Members benefit from more choice
THE first frequent flyer
programmes were
launched more than
three decades ago and
usually awarded travellers
one mile for every mile flown,
and gave bonuses to those
who travelled often and/or in
premium cabins.
Since then, loyalty
programmes have become a
force in the travel industry,
with almost all suppliers
offering some kind of reward
to repeat customers. The
way they work, however, has
evolved, arguably making
it even harder to earn and
redeem loyalty points,
especially for less frequent
travellers.
But a trend that could
change this is the expansion
of reward/loyalty programmes
to incorporate other suppliers
with whom points can be
used or accumulated. The
changes, however, have some
experts questioning whether
these programmes are still
achieving what they set out
to do. Is the shift to vary
rewards keeping customers
loyal to one brand?
Virgin Atlantic recently
revealed plans to revamp its
Flying Club programme next
year. Mandy Lerena, Virgin
Atlantic commercial manager
South Africa, explains: “The
Virgin Group and Virgin
Atlantic are to launch a
new Virgin-wide loyalty
programme, Virgin Group
Loyalty Company, with unique
and differentiated reward
opportunities, to reward
customer loyalty across
Virgin-branded companies.”
According to Mandy, the
new loyalty programme will
offer members the chance
to earn and spend miles
across a range of products
and services. “In the future,
Flying Club members can
look forward to an expanded
range of valuable ways to
earn and spend miles that
will be powered by the new
Virgin loyalty programme.”
Mandy adds that a Virgin
Atlantic Flying Club member
is also able to earn and
spend miles with a number of
non-Virgin partners, including
Hilton Hhonors, Marriott
Rewards, Avis, Eurostar and
more.
Wouter Vermeulen, Air
France KLM gm Southern
Africa, says Flying Blue has
always made it possible for
its members to spend and/
or earn points with other
retailers, suppliers or service
providers, specifically car-hire
companies and hotel chains.
“On Flying Blue Pointshound,
you can use your miles to
book hotels and car hire,
including within South Africa.”
Wouter says this has been
expanded with the Flying
Blue store, which allows
members to buy products
from retailers such as Apple,
Sony and Fitbit. “You can
also purchase ‘experiences’
such as a canal cruise in
Amsterdam or a chauffeur
drive through Paris in a
vintage convertible, which
is a good option I think,” he
adds. According to Wouter,
local partners, including the
Gautrain, are also being
added.
He believes an expanded
offering like this is mutually
beneficial. “Their brand
[other suppliers, retailers,
etc.] is being introduced to
consumers who may not have
considered purchasing from
them before and the value of
the programme increases as
it brings more ways to spend
miles.”
Charlene Muller, VIP
consultant, Rennies Travel
Cricket SA, says clients love
getting more for their money.
“By being able to earn and
spend miles on suppliers
other than the usual would
be great. There are suppliers
already allowing members to
spend miles on items such
as flower deliveries and gifts,
and there is a buzz about
that!” Charlene says all
airlines, car-rental companies
and hotel chains should look
into offering clients more
varied rewards. “I have heard
quite a bit of reaction to an
airline offering a new reward
and even though the service
hasn’t been great, and the
client hasn’t been booking
the airline, they are very
excited to earn miles again.
Suppliers need to make their
clients feel valued!”
An agent who wished to
remain anonymous, says
suppliers partnering with
others to offer rewards will
encourage more support.
“Sometimes travellers don’t
earn enough miles/points to
redeem against the loyalty
programme – for example, a
free flight – so being able
to redeem their points at an
alternative retailer/service provider
gives the member the opportunity to
shop where they want to, not where
they are forced to. Some of my
Voyager member clients complain
that their miles are useless when
they don’t have enough and are
trying to book flights using miles,”
she adds.
In September, SAA Voyager
anounced a partnership with
NetFlorist, allowing members to use
Miles to make purchases on the
e-commerce platform.
However, Melissa Nortje, executive
head: strategy, development and
marketing at First Car Rental,
says the company has no plans to
extend its loyalty programmes (the
First Club Card for consumers and
Show & Go Card for corporates)
to other suppliers. “Our loyalty
programmes are directly related to
the customer experience and this
is where we focus our energy,”
she explains.
She says increasing customer
retention by five percent increases
profits by at least 25%. “Loyal
customers are the best customers,
plus it is up to 25 times more
expensive to acquire a new
customer than to retain a customer,
so loyalty pays off on multiple
levels. Every customer counts!”
