Looking for a list of the best brand loyalty programs?
We’ve trawled the Internet, hunting down a wide array of customer loyalty programs, brand rewards memberships and punch card programs across different industries. Here they are:
A Comprehensive List Of 38 Loyalty Program Examples
Click on the following links to jump to your relevant topic:
- The Best Loyalty Programs In the World – Starbucks, Amazon Prime, and Sephora; the best examples of loyalty programs in the world
- Restaurant Loyalty Programs – Loyalty program examples from cafes, fast casual/fast food QSR loyalty including Dunkin, Panera and Chipotle
- Travel Loyalty Programs – Examples of loyalty programs that reward you for travel & hospitality spending, like Expedia, Amtrak and National. Also including the following subcategories:
- Hotel Loyalty Programs – Featuring hotel chains big and small like Hyatt, Starwoods, and even Hotels.com
- Airline Loyalty Programs – First-class service and rewards from Delta, Alaska Airlines and Virgin Atlantic
- Products Loyalty Programs – A huge category of loyalty programs with rewards for purchasing products. Rather than split by industry, we’ve decided to split them by:
- eCommerce Loyalty Programs – Any loyalty program that focuses on online sales, or features a heavy online component
- Retailer Loyalty Programs – Loyalty program examples focusing on offline or brick-and-mortar retail experiences
Who has the best loyalty rewards program?
Starbucks, Amazon Prime and Sephora have the best customer loyalty programs, tapping into their global reach, strong brand loyalty and regularly returning customers. More than just sales and discounts, their loyalty programs play a big part in delivering excellent customer experiences, for example mobile payments and priority experiences – and generate record revenue, too!
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Starbucks loyalty program
Starbucks Rewards is one of the most used loyalty programs in the world! Spending money at Starbucks gets you “Star points”, which you can then redeem for rewards. Plus, you can also pay by mobile through the app, and get notifications of special offers and seasonal drinks.
The loyalty program is so successful Starbucks Rewards was mentioned eight times in its Q4 2018 Earnings Call. Not a surprise, considering that Starbucks Rewards members loaded over a billion dollars of cash onto their cards in 2016, and grew to 15.3 million members by November 2018.
Read More: An Analysis of Starbucks Rewards’ Billion-Dollar Loyalty Program
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Amazon Prime loyalty program
Amazon’s Prime loyalty program has been subject to a lot of analysis, but it’s hard to argue that it offers rewards for loyalty to Amazon shoppers, as well as encouraging members to keep going back to Amazon to enjoy the benefits.
And what benefits! Users get faster shipping benefits, exclusive access to movies and TV shows, Kindle books, and generally a superior Amazon experience all-around. No wonder there have been 100 million Prime subscribers globally in April 2018 – with the number expected to spike after Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
See Also: 5 Top-Notch Loyalty Programs That Reimagined The Way We Think About Rewards – #2 is Amazon Prime! -
Sephora’s loyalty program: Sephora
Beauty Pass / Beauty Insider
The Sephora Beauty Insider Program has three tiers – White, Black and Gold. Benefits include…
- Private sales and exclusive events
- Offers on your favorite brands
- A surprise on your birthday
- A brand gift of your choice every 200 points
With attractive benefits like this, it’s no wonder some Sephora Super-Shoppers can easily rack up 50,000 Beauty Insider Points – the equivalent of spending $50,000!
Best Loyalty Program Examples: Back to top
What are the best restaurant rewards program?
Good food and great ambience brings customers in – but great a loyalty/rewards program keeps customers coming back regularly.
With Starbucks leading the charge, we are seeing more programs transition towards mobile apps and digital loyalty programs, including the likes of Dunkin’ Donuts, Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread.
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Chick-fil-A Loyalty Program
With 13 million active members and more sales per average than KFC or McDonald’s, Chik-fil-A must be doing something right with its Chik-Fil-A One loyalty program.
In fact, they recently gave a loyal patron free Chick-fil-A meals for the rest of his life. Granted, he’s a 100 years old — but it’s a nice touch to reward loyalty.
Read More: How Chick-Fil-A overtakes the competition with its loyalty program
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DD Perks Rewards: The Dunkin’ Donuts Loyalty Program
In less than three years, DD Perks Rewards has signed up seven million members on its way to becoming a massive mobile success.
