GLO Featured: GLO Appoints Ben Lipsey as new Chairman • Global Loyalty PredictionsTM 2026 Olivia Wasniewski, SAS • Jaci Smith, Blackbook • Denise Holt, PHAEDON • Len Llaguno, KYROS • Tony Piedade, GLO • JetBlue • Qatar Airways • Etihad • American Airlines • Southwest Airlines • Alaska Airlines • Singapore Airlines • Emirates • Flynas• Turkish Airlines • GHA • Marriott • Wyndham • IHG • Starbucks • Instacart • Shell • Emplifi • Way • Forter • Loyalty Reports • Loyalty Jobs • Loyalty Careers
GLOGLO Featured:
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GLO Global Loyalty Predictions 2026: Len Llaguno, Founder, KYROS In 2025, loyalty programme changes began to surface financially, highlighting the need for better forecasting and financial discipline. Proving incremental value and ROI remains the central challenge—and opportunity—for 2026. As budgets stay stable but scrutiny rises, programmes must link loyalty directly to enterprise value. With stronger data infrastructure and experimentation, loyalty shifts from measuring engagement to demonstrating measurable impact.
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GLO Global Loyalty Predictions 2026: Jaci Smith, CEO, Blackbook 2025 marked a shift from siloed loyalty models toward unified infrastructure across multi-vertical ecosystems. Fragmentation and legacy systems continue to limit everyday relevance. In 2026, the opportunity lies in evolving loyalty through permission-based data, digital identity and usability. As investment increases, success will depend on scalable infrastructure that enables interoperability, personalisation and loyalty embedded into daily life.
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GLO Global Loyalty Predictions 2026: Olivia Wasniewski, Head of EuroBonus Program, SAS In 2025, loyalty moved beyond frequent flyers toward broader everyday engagement, with points evolving closer to a currency and alternative paths to status gaining ground. Inflation-driven recalibration made rewards harder to achieve, increasing pressure on perceived value. In 2026, the focus shifts to deeper daily integration, stronger partnerships and emotional loyalty, supported by increased reward investment, better connectivity and a year of experimentation over devaluation.
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GLO Global Loyalty Predictions 2026: Denise Holt, Senior VP, PHAEDON 2025 highlighted both the promise and pitfalls of AI in loyalty. While brands advanced technically, customers pushed back against experiences that felt inauthentic. As fraud, data governance and discount dependency challenged programmes, the focus is now shifting. In 2026, the opportunity lies in moving from transactional to emotional loyalty—embedding trust, empathy and relevance across the journey.
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Global Loyalty Organisation Appoints Benjamin Lipsey as Chairman of the Advisory Board Global Loyalty Organisation (GLO), the world’s largest professional loyalty association, has appointed Benjamin Lipsey, President of Flying Blue and SVP Loyalty, Digital and Data at Air France–KLM, as Chairman of the GLO Advisory Board. With over 15 years of global experience, Benjamin Lipsey brings deep industry expertise and a forward-looking vision to the role. He succeeds Jeffrey Goh, who will continue as an Independent Board Member.
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GLO Global Loyalty Predictions 2026: Tony Piedade, Deputy Chairman, GLO 2025 marked a decisive shift toward spend-based loyalty, moving from isolated airline models to an industry-wide standard. While structural, the change has triggered customer pushback and renewed focus on relevance. In 2026, opportunity lies in improving engagement through AI, stronger propositions, and more open partnerships. With healthier budgets and maturing coalitions, loyalty is set to become more embedded in everyday consumer life, beyond category and geography.
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Airlines, Alliances & Airports:
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Delta highlighted loyalty and digital experience as key growth drivers. SkyMiles revenue continued to grow, powered by American Express and expanded everyday partnerships. Customer experience investments focused on premium travel, fast free Wi-Fi, lounges, and reliability. The Fly Delta app is central to the strategy, with AI-powered Concierge features aimed at more personalised, real-time service and deeper member engagement.
