The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer
From the Editor
The Cobrand & Travel Rewards 2025 event wrapped up today and if you were not there, you missed a fantastic event. Authoritative overviews of the affluent card marketing business and the emergence of cobrand debit cards were at the center of discussions. We’ll be sharing a full conference report next week.
This week we report on a new membership program from Klarna, a cobrand debit card from Southwest Airlines, and we cover highlights of earnings reports from Bread Financial, Mastercard and Visa.
These two great events are coming your day:
- CRMC Webinar “Anonymous Shoppers: Goldmine or Blind Spot” coming on November 6, featuring RONA and sponsored by Exchange Solutions.
- 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, 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
- [China] The reverse credit card trending in China (Video)
- [Global] OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Atlas, Its AI Browser
- [US] Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts
- [US] The American Innovation Index is published, and IKEA tops the retail list
- [US] How Smart Brands Use Influencers to Win Big Inside Walmart
- [US] Cheesecake Factory Developing First App to Boost Loyalty and Off-Premises Sales
Swipe, Earn, and Fly With Southwest Airlines’ New Rapid Rewards Debit Card
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is offering a new way for Customers to earn Rapid Rewards® points on everyday purchases with the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Debit Card. Powered by Galileo, the new Visa debit card combines the convenience of debit payments with the benefits of Rapid Rewards.
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Debit Card is issued by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC, with Visa as the payment network. Read the press release here.
Klarna Launches Memberships: Premium Perks Without Expensive Credit
Klarna, the global digital bank and payments provider, unveiled its new global membership program, introducing Premium and Max. The program delivers premium benefits like cashback, travel perks, and lifestyle rewards in a transparent, monthly plan, without the need to take on expensive credit.
The launch marks a major step in Klarna’s evolution into a full-scale digital bank helping consumers manage their money with greater value and control. The press release says legacy credit cards make consumers spend more to earn rewards. Klarna’s new membership flips the model, giving users premium perks without overspending or taking on debt.
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.
Kong vs. Godzilla: US Banks and Airlines Fight for Traveler Loyalty – IdeaWorks Report
American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi are squaring off with the largest US airlines in a colossal struggle for traveler loyalty, according to a new report from IdeaWorksCompany titled: "Kong vs. Godzilla: US Banks and Airlines Fight for Traveler Loyalty."
The report compares banks to King Kong and airlines to Godzilla, spotlighting a marketplace where financial institutions and carriers both wield powerful advantages. The stakes are enormous: U.S. residents spend more than $1.1 trillion annually on travel, and both sides want the bigger share. Click here to read the full report from Jay Sorensen’s IdeaWorks Company.
Credit Card Issuers are Battling for Affluent Young Customers
Chase and American Express are competing for young affluent customers by offering premium credit cards with high annual fees, which they justify with a mix of travel, dining, and lifestyle perks. The stakes are getting higher each day and hosting unique and exclusive experiences for these cardholders is at the center of this high stakes competition.
Both companies are enhancing flagship card products like Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum with credits for specific brands and increased access to airport lounges. One industry expert at The Points Guy portrayed the current market as a “war of experiences.” Multiple articles go deep in providing examples and almost all are behind paywalls. Find one where you have a subscription and read up.
Bread Financial Reports Strong Results in Q3 2025 Earnings Call
In its Q3 2025 earnings call this week, Bread Financial reported credit sales of $6.8 billion, average loans of $17.6 billion, and revenue of $971 million in the third quarter. Income from continuing operations increased $185 million, reflecting lower provision for credit losses and the discrete tax benefit.
The delinquency rate for the third quarter was 6.0%, down 40 basis points from last year. The net loss rate was 7.4%, down 40 basis points from last year and 50 basis points sequentially. The reserve rate at quarter end was 11.7%, a 50 basis point improvement year over year.
Mastercard Set to Acquire Zerohash, a Crypto and Stablecoin Startup
Mastercard (MA) is in late-stage talks to acquire Zerohash, a crypto and stablecoin infrastructure startup, for $1.5B-$2.0B, according to a media report on 29 October. If the deal closes, it would be one of Mastercard's biggest investments yet on stablecoins, the digital currencies, Fortune reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Stablecoins are digital currencies that are pegged to an underlying asset, such as the U.S. dollar. Many payment companies and banks are exploring the use of stablecoins to move money faster and at a lower cost. Sources say the deal is still pending confirmation.
Visa Highlights Partnerships with Barclays and Southwest Airlines in Q4 2025 Earnings Call
As part of its Q4 2025 earnings call, Visa highlighted that it had renewed its nearly 60-year relationship with Barclays in the U.K. and the U.S. impacting millions of customers in consumer and commercial issuing and acquiring.
In the U.S., Visa continues to be the exclusive payment network for the Southwest Airlines co-brand program, and we will soon be expanding our relationship into a co-brand debit offering, providing customers a new way to earn Rapid Rewards points on everyday purchases.
Festival Foods, Hometown Grocers and Schnuck Markets Join in New Holding Company
Todd Schnuck, Chairman and CEO of 1939 Group, Inc., announced the official closing of the purchase of Festival Foods and Hometown Grocers. The completed transaction brings the new family of companies’ store footprint to 164 stores. In Wisconsin, Festival Foods operates 42 stores and Hometown Grocers operates nine stores. Schnuck Markets operates 113 stores in Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.
Festival Foods, Hometown Grocers, and Schnucks will continue operating under their existing banners. By joining forces, the group is poised to accelerate growth and set a new standard for what it means to be a regional grocer. Full press release here.
Are Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials and Gen Zs really as different as we think?
Old and young. 60 somethings and 20 somethings. Imminent retirees and first jobbers. Baby Boomers and Gen Zs and the Millennials and Gen Xers in between. In this article from South Africa’s Achievement Awards, they take a look at different generations in the workplace – the proverbial generation gap – especially as it pertains to employee engagement, sales and channel incentives, and customer loyalty.
There certainly are differences. In general, people of different generations have different priorities and preferences. There’s also been a generational shift in expectations of jobs and employers. Read the full article here.
Improve Card Usage Through Loyalty Rewards: A Framework for Financial Institutions
In debit and credit card programs, penetration, activation, and usage are strategic levers that can shape cardholder behavior, improve card usage, and strengthen long-term loyalty. But to move the needle on these KPIs, you need more than a product; you need a value exchange.
That’s where loyalty programs come in. In this article from ampliFI Loyalty Solutions, you’ll learn the framework needed to generate Penetration, Activation and Usage and much more.
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.
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