Your Loyalty Innovation Blueprint: Partnerships

Hotel and airline loyalty programs have set a high standard for creative partnerships. They use these partnerships a new way to acquire members and engage current members to earn faster towards rewards. If you work in retail, chances are you’ve wished you could sprinkle a little of that collaborative magic on your own loyalty program. You’re not alone.  

Welcome to the Loyalty Innovation Blueprint—where we provide program enhancement recommendations to fuel your loyalty aspirations.  

The Wish

“I wish my loyalty program could partner with other brands and services, like hotels do. I want to offer customers more than just transaction points—a broader set of experiences, earning potential and rewards that genuinely matter to them. Why isn’t this happening in retail?” 

The Untapped Opportunity

Today’s customers expect complimentary brands to work together on their behalf. Travel loyalty programs deliver this through extensive partner networks, turning ordinary transactions into flexible, personalized experiences and transfer relationships. Retailers who stay siloed risk missing out on reach, relevance, and deeper emotional connections with their audiences. 

How It Could Work

Partnerships in loyalty are most successful when it’s intentional. Don’t just copy-paste the hotel and airline playbook, let’s craft your own:

Step 1: Identify Complementary Brands

• Target brands that align with your customer lifestyle and values, without competing for the same transaction. If you’re a retailer, what brands might be willing to fund additional loyalty campaigns or experiences? 
• For example, a luggage retailer pairing with a travel insurance provider, or a beauty retailer working with a fitness studio or an electronics brand maximizing their relationship with an electronics retailer to access their VIP audiences. 
• Focus your attention on relationships where both brands have a clear view of the upside for their customers. 

Who’s doing this well? Lululemon expanded its membership program by partnering with 12 health and wellness brands, including Peloton, Oura, ClassPass, Barry’s, Sweetgreen, Supergoop, AG1, Erewhon, and more. Each partner delivers exclusive discounts or experiences, like fitness class credits, wellness products, or nutrition perks.

Step 2: Launch Partner-Funded Offers

• Protect your customer data. Value for partners comes from exposure to your audience, not data hand-offs or resale.
• Invite partners to provide exclusive rewards or value-adds to your loyalty members. This introduces their offering while making your program stand out.
• Your loyalty program becomes a vehicle for discovery—your partner gains targeted new business, your members gain new benefits, and your data remains safeguarded.

Who’s doing this well? Taylormade utilizes their partner relationships to offer exclusive pricing and access to products from partners like Garmin, CR Academy, and Hyperice. Taylormade members gain value from these exclusive offers, and Taylormade generates new revenue streams to continue raising the bar on the benefits they provide to members.

Step 3: Curate Lifestyle-Oriented Experiences

• Go beyond advertising a one-time coupon. Work with partners to assemble co-branded events, limited runs, and ongoing collaborations that fit the habits and interests of your audience.
• For example, co-hosted workshops, curated subscription boxes, or access to members-only content with your partners.
• These experiences integrate your brand into moments that matter to your customers and help foster a sense of belonging.

Who’s doing this well? Walmart+ members can now access a dedicated travel booking portal, WalmartPlusTravel.com, powered by Expedia Group’s technology. Members gain added value with cashback and a convenient booking experience, and Walmart gains deeper insights into their customer’s behaviors to create more meaningful partnerships in the future.

The Bottom Line

Retailers who bring relevant partnerships into their loyalty program gain new ways to engage high-value customers and stand out in crowded markets. A smart partnership isn’t about bigger discounts—it’s about offering the right experiences and forging customer relationships that stand the test of time.

Innovative loyalty isn’t out of reach. If the question “why can’t we do this?” is coming up in your meetings, it’s time to move the conversation forward. By collaborating with the right partners and designing meaningful experiences, your program can lead the industry instead of watching from the sidelines.

Ready to Get Started? Annex Cloud empowers retailers and global brands to build the partnerships and loyalty experiences their customers crave.