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Delta Sky Clubs level up: Upgrades to PHL, ATL and what’s next Delta continues to elevate the lounge experience, unveiling a fully transformed PHL Club with doubled capacity, refreshed ATL Clubs and more new Clubs coming across markets. (Image: Delta)
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Heathrow Ends 100ml Liquid Rule with New Security Scanners London Heathrow Airport has scrapped the 100ml liquid limit after completing the rollout of new CT security scanners across its terminals. Passengers can now keep liquids of up to two liters and laptops in their bags at security, cutting prep time and reducing plastic waste as Heathrow becomes the world’s largest airport to deploy the technology. (Image: Heathrow Airport)
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Delta Air Lines has launched its new Delta Business website, which will replace Delta Professional with a centralized dashboard for corporate customers. The platform brings together contract performance tracking, loyalty and amenity wallets, operational metrics and self-service tools. U.S. corporate customers will gain access in Q1 2026, with agency functionality rolling out later in 2026 as the platform fully replaces Delta Professional. (Image: Delta)
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JetBlue Q4 2025 Results: Loyalty and CX in the Spotlight JetBlue Airways’s Q4 results highlighted growing emphasis on loyalty and customer experience despite ongoing losses. Loyalty revenue rose about 8% in 2025, reaching roughly 13% of total revenue, supported by a strong TrueBlue program and expanded partnerships. Customer satisfaction improved, with higher NPS scores, better on-time performance and new product enhancements positioning loyalty and CX as key drivers of future recovery.
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‘QVerse Island’: Qatar Airways Launches Its First-Ever Digital Destination in Fortnite The World’s Best Airline is bringing iconic landmarks of Doha, including Hamad International Airport, in addition to on-board experiences, into the Fortnite universe for young travellers and gamers. Visitors can immerse in interactive fun-packed and adventurous experiences, compete alongside their favourite gaming content creators, and unlock exclusive Qatar Airways travel rewards.
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How Atmos™ Rewards took a mountaineer from Seattle to the Seven Summits of the world How far can Atmos™ Rewards take you? For Nate, an Atmos™ Titanium member and lifelong Seattleite, the answer reaches far beyond the Pacific Northwest. What began as a childhood love for the outdoors eventually carried him to the highest summits on Earth.
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Alaska Airlines Q4 Corporate Revenue Rises as Loyalty and CX Drive ‘Relevance’ Strategy Alaska Airlines reported a 9% year-over-year rise in Q4 managed corporate revenue, driven by growing relevance with business travelers. Executives tied gains to expanded international routes, stronger premium cabin performance and deeper corporate contract penetration. Premium revenue now represents 36% of total revenue, signalling improved loyalty and customer experience as Alaska targets higher-value corporate demand. 9Image: Alaska Air)
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Atmos™ Rewards earns The Points Guy’s top honors for innovation and credit card excellence Atmos Rewards has continuously earned top ranks since its debut in August 2025 and has been celebrated for offering new and exciting ways to earn and redeem valuable points with more choice, rewards and global access than ever before. Earlier this year, the program was named NerdWallet’s 2026 Best Airline Rewards Program and Best Airline Rewards Program in U.S. News and World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Travel Rewards.
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American Airlines and United Airlines are locked in an escalating battle at Chicago O’Hare after the city reassigned five gates from American to United. Court challenges failed, prompting both carriers to add flights to defend gate counts. United plans up to 750 daily flights, while American targets more than 500, signalling an intense capacity war in 2026. (Image: O’Hara Airport)
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Etihad Guest Takes Off Across India with Massive Partner Expansion India is the fastest growing membership base for the airline’s Etihad Guest loyalty programme which now boasts more than 13 million members worldwide. With the programme adding over 250,000 new members a month, Etihad is maximising value for Indian based members with a host of new loyalty partners that reward members for their everyday lifestyle spending across shopping, dining and travel.
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Singapore, Malaysia Airlines Deepen Ties with Joint Venture Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines have formed a joint business partnership after securing regulatory approvals. The deal covers revenue sharing on Singapore–Malaysia routes, expanded codesharing, coordinated schedules and joint fares, and includes subsidiaries SilkAir, Scoot and Firefly, pending further approvals. (Image: Singapore Airlines)
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Southwest Airlines is reshaping customer experience and loyalty to grow corporate share, introducing assigned and extra-legroom seating, new boarding procedures, fare segmentation, and expanded partnerships. Executives say these demand-driven changes strengthen appeal to business travellers, support ancillary revenue growth, and position CX as a key driver of long-term loyalty and earnings.
