sperm Bank's proposed 'reward' scheme for IVF companies raises concerns
An international egg bank approached Australian IVF companies offering them a "reward" scheme, in a controversial proposal that industry insiders have likened to "frequent flyers" for fertility clinics.
US-based World Egg and Sperm Bank (TWESB) told IVF clinics it was introducing its new "Client Success Reward Program in Australia". When questioned by the press, TWESB would not confirm that the new program had been implemented.
Read: The Loyalty Value Playbook from Rocket Travel by Agoda
This new report says that Loyalty is at a tipping point, citing that 77% of consumers are now quicker to drop a loyalty program than before – and 65% say poor or inaccessible rewards are the reason. In this report, Skift and Rocket Travel by Agoda outline a new benchmark for travel loyalty, with a clear framework for evaluating program quality and a practical roadmap for building models that drive customer satisfaction and measurable business impact.
This report is designed for loyalty leaders ready to take actionable steps to rebuild loyalty on platforms that deliver value through clarity, flexibility, and relevance. Download and let this sink in.
Haffner’s To Launch New Loyalty Program Powered by Liquid Barcodes
Haffner’s, operated by Energy North Incorporated and serving communities across New England, has chosen Liquid Barcodes as its strategic partner to develop and power its next-generation mobile app and loyalty program, expected to launch in early 2026.
The upcoming Haffner’s app will feature a robust customer engagement ecosystem combining loyalty, rewards, gamification, and subscriptions in one intuitive solution. Read the press release here.
Giant Eagle x Eagle Eye Case Study
Giant Eagle, one of the United States’ leading food and pharmacy retailers, launched its much-loved fuelperks loyalty program in 2003. Initially offering a straightforward cents-per-gallon discount on gasoline for a certain threshold of grocery purchases and eventually evolving to include in-store savings, the program was widely recognized, wildly popular, and highly successful.
As Giant Eagle expanded the offer variability and evolved the rewards framework, the retailer recognized the opportunity to streamline operations while expanding the value it provides to customers. Read this case study here and tap into how they have added 53K households to the Giant Eagle program.
Redefining Customer Experience to Account for Cumulative Brand Impact
Consumer expectations have never been higher. And their patience has never been shorter. In this compressed world, time, attention and differentiation are all under pressure, and that pressure is changing how people experience brands.
For marketers, the challenge goes beyond creating a smooth customer experience; it’s about creating a meaningful one. Jake McCatty, Team Red Dot, paints a new portrait of CX, taking it beyond a department or a deliverable and defining it as the cumulative effect of everything a brand does to make people feel something consistent and real.
The Wise Marketer Strategy Brief Series: The New Loyalty Playbook - Chapter Two
This Wise Marketer Strategy Brief (WMSB) was created in cooperation with ebbo and is titled “The New Loyalty Playbook.” This eBook reveals how brands can master today’s loyalty fundamentals: bridging emotional loyalty, value-based offerings, enhanced realities, and the all-important choice factor.
If your ultimate goal is to embed customer engagement within a habit loop that repeatedly delivers satisfaction, "The New Loyalty Playbook" will help build a robust framework for lasting growth and impactful results. Download it here.
New Strategy Brief: Solving the Loyalty Marketing Attribution Riddle
In the latest of our Wise Marketer Strategy Brief series, From Vision to Reality – How Loyalty Data Powers the AI Marketing Revolution, explores how loyalty programs can be the ultimate drivers to transform competitive advantages into salient returns and evolve into an enterprise-wide asset.
Our valued thought partner in the creation of this eBook is Kobie – the perfect fit for The Wise Marketer to address this heady topic. Here are some excerpts that will make you want to download this resource as fast as possible:
“AI turns loyalty from a fabled story into a verifiable dataset – one that improves with every swipe, click, or scan.”
“In many organizations, loyalty programs still live in a shadow. This shadow is called the “cost center.” And it can blind even the best of intentions.”
“Attribution is often the Achilles’ heel of loyalty marketing.”
Jobs in Loyalty
There are many talented people looking for full-time and contract positions in loyalty marketing. Fortunately, there are opportunities available from both brands and providers. We list a sampling of what we are aware of here.
Please click through the links if provided or contact us here to learn more and apply for these positions.
- Epsilon - Platform Solutions Director (UK)
- Loyalty Methods – Project Manager and other positions available.
- VP Sales Executive - Loyalty platform operator with growing footprint in the US is actively looking to engage with the right perso. Inquire to Wise Marketer.
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