Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Loyalty program membership data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- Loyalty program memberships
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- Figure 1: Total U.S. loyalty program memberships and active memberships, 2006-12
- Airlines account for largest share of travel loyalty programs
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- Figure 2: Share of U.S. travel loyalty program memberships, by segment, 2012
- Influences on frequent travel program membership
- Traveler sentiment increases with improving economy, may drive membership growth
- Travelers may also join loyalty programs to offset the rising cost of travel
- The consumer
- Travel loyalty program membership increases with age
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- Figure 3: Frequent travel program memberships (May 2013), hotel/motel stays in the last 12 months (August 2012), booked domestic travel in the last 12 months (August 2012), by age
- Savings and other perks of point redemption encourage travel program membership
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- Figure 4: Agreement that membership in travel loyalty programs is worth it for crossover rewards, by age, May 2013
- Travelers need to be convinced they can benefit from loyalty rewards
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- Figure 5: Opinions about losing travel loyalty points and using them to redeem rewards, May 2013
- Reward preferences vary by type of travel program
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Travel loyalty programs joined and used
- The issues
- The implications
- What consumers want from airline frequent flyer programs
- The issues
- The implications
- What consumers want from hotel loyalty programs
- The issues
- The implications
- What consumers want from car rental loyalty programs
- The issues
- The implications
- Sought-after travel rewards
- The issues
- The implications
Trend Application
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- Inspire trend: Extend My Brand
- Inspire trend: Many Mes
- Mintel Futures: Generation Next
U.S. Loyalty Program Memberships
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- Key points
- Loyalty program memberships increased, but less than half are active
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- Figure 6: Total U.S. loyalty program memberships and active memberships, 2006-12
- Figure 7: Share of U.S. loyalty program memberships, by category, 2012
- Airlines account for largest share of travel loyalty program memberships
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- Figure 8: U.S. travel loyalty program memberships, by segment, 2012
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- Figure 9: Total U.S. airline loyalty program memberships, 2006-12
- Figure 10: Total U.S. hotel loyalty program memberships, 2006-12
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- Figure 11: Total U.S. car-rental/cruise loyalty program memberships, 2008-12
Factors Influencing Travel Program Membership
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- Key points
- Improved traveler sentiment may encourage travel program membership
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- Figure 12: Overall Traveler Sentiment Index, March 2007-April 2013
- Rising cost of travel may drive loyalty program membership
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- Figure 13: Travel Price Index, June 2012, May 2013, and June 2013*
- Travel loyalty programs may become fewer as providers consolidate
Innovations and Innovators
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- Overview
- Loyalty program members can connect, search for deals on FlyerTalk
- VOILÀ gives travelers loyalty points for using independent hotels
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- Figure 14: VOILÀ refer a friend web promotion, July 2013
- Airlines introducing ways for pets to accrue frequent flyer miles
- JetBlue
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- Figure 15: JetBlue JetPaws pet carrier, July 2013
- Virgin America
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- Figure 16: Virgin Australia Velocity pet program web ad, July 2013
- Expedia offers array of rewards through global travel game
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- Figure 17: Expedia Around the World in 100 Days game avatar, August 2013
Marketing Strategies and Initiatives
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- Overview
- Airlines’ frequent flyer promotions highlight program flexibility
- Southwest Airlines
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- Figure 18: Southwest Airlines “Your Pursuit Flies Here” TV ad, June 2013
- Figure 19: Southwest Airlines in-flight “no blackout dates” napkin, July 2013
- Qantas Airlines
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- Figure 20: Qantas Airlines “For Every Journey” TV ad, June 2013
- Hotel loyalty programs market free nights, but also highlight the “extras”
- Best Western
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- Figure 21: Best Western loyalty program web ad, July 2013
- Kimpton Hotels
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- Figure 22: Kimpton Hotels InTouch loyalty program web ad, July 2013
- Car rental companies also promote crossover benefits
- Avis/Budget
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- Figure 23: Avis/Alaska Airlines crossover rewards web ad, July 2013
- Figure 24: Avis/Budget/Virgin America crossover rewards web ad, July 2013
- Travel providers across all sectors soliciting loyalty through direct mail
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- Figure 25: Number of airline, hotel, and car rental airline direct mail pieces sent, by month, August 2012-June 2013
- Airlines
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- Figure 26: Airline direct mail pieces sent, by airline, August 2012-June 2013
- Figure 27: American Airlines elite status direct mail piece, June 2013
- Hotels
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- Figure 28: Hotel direct mail pieces sent, by hotel brand, August 2012-June 2013
- Figure 29: Marriott Rewards direct mail piece, June 2013
- Car rentals
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- Figure 30: Car rental direct mail pieces sent, by car rental company, August 2012-June 2013
Frequent Travel Program Membership and Usage
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- Key points
- Airline and hotel loyalty programs have the most appeal
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- Figure 31: Airline, hotel, and car rental bookings in the last three years (August 2012) and airline, hotel, and car rental frequent travel program memberships (May 2013)
- Providers have opportunity to market frequent travel programs to young adults
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- Figure 32: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent travel program memberships, by age, May 2013
- Travel program members split in reward redemption tendencies
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- Figure 33: Airline, hotel, and car rental reward redemption, May 2013
- Men more likely to redeem all types of travel rewards, women should be engaged
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- Figure 34: Travel booked in the last 12 months (August 2012) and loyalty program members’ airline, hotel, and car rental reward redemption in the last three years (May 2013), by gender