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AirAsia rewards and Versa announce strategic partnership to deliver enhanced value to members The partnership offers a seamless value proposition that incentivises healthy financial habits with Versa alongside travel and lifestyle rewards within the wider Capital A ecosystem. The AirAsia points earned can be redeemed for flights, hotel stays, ride and more via the AirAsia MOVE App.
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flynas Lets You “Pick the View”, Not Just the Seat flynas has launched Find My View, a new service that lets passengers choose their seat based on the scenery they’ll see outside the window. Powered by AI, the tool predicts views using flight paths, timing, and real passenger photos—turning seat selection into a personalised, experience-driven choice before takeoff. (Source: flynas)
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Southwest Airlines reports FY 2025 results Southwest closed 2025 with strong momentum. Last year we implemented the most ambitious transformation in company history, including bag fees, basic economy fares, assigned and extra legroom seating, Rapid Rewards® program optimization, online distribution expansion, and free Wi-Fi for loyalty members.
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Southwest Airlines Introduces Assigned Seating and More Offerings for Customers January 27 marks a new chapter for Southwest Airlines®! As daylight swept across the seven time zones Southwest® serves, the Company’s Employees began implementing changes while taking a moment to celebrate the sunset of open seating on a redeye flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles the night before. Check out all the milestones! (Image: Southwest Airlines)
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Emirates Rolls Out Chauffeur-Drive at More Japanese Airports Emirates is expanding its premium Chauffeur-Drive service in Japan, adding Narita from 1 February 2026 and Kansai from 1 March 2026, alongside Haneda. Available to First and Business Class passengers, the complimentary service offers seamless door-to-door transfers, reinforcing Emirates’ position as the only international airline providing chauffeur-driven travel across Japan. (Image: Emirates)
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Turkish Airlines & Air Montenegro Team Up to Boost Balkan Connectivity Through Codeshare Agreement Turkish Airlines and Air Montenegro have signed a new codeshare deal to expand travel between Türkiye and Montenegro. Turkish Airlines will add its code to Air Montenegro flights from Istanbul to Tivat and Podgorica, while Air Montenegro gains access to select Turkish Airlines routes, including Dubai and Baku—strengthening links for tourism, trade, and seamless connections via Istanbul. (Image: Air Montenegro)
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American’s Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden apologizes for major travel disruptions caused by Winter Storm Fern. Five hubs, especially DFW, were heavily impacted by record conditions and staffing challenges. She thanks employees working through the storm and urges customers to check the app or aa.com for updates and flexible travel options. (Image: American Airlines)
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Emirates and Air Peace have activated a bilateral interline agreement, boosting seamless connectivity between Africa, Dubai, and London. The deal enables single-ticket travel with through-checked baggage, expands access to new West African cities, and links Air Peace’s regional network with Emirates’ global reach via Dubai—offering greater choice, flexibility, and convenience for travellers. (Image: Emirates)
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American Airlines is enhancing its mobile app to help customers manage travel disruptions more easily. New features provide real-time, self-service options like rebooking, bag tracking, and digital vouchers in one place. The updates aim to reduce stress, speed up recovery when plans change, and give travelers more control and transparency during disruptions. (Image: American Airlines)
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Hotels & Hospitality:
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For sports fans, match weekends are turning into mini getaways, with 88% making the most of their time away – and 72% saying some of the best moments happen beyond the stadium.
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As the Official Hospitality Partner of Puppy Bowl XXII, Marriott Bonvoy is bringing adoptable pups to hotels in the hometowns of the Big Game’s competing teams on Feb. 8.
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Kayak for Business Adds Event Travel Booking to Its Platform Kayak for Business has launched an Events feature for Biz Plus and Enterprise customers, enabling companies to manage travel booking, payment and policy compliance for meetings and events. The tool supports bulk invites, virtual cards and real-time tracking, targeting a growing need to manage guest and non-profiled traveler bookings within a familiar, consumer-style platform.
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Over 500 exclusive Marriott Bonvoy Moments launching, including the ultimate experience with the Marriott Bonvoy Golden Ticket.
