Wildfire Systems Inc., an innovative financial technology platform that powers loyalty and reward programs and shopping companions, today announced Benefits & Loyalty Amplifier (BLAM), an enhancement to its platform.
Designed to deliver more value to consumers and financial services organizations, BLAM is the first solution to address a common challenge: many consumers fail to take full advantage of their credit card benefits due to lack of awareness. This leaves banks, card issuers, and payment providers with valuable loyalty offerings and value-added services that are underutilized.
The components of the legacy loyalty landscape - what Boston Consulting Group (BCG) refers to as "Loyalty 1.0" - include an array of value-added features, such as card-linked offers, shopping portals, dining rewards, and insurance offerings. These loyalty program components often operate in silos, making it challenging for customers to fully unlock their potential.
BLAM brings together these disparate components to create what BCG has termed “Loyalty 2.0,” by providing a direct channel to customers to access all of their card benefits in real time at contextually-relevant moments during a shopping journey. For instance, a customer booking a flight online would be reminded that a certain card in their wallet provides free VIP lounge access, or a customer booking a rental car online would be prompted to use the “right” card in order for their rental insurance to be covered.
Because BLAM provides a direct channel to deliver relevant, beneficial messaging to customers, it can also be used to address key bank priorities such as new cardholder acquisition. For example, a shopper browsing a retailer’s site could see a pre-approved offer for a co-branded retailer credit card or be offered a card with a strong dining program while they are looking at restaurant menus online.
Key loyalty program and card benefits that can be amplified by BLAM include:
● Card Upsells: Offers to apply for relevant card products
● Dining Rewards: Exclusive dining benefits and discounts
● Card-Linked Offers: Deals from local offline merchants
● Travel Portals: Access to travel-related rewards and services
● Entertainment: Early access to event tickets
● Insurance Products: Rental car coverage and extended product warranties
Recent research found that 72% of credit card holders say they have run into friction when trying to leverage rewards. Underscoring this, according to a CarTrawler report, only 12% of people who rented a car in the past year took advantage of an applicable loyalty program when booking, highlighting the low utilization rates of value-adding card and loyalty program features.
“Benefits Amplifier elevates our commitment to deliver value-added services that provide benefits to consumers and reinforces our leadership in the white-label rewards and loyalty market,” said Jordan Glazier, CEO, Wildfire Systems. “Wildfire’s Benefits Amplifier drives customer acquisition and retention for banks and card issuers by promoting and increasing engagement across all loyalty initiatives.”