Want some loyalty stats? We’ve got an early look at some Canadian data from the upcoming 2026 Bond Loyalty Report (dropping in June), and there are a few numbers worth paying attention to. You can read the full press release here.

Surprisingly (or not?) Canadians are holding an estimated $13–15 billion in unredeemed loyalty points. That’s not a rounding error, it’s a massive number that translates into a structural problem with how loyalty programs are being used (or not used).

On average, surveyed Canadians belong to 15 loyalty programs, but engagement could be lacking. A full 28% of members redeem just once a year or less. The “earn” is there but the “burn” is flickering.

The data in the upcoming Bond Loyalty Report suggests the real friction is at redemption, not enrollment. And members are noticing — the importance rating for ease of receiving and claiming rewards climbed from 69% in 2025 to 73% in 2026. It’s a smallish increase, but a trend worth watching.

What do members actually want? Turns out, not necessarily a free flight to Cancun. Sixty percent of surveyed Canadians say they prefer small or medium-value rewards — more than double the share who are saving up for big-ticket redemptions. That’s a significant shift in expectations, and a real signal for program designers.

Scene+, which co-released the findings, points to its own data as a case study in what “frictionless” can look like in practice. Among active members, redemptions happen at least once a month, and 9 in 10 redemptions occur within 30 days of earning.

The broader takeaway from Bond’s Sean Claessen is that partnerships are becoming a meaningful growth lever, with year-over-year lifts of 53% in experience and 49% in spend among programs with strong partner ecosystems.

If you don’t know: The Bond Loyalty Report is now in its 16th year and is widely regarded as the longest-standing and largest consumer loyalty study of its kind. The 2026 Canadian data set gathered feedback from over 9,500 consumers, examining more than 165 programs across 20+ sectors and 100+ attributes, drawing on 40 million data points and 7 billion transactions.

We’ll bring you more news on the 2026 Bond Loyalty Report when it is released in June.