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Global Hotel Alliance delivers outstanding 2025 results, marking another year of remarkabe growth Exceptional growth in loyalty programme membership and engagement was achieved in 2025, with enrolments rising 25% to 4 million vs. 3.2 million in 2024 and total GHA DISCOVERY membership surpassing 34 million. DISCOVERY Dollar (D$) redemption grew by 55% to D$31 million, with the December holiday season marking the strongest period, as members spent their D$ on hotel stays and a wide range of experiences, from dining to spa days and more.
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Owners and developers embrace AI’s next phase while optimism, brand loyalty and expansion plans remain at the forefront amid evolving market conditions.
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Cruises:
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MSC Cruises: Drew Barrymore & Orlando Bloom Launch “Let’s Holiday” campaign MSC Cruises has brought back Drew Barrymore and Orlando Bloom for a new wave of “Let’s Holiday” ads. Filmed aboard MSC World America, the campaign highlights the cruise line’s blend of European style and American comfort, with food, fun, and playful banter showcasing the MSC experience at sea. (Image; MSC)
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Retail, E-commerce, F&B, Healthcare:
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Just Eat Rolls Out AI Voice Ordering in the UK Just Eat has launched an AI-powered voice assistant for UK customers, allowing users to order food and everyday essentials through natural conversation. Available within the app, the tool helps customers decide what to order faster by making personalised recommendations, aiming to reduce choice overload and make ordering simpler and more accessible. (Image: Just Eat)
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The Company’s Cabana Club and ELITE loyalty programs, which remain the largest such cannabis loyalty programs in the world, continue to expand at a rapid pace across Canada. Cabana Club membership has now surpassed 2.50 million members in Canada, which is up 45% in the past year. Over the long term the Company anticipates exceeding 3 million Cabana Club members in Canada.
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Forter Partners with Global QSR Leader to Advance Digital Fraud Prevention Forter’s capabilities will enable the food retailer to make smarter, real-time trust decisions across McDonald’s digital ecosystem, including online orders, payment flows, and its loyalty program.
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Instacart and Allegiance Retail Services Expand Partnership As part of the expansion, Instacart is partnering with AppCard, Allegiance’s loyalty provider, to deliver a robust unified loyalty rewards, digital promotions, and coupons across online and in-store shopping. Through integrations with Instacart’s Storefront Pro and Caper Carts, customers will now receive the same personalized deals and savings whether they’re ordering online or shopping in person.
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Starbucks Announces Major Redesign of US Loyalty Program to Boost Engagement and Reward Frequency The redesign is aimed at offering deeper value and more personalised incentives to its more than 35 million active members while supporting the company’s broader strategy to strengthen customer engagement and drive growth amid a recovering visit trend.
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Transport, Fuel Retail & Mobility:
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Shell Canada Joins Scene+ Loyalty Program Scene+ is one of Canada’s leading loyalty programs with over 15 million members. Co-owned by Scotiabank, Empire Company Limited and Cineplex Inc., Scene+ is fueling more rewards with Shell, making it easier for members to earn Scene+ points on everyday trips to the pump.
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Rail Europe’s Björn Bender on Private Equity, Rail Competition and Multimodal Growth Rail Europe CEO Björn Bender says the company’s move to private equity transformed its technology, neutrality and service model. As rail competition grows across Europe, Rail Europe is focusing on B2B distribution, multimodal booking and high-touch service. Loyalty and rewards are gaining importance as cross-border travel expands, while convenience—not sustainability—remains the top driver of rail demand. (Image: Rail Europe)
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Payments, Finance, Property & Insurance:
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Bockskye Lets Business Travelers Expense Personal Cards—Fast with AI tool Blockskye launched Capture, an AI-powered expense tool that tracks business travel spend on employees’ personal credit cards. The system identifies work expenses, integrates with ERP and travel plans, and enables fast reimbursement—sometimes instantly via stablecoin. The move lets travelers earn loyalty rewards while companies retain visibility and control.