- Travel providers should consider benefits of loyalty program favorites
- Delta tops airline frequent flyer programs, but others may give easier reward access
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- Figure 35: Types of frequent flyer programs currently enrolled in, January 2012-March 2013
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- Figure 36: Top five ranking for airline reward seats redeemed between June and October 2013, May 2013
- Hertz the most popular car rental loyalty program
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- Figure 37: Enrollment in car rental priority privilege programs/clubs, January 2012-March 2013
Attitudes Toward Airline Frequent Flyer Programs
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- Key points
- Free flight benefits the primary draw of frequent flyer programs
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- Figure 38: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, May 2013
- Young adults interested in frequent flyer programs’ other travel benefits
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- Figure 39: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, by age, May 2013
Attitudes Toward Hotel Loyalty Programs
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- Key points
- One third motivated by hotel loyalty programs’ free nights, upgrades
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- Figure 40: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, May 2013
- More young adults want free hotel meals and crossover rewards
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- Figure 41: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, by age, May 2013
Attitudes Toward Car Rental Loyalty Programs
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- Key points
- Speedier reservations an opportunity for car rental loyalty programs
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- Figure 42: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, May 2013
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- Figure 43: USRentACar mobile rental wait time app, May 2012
- Other membership benefits, fewer rental fees a focus for young adults
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- Figure 44: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, by age, May 2013
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- Figure 45: Licensed drivers’ opinions on the difficulty of owning a car due to gas, parking, and maintenance costs, by age, December 2012
Travel Loyalty Programs and Business Travel
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- Key point
- Loyalty program members inclined to link benefits to business travel
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- Figure 46: Agreement that you have to be a business traveler to take full advantage of loyalty program benefits, by loyalty program membership, May 2013
- United Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
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- Figure 47: Southwest business select print ad, July 2013
The Cost of Travel Loyalty Program Membership
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- Key points
- Most travel loyalty program members aware of financial benefits
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- Figure 48: Members’ opinions about the cost savings of frequent travel program membership, May 2013
- Convincing non-members they can save money may be the bigger challenge
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- Figure 49: Agreement that loyalty program membership saves money, by membership, May 2013
- Consumers don’t think membership justifies higher travel spending
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- Figure 50: Agreement that it is worth paying more for airfare, to stay at a specific hotel brand, or rent a car if you belong to a travel loyalty program, May 2013
Travel Loyalty Reward Redemption Preferences
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- Key points
- Immediate flight rewards can encourage frequent flyer membership
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- Figure 51: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, May 2013
- Hoteliers may profit from expanding loyalty members’ meal options
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- Figure 52: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, May 2013
- Free GPS, flexible returns present opportunity for car rental programs
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- Figure 53: Interest in car rental loyalty reward redemption options, May 2013
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- Figure 54: Actual and forecast retail price of gasoline per gallon, January 2009-December 2014
Opinions About Frequent Travel Programs
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- Key points
- For many, travel reward redemption may be too difficult
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- Figure 55: Frequent travel program members’ opinions about the ease of redeeming travel reward benefits, May 2013
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- Figure 56: Employees’ vacation days earned and used, by country, 2012
- Most think there are limits to the benefits of reward travel
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- Figure 57: Frequent travel program members’ opinions about travel reward program limitations, May 2013
Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Blacks, Hispanics the least likely to belong to frequent travel programs
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- Figure 58: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent travel program memberships, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
- Figure 59: Median household income, by race and Hispanic origin of householder, 2011
- Blacks, Hispanics more likely to want flight upgrades
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- Figure 60: Interest in airline frequent flyer reward redemption options, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
- More Hispanics also drawn to nightly hotel upgrade discounts
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- Figure 61: Interest in reward redemption options for hotel loyalty programs, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
- Flexible car rental return locations another way to attract Hispanics
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- Figure 62: Interest in reward redemption options for car rental loyalty programs, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
Cluster Analysis
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- Figure 63: Frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
- Extra-Benefit-Seekers
- Opportunity
- Loyalty Program Enthusiasts
- Opportunity
- Loyalty Program Skeptics
- Opportunity
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 64: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent travel program memberships, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
- Figure 65: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
- Figure 66: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
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- Figure 67: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
- Figure 68: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
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- Figure 69: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
