Affinity and Loyalty cards. Most of us are familiar with affinity, loyalty, rewards or discount card programmes. Many major retailers and airlines operate such programmes to encourage repeat business and develop a database of customer demographic information.
These programmes can be quite extensive, with millions of issued cards accepted in large numbers of outlets. The cards are usually a standard credit card size and use a barcode, magnetic strip or embedded chip to hold information.Affinity cards are typically charge or credit cards with an affinity to a particular company, charity or organisation. For example, a retailer that issues branded Visa or Mastercards will provide rewards for using the card in their stores, even though the card operates in the same fashion as a regular credit card. Loyalty or rewards cards are the same, but do not have the added credit or charge card ability. These typically work on a points system, with customers earning points from each purchase that are redeemable against discounted or free products or services.
Another option would be purchases above particular ceiling levels may include a free gift. Or a total spend in a period of time upgrades the member from Silver to Gold, thus earning greater benefits. These types of programmes have proved popular with grocery retailers or supermarkets and gas station operators. Discount cards are the most basic card type. In general the only benefit offered is a discount rate against products. In some instances the level may vary, depending on the total spend in a visit or over a given period of time. Although easier to implement than other card types, they do not offer as many rewards to users and are generally used at the lower end of the market.