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Loyalty Technology, Solutions & Consulting:
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THE POINTS GUY ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THE EIGHTH-ANNUAL TPG AWARDS Among the major award recipients, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was named the “Travel Rewards Credit Card of the Year,” while American Airlines AAdvantage secured the title of “Best U.S. Airline Loyalty Program.” Additionally, Marriott Bonvoy was recognized as the “Best Hotel Loyalty Program,” and Royal Caribbean triumphed as the “Best Cruise Line Overall for Families.”
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Gladly Wins Two Gold Stevie® Awards for People-First AI in Customer Service The awards recognize Gladly’s differentiated approach to customer experience AI—designed to deliver operational efficiency and stronger customer relationships. Unlike deflection-first automation, Gladly’s platform keeps humans in the loop, unifies every conversation across channels, and uses full customer context to power AI interactions that feel personal, trustworthy, and continuous.
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Emplifi Customers Generate 4.5% Boost in Engagement on Instagram and 5.3% Lift in Reach “Consumers now expect instant engagement, whether they’re commenting on a post or reaching out for support,” said Susan Ganeshan, Chief Marketing Officer at Emplifi. “Our customers are meeting that demand by automating at scale, blending the empathy of human interaction with the speed and precision of AI. With social channels becoming a preferred service destination, every interaction becomes an opportunity to build loyalty.”
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Curate Raises New Round to Fix a Core Loyalty Problem: Customers Don’t Want to Download Another App Curate is built around a fundamental challenge facing restaurants today: operators understand the value of direct, commission-free delivery and loyalty-driven repeat business, yet guest adoption of branded restaurant apps remains low.
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With experiential spending up ~32% in the last five years (Source: Earnest Analytics), demand is evident among consumers worldwide. Way’s Core Platform has consistently answered this need at the enterprise level, allowing global brands like Hyatt and Maybourne to consolidate their experiential technology and strategy across their luxury and lifestyle portfolios.
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Reports, Research, Insights & Opinions:
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Tripadvisor Trendcast 2026 Report: Defining the Year of Meaningful Travel Experiences New Analysis of 1 Billion+ Reviews and Contributions Shows Experiences Driving Travel Planning. TripAdvisor has released its 2026 Trendcast, naming the year the Year of Meaningful Travel Experiences. Based on global search, booking, behavioural data and over one billion user reviews, the report shows travellers prioritising deeper, more personal experiences—focusing on connection, authenticity, and purpose over traditional sightseeing. (Image: Tripadvisor)
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New Study Finds AI Resolves Issues, but Quietly Breaks Loyalty The national study of 1,000 U.S. consumers found that 88% of customers say their issue was resolved through AI or a hybrid AI-to-human interaction. Yet only 22% say the experience made them prefer the company. The widening gap between “resolved” and “loyal” is not about whether AI works—it’s about what happens when it doesn’t, and how supported customers feel through the handof.
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Endear Reveals How Retailers Can Retain 70% of Holiday Shoppers Drawing on more than 100 million SMS messages and 2.2 million clienteling interactions sent during Black Friday week 2025, Endear found that personalized, two-way communication drives results far beyond traditional marketing.
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Jobs & Careers:
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7-Eleven is hiring: Senior Manager, CRM & Personalization Analytics (USA) Location: Irving, Texas, USA. Click inside to apply.
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Baxi is hiring: Loyalty Marketing Manager (UK) Location: Warwick, England, United Kingdom. Click inside to apply.
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Sweaty Betty is hiring: Senior CRM & Loyalty Manager (UK) Location: London, England, United Kingdom. Click inside to apply.
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Hyatt is hiring: Manager, Loyalty & Partnership Marketing, Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) Location: Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Click inside to apply.
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Sainsbury’s is hiring: Loyalty Manager (UK) Location: London, England, United Kingdom. Click inside to apply.
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JD Sports is hiring: Global Customer Insight Manager – Loyalty (UK) Location: Bury, England, United Kingdom. Click inside to apply.
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The Hong Kong Jockey Club is hiring: Deputy Executive Manager, Loyalty Programme (HK) Location: Hong Kong. Click inside to apply.
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JetBlue is hiring: Analyst Loyalty Partnerships Location: New York, NY, USA. Click inside to apply.
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Deloitte is hiring: Loyalty Management Senior Manager (USA) Location: New York, NY, USA. Click inside to apply.
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