- Figure 70: Interest in car rental loyalty reward redemption options, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
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- Figure 71: Members’ opinions about frequent traveler programs, by frequent travel program member clusters, May 2013
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 72: Profile of frequent travel program member clusters, by gender, age, and gender and age, May 2013
- Figure 73: Profile of frequent travel program member clusters, by household income and race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
- Cluster methodology
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Appendix – Other Useful Consumer Tables
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- Frequent travel program membership and usage
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- Figure 74: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 75: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, by gender and age, May 2013
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- Figure 76: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 77: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, by marital/relationship status, May 2013
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- Figure 78: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, by presence of children in the household, May 2013
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- Figure 79: Airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, by airline, hotel, and car rental frequent traveler program memberships, May 2013
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- Figure 80: Number of times airline frequent flyer rewards redeemed in the last three years, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 81: Number of times airline frequent flyer rewards redeemed in the last three years, by gender and age, May 2013
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- Figure 82: Number of times airline frequent flyer rewards redeemed in the last three years, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 83: Number of times hotel loyalty program rewards redeemed in the last three years, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 84: Number of times hotel loyalty program rewards redeemed in the last three years, by gender and age, May 2013
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- Figure 85: Number of times hotel loyalty program rewards redeemed in the last three years, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 86: Number of times car rental loyalty program rewards redeemed in the last three years, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 87: Number of times car rental loyalty program rewards redeemed in the last three years, by age, May 2013
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- Figure 88: Number of times car rental loyalty program rewards redeemed in the last three years, by household income, May 2013
- Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs
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- Figure 89: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 90: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 91: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
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- Figure 92: Attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, by frequent flyer program membership, May 2013
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- Figure 93: Frequent flyer program members’ attitudes toward airline frequent flyer programs, rewards redeemed vs. not redeemed in the last three years, May 2013
- Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs
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- Figure 94: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 95: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 96: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
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- Figure 97: Attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, by hotel loyalty program membership, May 2013
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- Figure 98: Hotel loyalty program members’ attitudes toward hotel loyalty programs, rewards redeemed vs. not redeemed in the last three years, May 2013
- Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs
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- Figure 99: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 100: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 101: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
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- Figure 102: Attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, by car rental loyalty program membership, May 2013
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- Figure 103: Car rental loyalty program members’ attitudes toward car rental loyalty programs, rewards redeemed vs. not redeemed in the last three years, May 2013
- Travel loyalty reward redemption preferences
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- Figure 104: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 105: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, by age, May 2013
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- Figure 106: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 107: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, Millennial parents vs. non-Millennial parents, May 2013
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- Figure 108: Interest in frequent flyer reward redemption options, by frequent flyer program membership, May 2013
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- Figure 109: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 110: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, by age, May 2013
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- Figure 111: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 112: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, Millennial parents vs. non-Millennial parents, May 2013
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- Figure 113: Interest in hotel loyalty reward redemption options, by hotel loyalty program membership, May 2013
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- Figure 114: Interest in car rental loyalty reward redemption options, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 115: Interest in car rental loyalty reward redemption options, by age, May 2013
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- Figure 116: Interest in car rental loyalty reward redemption options, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 117: Interest in car rental loyalty programs, by car rental loyalty program membership, May 2013
- Opinions about frequent travel programs
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- Figure 118: Members’ opinions about frequent traveler programs, by gender, May 2013
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- Figure 119: Members’ opinions about frequent traveler programs, by age, May 2013
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- Figure 120: Members’ opinions about frequent traveler programs, by household income, May 2013
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- Figure 121: Members’ opinions about frequent traveler programs, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2013
Appendix – Trade Associations
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