The place Co-Model and Journey Rewards Are Heading in 2026 and Past
In a world overflowing with content material — and opinions — it has turn into more and more troublesome for loyalty executives to separate noise from sign. As I ready my keynote for the 2025 Co-Model and Journey Rewards Convention, I started the best way many do: by jotting down my very own views in regards to the path of co-brands, journey loyalty, and the economics shaping the subsequent technology of rewards packages. Then I held these instincts towards two issues that matter way over opinions: knowledge and proof.
At The Clever Marketer Group, we analyzed greater than a dozen analysis research this yr from Amperity, Arrivia, Ascenda, Barclays, CarTrawler, CORA Loyalty, Ernst & Younger, Have interaction Individuals, J.D. Energy, and others. You’ll find every of those studies in The Loyalty Academy™ VAULT.
Paired with the 9,000-plus articles in our archives, we seemed for the frequent narratives rising throughout the journey, funds, and loyalty panorama.
Six main themes rose to the highest — themes that kind a sensible framework for a way airways, motels, and issuing banks needs to be planning for 2026 and past.
1. Demographic Disruption
The loyalty market is robust: 79% of U.S. vacationers now depend on loyalty packages, the best ever recorded. On the similar time, the profile of the cardholder universe is shifting quickly.
One of the vital vital findings comes from the widening hole between financially wholesome and financially challenged shoppers. Greater than half of bank card customers fall into the latter group — these carrying revolving balances, scuffling with funds, and more and more disengaged from conventional worth propositions.
This creates strategic rigidity. Premium playing cards dominate media spend and cultural visibility, and greater than 20% of U.S. cardholders now pay annual charges above $100. However premium progress masks the fact that almost all of People don’t behave just like the “super-prime traveler” showcased in promoting.
The implication is evident: your most precious cardholder in 2026 is not going to appear like the one you focused in 2020. Segmentation primarily based on monetary well being, journey frequency, and behavioral economics will matter simply as a lot as generational labels.
2. Generational Breaks in Journey Loyalty
The nuance behind demographic segmentation runs even deeper. Millennials and Gen Z method loyalty with expectations essentially totally different from Boomers and Gen X — not simply in preferences however in participation and motivations.
Participation is decrease amongst youthful vacationers.
- Gen Z (65%) and Millennials (70%) have interaction at meaningfully decrease ranges than older cohorts.
- But those that do take part are energy customers: 94% of Millennials use techniques to maximise factors, and 72% depend on loyalty to stretch journey budgets.
Tradition is shaping journey behaviors.
- Greater than 80% of youthful shoppers say their journey concepts come from on-screen sources.
- Reveals like Squid Recreation and The White Lotus have straight influenced vacation spot curiosity, in some circumstances driving triple-digit surges.
Dad and mom emerge as a definite and underserved section.
- Almost 90% say they might journey in a different way — or much less — with out rewards. And fogeys present rising curiosity in cruise loyalty, making them one of many quickest rising subsegments.
All of this indicators an business the place “Millennial” not describes a single persona; relatively, it splinters into micro-segments outlined by life stage, monetary posture, parenting standing, digital conduct, and cultural affect.
3. Personalization because the True Loyalty Forex
Throughout practically each examine this yr, one concept dominated: personalization has overtaken expertise, factors, and comfort as the highest driver of loyalty worth.
– 68% need rewards tailor-made to buy exercise
– 72% say personalization drives their engagement
– Tailor-made rewards are the #1 characteristic that makes Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers really feel valued
– Gen Z locations the best worth on surprise-and-delight experiences
A key rigidity sits beneath this enthusiasm: consolation with knowledge sharing is collapsing among the many youngest vacationers. Solely 11% of Gen Z is “very comfy” sharing knowledge, in comparison with 31% of adults 25–44.