They combined regular rewards and offers for new members, mobile payment and ordering (only for loyalty members!) and cross-promotions with local sports teams.
Read More: Perk Me Up: How Dunkin’ Donuts loyalty program brews fresh customer rewards with DD Perks Rewards
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MyPanera: Panera Bread’s Loyalty Program
Panera’s digital loyalty program, MyPanera, has more than 28 million members, representing more than half its customer base.
MyPanera surprises and delights customers and generated US$1 billion in 2017 from digital, mobile, web and kiosk sales. And the number is set to double by 2019!
Read More: Rise Up: How Panera’s digital loyalty program MyPanera is delivering a billion dollars in sales
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Red Robin Royalty Loyalty Program
Serving up a whopping US$315 million of burgers in the second quarter of 2018 alone, Red Robin must be doing something right in the competitive American fast food/burger market. Part of their success can be attributed to the Red Robin Royalty loyalty program.
Generous rewards are offered ranging from free entrees to birthday burgers and limited time deals. Red Robin gamifies the experience of earning these rewards, ingraining the habit of patronising their stores.
Read More: 4 Reasons Why Everyone Loves The Red Robin Loyalty Rewards Program
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Chipotle loyalty program – Chiptopia
Chiptopia was an experiment in loyalty, run by Chipotle. The program lasted for just three months and is no longer active. Even though more than 3 million customers participated, a variety of factors including an timely health scare and an over-complicated redemption program made it untenable.
Chipotle are coming back with their rewards program, though. In the meantime, you can learn about how Chiptopia failed and how to avoid making the same mistakes.
Read Also: Chipotle’s Chiptopia Loyalty Program – What went wrong? Lessons and learnings.
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Costa Coffee loyalty program
Costa Coffee loyalty program is called the Costa Coffee Club, and has an app too. They offer points earned, special events and free wifi — eerily similar to another famous cafe loyalty program.
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Graeters loyalty program
Graeter’s Sweet Rewards Program exists as a loyalty card, but they’re also rolling out a pilot mobile app in new cities. Digital loyalty programs, especially for mobile phones, are becoming the norm.
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Subway loyalty program: Subcard
The Subcard App has some interesting twists, including earning points with friends (‘Subsquad’) and loads more.
Read Also: How Subway Stays Fresh – By Boosting Its Marketing Efforts
Best Loyalty Program Examples: Back to top
The best travel rewards/loyalty program
The travel industry was the first to popularise memberships, rewards and loyalty programs. To this day, most hotels and airlines have points and memberships. Some of the best include Expedia, World of Hyatt and Delta Airlines.
This also includes the subsections for Hotel and Airline Loyalty Program examples.
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Expedia loyalty program
Expedia+ Rewards combines tiered membership with rewards points.
Learn more: Expedia+ Rewards
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National’s loyalty program
National Car Rental is also making use of a mobile app to target loyalty club members.
Learn more: National’s loyalty program
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Amtrak loyalty program
Amtrak’s loyalty program is called Amtrak Guest Rewards, and is framed very much like a hotel’s, interestingly!
Best Loyalty Program Examples: Back to top
The best hotel loyalty programs
The best hotel loyalty programs go beyond offering free night stays, room upgrades or complimentary ‘continental’ breakfasts. Hyatt, Starwoods and Hotels.com feature exclusive experiences and special rewards.
See also examples for Travel and Airlines.
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The World of Hyatt loyalty program
Hyatt revamped their much-beloved Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program to the World of Hyatt, to focus more on meaningful benefits and brand values, instead of simply room bookings and points.
Despite having a smaller portfolio than larger hotel chains, the revamp had a big effect as Hyatt reported stronger sales growth and customer satisfaction.
Read More: How to inspire empathy with customers: The World of Hyatt loyalty program
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Hotels.com loyalty program
Learn more: Hotels.com loyalty program
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Starwood Preferred Guest Loyalty Program
Starwood’s Preferred Guest loyalty program can be linked with Marriott Rewards and Ritz Carlton rewards.