‘Work with us!’ – agents
MANY travel consultants feel
suppliers are increasingly looking for
ways to work directly with clients, and
loyalty or rewards programmes are
another example of this.
For Charlene Muller, VIP consultant
at Rennies Travel Cricket SA, the strict
security protocols to redeem miles or
points make it extremely difficult for
consultants to assist travellers with
these bookings. “It frustrates the
travellers and creates friction between
consultants and travellers. Suppliers
need to be more lenient with these
security measures, especially when
agents can prove the client wants
the transaction to be done by the
travel agent. Suppliers want to deal
directly with the travellers but need to
understand that agents will always be
involved. They need to work with us
instead of against us!”
Travel Counsellor Tasmin Rootman
agrees. “Simplifying the rules and
the process with regard to upgrades
and flight rewards would be great.
I upgraded a client on Emirates
through [the airline’s] website within
two minutes the other day. That is the
way things should work,” she says.
The use of rewards programmes
linked to credit cards for travel is
becoming more popular. “More
credit card companies are offering
discounted flights and while this
is a great saving for the customer,
it is hard for the regular agent to
compete with,” says an anonymous
agent. Making matters worse, she
says it’s very frustrating that the flight
bookings on certain credit card loyalty
programmes are not accessible to
all agents. “It would be great if all
agents could sell the fares that the
various non-airline loyalty programmes
offer. Travel agents lose clients to the
loyalty programme’s ‘agents’ as many
times the traveller will book directly
before consulting their travel agent for
assistance. In general, where airline
loyalty programmes are concerned,
it would be great to be able to make
redemption flight bookings through
the GDS rather than through the
call centre or online on the airline’s
website,” she adds.
Tasmin says when it comes to
transferring points earned by credit
card to flight miles, the process
needs to be streamlined. “I don’t
mind doing award flights for clients as
long as it doesn’t take me longer to
issue than it would to issue a normal
paid-for ticket,” she adds.
Just add cash…
“WHEN one supplier
changes its rewards
programme, it’s a matter of
months before competitors
follow and then offer a
similar product,” says
Rennies Travel Cricket SA’s
Charlene Muller.
This has been true for
many of the changes to
rewards and loyalty schemes
over the years, with the
latest being the possibility
of combining rewards and
cash for purchases. Travel
Counsellor Tasmin Rootman
says this makes it easier
for members to use their
points, not losing them to
expiration before they’ve
accumulated enough. “This
is a positive move and one
that all loyalty programmes
should embrace,”
she adds.
Similarly,
a consultant
who wishes
to remain
anonymous
says: “If
members can
combine points
and cash, they
can use their
miles and see
their rewards
sooner. British
Airways’ Avios programme
works with Avios and a
cash co-payment option in
a single transaction. My BA
passengers have enjoyed
this, while the Voyager
members have been limited
to purchasing additional
miles first and then booking
their flights in a second
transaction.”
Wouter Vermeulen, of
Air France KLM, says the
Flying Blue programme
was completely overhauled
in June to make it easier
for members to use. This
included making it possible
for members to use cash
and miles to purchase an
upgrade. “Some of the key
changes are that it is now
possible to earn and spend
miles for excess baggage, à
la carte meals on board and
seats with extra leg-room.
Members can
now
earn
miles
based on the
fare they paid and book
a reward in any available
class, where previously this
was limited. There is also
more flexibility to spend
miles because we have
the new cash and miles
options,” explains Wouter.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club,
says Mandy Lerena, offers
a Miles Plus Money option
enabling customers to use
miles and, in so doing,
spend less money on a
Virgin Atlantic flight. “With
as little as 3 000 miles
in one’s account, one can
reduce the cost of the flight
and still earn miles and tier
points on the discounted
journey taken. The more
miles used, the bigger the
discount taken from the
price of the flight,” she
adds.
Aha Hotels & Lodges
recently restructured
its loyalty programme
too, says marketing
manager, Ruzandri
Stoltz. The programme
now works on a cash
system that lets
customers see
how much they’ve
accumulated and
have available
to spend. “This
works far better
than points and
is more assuring
to customers as well as
being easier to manage
from a systems and booking
point of view,” she adds.
Looking ahead
Teresa Richardson, head
of marketing at The Travel
Corporation (TTC), says in
the past it was acceptable
for a loyalty programme
to offer a repeat client an
upfront discount based on
their status, but that this
is no longer the way to
approach loyalty.