This implies manufacturers should earn personalization — by way of belief, transparency, and utility — relatively than deal with it as a given. And “personalization” should evolve past messaging to incorporate alternative, entry, flexibility, and relevance. Multiple-third of shoppers now say entry to associate manufacturers is without doubt one of the most precious loyalty options.
The brand new equilibrium is easy: In case you can ship personalization at scale, you may generate income at scale.
4. Market Strain and the Economics of Loyalty
Whereas client expectations rise, exterior strain is bearing down on the standard travel-loyalty mannequin.
Regulatory headwinds
- In late 2024, the U.S. Division of Transportation opened an inquiry into frequent flyer packages, analyzing points like dynamic pricing and reward transparency. The Division of Justice is conducting a broader aggressive evaluation.
- In the meantime, the Credit score Card Competitors Act continues to floor, maintaining potential interchange compression on the desk.
Client monetary stress
- Bank card delinquency charges stay at historic highs, placing downward strain on spend efficiency and elevating sensitivity to charges and APRs.
Aggressive shifts
- Premium non-travel playing cards and sensible cash-back playing cards pose actual risk vectors to high-value segments.
One sensible response lies in increasing the portfolio past conventional credit score constructs. Wyndham and Southwest each introduced debit-based reward merchandise — a sensible transfer on condition that 70% of Gen Z makes use of debit weekly, and lots of shoppers favor a debt-free way of life. Debit rewards aren’t a fallback; they’re a strategic bridge to youthful and credit-averse audiences.
5. Digital Spine: The place Funds and Loyalty Converge
The way forward for journey loyalty will sit on the intersection of loyalty, funds, and digital id.
Cell is now the enrollment gateway. Tokenization is bringing loyalty currencies into digital wallets, creating utility and visibility. And AI continues to speed up experimentation, whilst organizational readiness lags.
Solely 18% of organizations use AI in manufacturing to resolve buyer identities. Belief in totally autonomous AI brokers fell from 43% to 27% in a yr. Clients, in the meantime, need AI-enabled worth however anticipate personalization and management — not surveillance or guesswork.
Strategically, this requires a shift from tier-based considering to mosaic-based design. Clients not kind themselves cleanly into ladders. Their wants fluctuate by monetary well being, digital fluency, journey aspiration, and engagement urge for food. Issuers and types should design merchandise that accommodate this complexity.
6. Experiences, Ecosystems, and a New Flight Path Ahead
Worth propositions are evolving from “earn and burn” to “entry and id.” Experiences — from property advantages to in-cabin surprises — more and more differentiate packages. However ecosystems matter simply as a lot.
Girls gravitate towards consolation perks. Males lean towards exclusivity. Boomers prioritize checked baggage and boarding. Dad and mom maximize group eating and shared spend. JetBlue’s household pooling and Wyndham’s subscription mannequin present how program design is widening to accommodate way of life patterns, not simply journey patterns.
Which brings us to the reply many loyalty leaders are in search of:
The co-brand of the longer term is a platform, not a product.
A platform constructed on 4 pillars:
1. Selection — companions, classes, earn buildings, redemption paths
2. Subscription — worthwhile bundles tied to id and way of life
3. Fintech — embedding funds, rewards, and loyalty into on a regular basis moments
4. Debit — serving financially challenged and youthful customers with out shrinking worth
The winners will likely be those that redefine their cardholder, not simply their card.
A Clearer View of 2026
Demographics are fragmenting. Monetary behaviors are diverging. Digital expectations are accelerating. And ecosystem partnerships are increasing what “loyalty” means.
For journey manufacturers and issuers, the trail ahead is each difficult and filled with potentialities:
– Embrace multi-segmentation
– Spend money on clever digital instruments
– Broaden product portfolios
– Reimagine “rewards” by way of the lens of expertise and id
If there was one takeaway from the analysis that knowledgeable this keynote, it’s this: the way forward for co-brand isn’t about factors or perks — it’s about alignment. Alignment between what shoppers want, what they will afford, and the way they aspire to journey.
That alignment is the true flight path ahead.