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IHG loyalty program
Learn more: IHG’s loyalty program
Best Loyalty Program Examples: Back to top
The best airline loyalty program
Delta, Alaska Airlines and British Airways offer more than just seat upgrades, priority booking and air miles. Read how the best airline loyalty programs keep customers booking with them again and again.
See also examples for Travel and Hotels.
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Delta Airline’s Loyalty Program: SkyMiles
Many airlines and hospitality offer points and miles. Delta’s Skymiles is an example of a loyalty program that’s well structured, easy to earn points, and tailored to make it easy to spend for users – especially VIP-level Medallion Status members.
Read More: Delta Airline’s Loyalty Program: Examples of a well-structured program
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Alaska Airline’s loyalty program
Alaska Airline’s loyalty program is called Mileage Plan, but offers a host of rewards beyond just bonus miles.
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Virgin Atlantic loyalty program
Virgin Atlantic’s loyalty program is called the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
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British Airways loyalty program
British Airways’ loyalty program is called the Executive Club, with tiers named after precious stones – Emerald, Sapphire.
Best Loyalty Program Examples: Back to top
The best product loyalty program
Loyalty programs and memberships that offer you rewards for purchasing products from the brand. We’ve divided this section into eCommerce loyalty programs, which feature online sales or a heavy online component and Retailer Loyalty Programs, which focus on brick-and-mortar retailer examples.
The best eCommerce loyalty program
Sephora and Hotel Pink lead the charge, rewarding their regular customers for their loyalty with membership rewards, exclusive experiences and special tiers.
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Hotel Pink, Frank Body‘s Rewards & Loyalty Program
In just a couple of years, Frank Body grew from a modest $5,000 to a multimillion dollar skincare brand. They knew their audience and how to reach them with sharp social media branding – but also a successful loyalty program, Hotel Pink.
Hotel Pink ties in aspects of a conventional shopping rewards/loyalty program with points for referrals, allowing customers to earn points any way they choose – making them extremely effective brand ambassadors.
Read More: Why Frank Body’s Hotel Pink Is An Effective Loyalty Program For Customer Retention
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3Stripes.co: Adidas loyalty program
Adidas’s loyalty program for customers in Asia is called 3stripes.co.
It gives participants a $10 voucher for every $100 spent, among a host of other benefits.
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Barnes&Nobles loyalty program
Barnes&Nobles has a loyalty program in the form of a $25/year membership with over $50 in coupons.
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Dr. Brandt loyalty program
Dr Brandt’s loyalty program uses a point system that gives customers points for all sorts of specific actions.
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Gilt Insider loyalty program
Gilt Insider loyalty program has four tiers – Insider, Select, Premier and Noir. At the highest level, you get…
- Birthday gifts
- VIP customer service
- Waitlist priority
- Private events
- 1 Hour Preview of Sales
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Lancome loyalty program
Learn more: Lancome’s loyalty program
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Marvel loyalty program
Learn more: Marvel Insider
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Nestlé loyalty program
Learn more: Nestlé’s loyalty program
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Ulta loyalty program
Learn more: Ulta’s loyalty program
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Yuenglings loyalty program
Yuengling’s loyalty program gives subscribers access to coupons, discounts, contests, a free pint of ice cream and more.
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Zappos loyalty program
Zappos’s loyalty program has 4 tiers – Sliver, Gold, Platinum and Elite – and the last is invite-only.
Best Loyalty Program Examples: Back to top
The best retail loyalty program
Brick-and-mortar retail experiences that focus mostly on returning customers for the offline experience, with no online tie-in. See also the best eCommerce loyalty programs.
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Best Buy Loyalty Program
Best Buy’s loyalty program is called My Best Buy, and it has three tiers – Regular, Elite, and ElitePlus.
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Nordstrom loyalty program
Learn: Nordstrom’s loyalty program
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Old Navy loyalty program
Learn more: Old Navy’s loyalty program
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Patagonia loyalty program
Learn more: Patagonia’s loyalty program
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Samsung loyalty program
The Samsung loyalty program, based in India, is called the Samsung Smart Club.
There’s a Gold tier and a Platinum tier as well!
Interested in setting up a loyalty program of your own?
Check out Candybar.co! You can have it completely set up in under an hour, and it’s incredibly easy for your customers to use.