“To take good care
of your guests it is
imperative to really
know them and their
preferences. We take this
level of guest care very
seriously across all our
travel brands. From the
time a booking starts
right through to when our
guests arrive home, we
are working to make sure
their experience with us is
nothing but exceptional.”
Teresa says that doing
this allows TTC to
increase the opportunities
to personalise the
traveller’s experience.
“We balance the hard
benefits such as upfront
discounts with those soft
benefits such as guest
appreciation and VIP
access to provide a basis
for engaging with our loyal
guests,” she adds.
Wouter says loyalty
programmes will continue
to evolve in a manner
that targets shifting
customer preferences
and behaviour. “We
need to stay in touch
with our customers and
the changes that are
taking place around us.
Value will always be very
important but we need
to cater for new lifestyle
preferences, the different
types of communication
platforms that are
available and how we
communicate our offer.”
According to Melissa
Nortje of First Car Rental,
the “one-size-fits-all”
loyalty schemes are
already obsolete. She
says no two customers
are the same and
that predictive and
personalised experiences
are the future. “There’s no
question that the product
itself must be competitive
and deliver superior value.
But beyond the product
itself, several factors
can make a difference
in gaining and retaining
the much sought-after
loyal customer – these
factors are convenience,
customer service,
personal relationships,
rewards, reputation and,
to some extent, efforts
in corporate social
initiatives.
Photocap: Collect double points!
Small and medium enterprises that are part of British Airways’ On Business
programme now have the opportunity to double their rewards. On Business members
travelling on BA’s international flights or BA operated by Comair domestic and
regional services before December 31 collect double points on up to five return
flights or ten one-way sectors. This offer is available on all ticket classes that accrue
On Business points as well as flights made on BA CityFlyer and SUN-AIR. On American
Airlines and Iberia, it is subject to availability. The offer can be activated before
making a booking on the On Business membership portal. “By doubling the rewards
we hope to encourage small and medium enterprises to continue travelling and make
the most of opportunities, even in the difficult economic climate,” says Cristina
Graham, BA regional commercial manager corporate, Southern and East Africa.
Pictured: Cristina (left), and Sue Petrie, regional commercial manager trade, Southern
and East Africa, British Airways.
Changes ahead for TTC
THERE will be “significant
change” to how The Travel
Corporation rewards its
loyal guests in 2019, says
Teresa Richardson. “We
have made a strategic
decision to completely
revamp our frequent
traveller discount.”
Teresa says it will vary
across brands, but for the
2019 season, TTC will offer
customers an additional
5% off their trips for 60
days after the launch of a
brochure. This, she adds,
is combinable with the
early payment discount.
“We are also going to offer
handpicked special deals
that give a past guest a
much bigger saving. By
changing our strategy
on this we know we’ll be
giving our loyal guests the
exceptional experiences
across all brands that
they’re looking for, with
even bigger rewards,” says
Teresa.”
Aha ditches membership fees
AHA Hotels & Lodges
recently made a number
of changes to its loyalty
scheme in an effort to
grow its loyalty base,
maintaining focus on
putting the customer first
and offering a programme
with beneficial rewards for
its members.
One of the changes
aha’s Ruzandri
Stoltz highlights is
the elimination of
a membership fee.
Previously the Plus and
Premium tiers were
subject to an annual
membership fee but now
all three tiers – Classic,
Plus and Premium – are
free.
Marriott unveils memberonly experiences
MARRIOTT international has
added more benefits for
its loyalty members, giving
them the opportunity to bid
their points in exchange for
access to experiences.
An example of the type of
experiences on offer is a
hands-on braai masterclass
with celebrity MasterChef
South Africa judge, Peter
Goffe-Wood. This experience
takes place at Irene Dairy
farm and includes an icecream-making
session
together with a stay at the
African Pride Irene Country
Lodge, Autograph Collection.
The brand also offers a
romantic island getaway to
the Indian Ocean islands
with a stay at the St
Regis Mauritius resort.
The experience includes
a helicopter ride over
the island. Alternatively,
customers can opt for a
stay at The Westin Turtle
Bay Mauritius, which
includes skydiving for
two people, or a visit to
Le Meridien Fisherman’s
Cove, Seychelles, for a
private dinner at Anse Diri
beach accompanied by a
snorkelling experience.
