Travel Loyalty Programs Survey: Tech Savvy Consumers Likely to Sign Up

The vast majority of travelers said that they’ve been satisfied with their travel experiences over the past year, according to statistics from Airlines For America. And that means that there could be even more opportunities for airlines and other travel businesses to capitalize on customer loyalty programs. So how many consumers are interested in signing up for travel loyalty cards or memberships? And how many already belong to these types of programs? We asked 1,000 respondents about their thoughts on loyalty programs and specifically those within the travel industry.

Travel Loyalty Programs

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest online survey, 39% of respondents said that they currently belong to many different loyalty programs. And 42% belong to at least one or two. More specifically, 19% said that they have signed up for multiple travel loyalty programs. And 20% have signed up for at least one or two. The most popular travel loyalty programs mentioned by respondents include American Airlines, Southwest and Hilton Hotels.

Future Consumers

Looking forward, 69% of respondents said that they are at least somewhat likely to sign up for a new loyalty program of some kind within the next year. And of those respondents, 32% said that they are likely to sign up for loyalty programs with airlines, hotels or other travel businesses. Travel was the least popular loyalty category among potential consumers.

Customer Profile

According to Personality Radar, those who are likely to sign up for travel loyalty programs within the next year are mainly affluent consumers who are interested in new trends and upgraded products. They also tend to be health-conscious, eco-friendly and at least somewhat tech savvy.

Key Takeaways

Travel loyalty programs aren’t necessarily likely to grow as quickly as those in other industries. But among regular travelers, they can still be fairly popular. However, travel businesses shouldn’t necessarily target customers in the same way that businesses in other industries would. Travel loyalists tend to be affluent, tech savvy and worried about things like environmental impact. What that could indicate is that targeting mobile app users with loyalty programs that people can access and use right on their devices is a beneficial route for travel businesses. Then in marketing materials, either signage posted around airports or popular tourist destinations or online and mobile ads, travel companies can call attention to the convenience aspects and even build a sort of exclusive feel to their loyalty programs. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Southwest tails at BWI by airbus777 under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on March 13 via AYTM’s online survey panel.