Will Consumers be Side-“Swiped” by Merchant Surcharging?
In what could be described as a very discrete press release, Visa Canada recently announced an agreement allowing merchants to impose checkout fees or surcharges on credit card transactions. A day later, MasterCard Canada made a similar announcement. The decisions were part of settlement agreements to resolve outstanding class action litigation involving a series of […]
Next Steps on the Loyalty Points Story
During the last six months of 2016, there was much discussion about the plan by Air Miles to let miles five years or older expire starting January 1, 2017. However, in December, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 47, Protecting Rewards Points Act, prohibiting the expiry dates on reward points programs based on time alone in […]
What Can Air Miles do with all those Expiring Miles?
In December 2011, Air Miles announced going forward its reward miles will only be valid for 5 years. As a result, after December 31, 2016, Air Miles older than five years begin to expire on a quarterly basis. Air Miles spokesperson have repeatedly noted some collectors are “still not using the miles they collected decades […]
Time to Check-Out of Loyalty Program Rewards?
It has been taken for granted that Canadians love their loyalty rewards. 89% of Canadians are members of a loyalty program and the average Canadian participates in 8 different loyalty schemes. However, not all may be as rosy as loyalty program marketers may have you believe. A recent survey released by loyalty program provider Aimia […]