The Loyalty Newswire August 4, 2025

The Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer

From the Editor

Happy Monday!

Choice Privileges has been named the #1 Hotel Rewards Program by U.S. News & World Report. The report delivers valuable insights on how consumers are responding to changes in their favorite loyalty programs and it’s worth a close read.

And, if you want to get even smarter, the NEW Bond Loyalty Report™ has been released along with an insightful report from Deloitte on Gen Z and Millennial preferences in 2025.

Add to that news of 5 new loyalty program launches and smart articles from AmpliFI and Currency Alliance and you have good reason to read every bit of this week’s Newswire.

We are here to help you succeed. Let us know how we can help.

Bill Hanifin, Managing Editor, The Wise Marketer

Short Takes

Choice Privileges named the #1 Hotel Rewards Program by U.S. News & World Report

This recognition—which comes on the heels of being named WalletHub’s top hotel reward program—is another powerful testament to how updates to the program in 2025 are connecting with customers.

The company says it has been focused on making Choice Privileges simpler, more rewarding, and more flexible so members can use their points on what matters most to them. Nandika Suri. VP Loyalty, Co-Brand Card and Partnerships at Choice Hotels said “From attainable elite status and reward nights to expanded access to 7,000+ properties—spanning luxury and budget-friendly options– our north star is to deliver tangible value to all kinds of travelers.

More from the US News and World Report 2025-2026 Best Hotel & Airline Rewards Programs

The top 5 hotel programs – in order – are: Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards, World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards.

The top 5 airline programs – in order – are: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, United MileagePlus, American Airlines AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue.

Two takeaways we see from the report are that the programs with the lowest threshold to a reward (measured in nights or spend) rank higher on the list and the programs that tinker most with tier qualifications (we see you Delta) have fallen in the rankings.

Translation: people want to earn rewards more quickly and react negatively when the rules of the game are changed out of their control.

Read the entire report here.

The NEW Bond Loyalty Report™ explores key shifts in loyalty and the brand who win

Bond, a leading insights-driven customer loyalty and engagement company, has released The Bond Loyalty Report 2025 edition in partnership with Visa. Now in its 15th year, the report breaks down the brands that are offering impactful loyalty experiences and showcases new challenges and solutions for brands in a competitive market space.

The report finds that consumer loyalty and engagement programs are more popular than ever but what initially brought customers into a program via points and discounting has changed. Delivering on experiences and access is now becoming more relevant to driving true customer loyalty.

Download an executive summary here.

Lyft Partners with Baidu to Deploy Autonomous Rides Across Europe

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888), a leading AI company with a strong Internet foundation, and Lyft, Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT), one of North America’s and Europe’s largest transportation networks, announced a strategic partnership for Lyft to deploy Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) across key European markets through the Lyft platform.

Initial deployments are planned for Germany and the United Kingdom in 2026 pending regulatory approval, with the fleet scaling to thousands of vehicles across Europe in the following years. As part of the agreement, Lyft will deploy Baidu Apollo Go’s sixth-generation vehicles as its pioneering autonomous solution in the region.

Etsy to expand loyalty program into the 2025 holiday season

Etsy is expanding its loyalty program, Etsy Insider, by the holiday season of 2025. This expansion will include a broader set of buyers, particularly top buyers, and will involve testing and iterating on a refreshed set of rewards and benefits.

The initial Etsy Insider beta program, launched in the fall of 2024, showed positive results in driving purchase frequency and consideration, but it didn’t achieve scalable economics in its first iteration.

Flexcar launches member loyalty program

Flexcar, the month-to-month flexible car lease company, announced the launch of Flexcar Rewards, a new loyalty program offering exclusive savings and perks to long-term members. Read the full announcement with program details here.

“Flexcar is already a more affordable alternative to buying or signing a multi-year lease, and with our new loyalty program we’re bringing even more value to our members,” said Ryan Quinlan, President, and COO at Flexcar. “With traditional car ownership, the only surprises are unexpected expenses. With Flexcar, the surprise is more savings the longer you stay.”

Vicious Biscuit launches new loyalty program

Vicious Biscuit has launched a loyalty program called Vicious Biscuit Rewards. The program is centered on its mobile app and allows customers to earn rewards and exclusive benefits, like a free biscuit with every weekday purchase and a free treat on their birthday. The app enables mobile ordering and delivery.

The company also offers an exclusive VIP email program, where members can become “Viciously Important Persons.” The chain was launched in 2018 in South Carolina and features a menu of “over the top” biscuit creations with offerings “The Fat Boy”, “The Flame Thrower” and “The Vicious”. Sounds tasty and rewarding!

New Zealand and Australian gaming operator SkyCity launches new loyalty program

The program is named SHOW by SkyCity in New Zealand, to replace its Premier Rewards program. According to a company release on Monday, SHOW by SkyCity ‘allows both existing loyalty members and new entertainment seekers to sign up and opt in to rewards across this vibrant entertainment ecosystem.’

The new loyalty program applies to all of the group’s New Zealand properties, via a ‘sleek, connected card that unlocks access to all casino games, dining, hotel stays, and attractions’. Sign-up can be conducted online or onsite (via self-service kiosks or via staff assistance. The company says the procedure ‘takes less than five minutes.’

Amazon Prime Membership Continues to Grow in Mid 2025

CIRP estimates 197 million US Amazon customers had a Prime membership as of the March 2025 quarter. That is an increase of about 7% from 184 million US Amazon Prime members in the June 2024 quarter.

Since 2020, just after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime membership has tracked US E-Commerce Sales growth fairly directly. From 2020 to 2024, CIRP estimates that US Prime membership grew 37% and US E-Commerce Sales grew the same 37%.

Deloitte releases 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey

Now in its 14th year, Deloitte’s global survey of 23,000+ Gen Zs and millennials finds these generations focused on growth and learning as they pursue money, meaning, and well-being.

Gen Zs and millennials prioritize career progression, yet many are not motivated by reaching leadership positions. They’re focused on work/life balance and learning and development. Making money is important to them but so is finding meaningful work and well-being. They are looking for careers with the right balance of these factors, a “trifecta” that can be hard to find.

Optimize Loyalty ROI by Shifting Your Redemption Strategy

AmpliFI Loyalty Solutions says that your loyalty program can deliver higher engagement, lower costs, and a measurable increase in cardholder retention by diversifying its redemption offerings. In this article, you’ll learn how one financial institution boosted retention by 8%, purchase volume by 5%, and cut costs by 1.5% by optimizing its redemption mix.

By moving away from a cashback-only approach and introducing more dynamic, in-the-moment redemptions, the FI realized these benefits:

A 5% lift in monthly purchase volume
An 8% increase in retention, from 89% to 97%
A 1.5% reduction in cost per point (CPP)

Currency Alliance shares a how-to guide on Loyalty and ecommerce

Currency Alliance’s latest article looks at loyalty marketing in the context of ecommerce. The topic covers how an ecommerce business can run an effective loyalty program and how ecommerce technology can be harnessed by other businesses as part of their loyalty strategy.

As an example, Xsolla, which provides payments & commerce technology to games developers, provides 50m consumers every year visit web stores powered by Xsolla Web Shop. This ecommerce solution provides a place where people can earn and spend loyalty points in the video games they play and illustrates the potential for customer loyalty outside of traditional markets.

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.

VP Loyalty with a top 20 Global brand based on the West Coast of the United States. Please send indications of interest immediately to phil@greyspacematters.com.
Loyalty Methods – Project Manager and other positions available.

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