Washington: Macy’s, Rite Aid, ExxonMobil and other major companies are joining forces with American Express for a new type of customer loyalty programme that has not previously been available to US shoppers: Shoppers earn points when they make purchases with participating brands, and then those points are good for savings at any of those stores.

For example, shoppers could earn points by purchasing anti-aging cream and lipstick at Rite Aid and then redeem those points to get savings when buying a dress at Macy’s. They could nab points by paying their cellphone bills at AT&T and then use them to get $2(Dh7.34) off when they fill up their gas tanks at an ExxonMobil station.

Until now, loyalty programmes in the US have been highly siloed, with retailers offering points and rewards systems that only applied within their own stores. The participating companies believe that this set-up will be more appealing to consumers because it is more flexible.

“This is a perfect time for a coalition loyalty programme in the US, as online marketing becomes more efficient and American consumers become more accustomed to rewards programmes, special offers and discounts,” said Ed Gilligan, president at American Express, in a statement.

The programme is called Plenti, and though it is operated by American Express, shoppers can use any form of payment as they earn or redeem their points.

Participating companies include Hulu, Nationwide insurance and Direct Energy. The coalition hopes to eventually add more businesses from different categories such as food, auto and travel.

“We were looking to have a big player in every industry,” said Charlotte Fuller, an American Express spokeswoman. “So we’re not going to have another drug company involved, we’re not going to have another gas company involved.”

While Plenti is a new model in the US, similar coalition loyalty programmes have existed abroad for years. American Express said that its experience with these programmes in other countries has taught it that it is important to have brands from a variety of categories.

The goal of Plenti is to deliver small savings to consumers on regular purchases, a mission that is different from traditional credit card rewards programmes, in which a shopper might hoard points over the long haul to cash in for a big purchase such as plane tickets.

So, for example, if a consumer swipes her Plenti card at an ExxonMobile station and has amassed a certain number of points, she might get an on-screen prompt at the pump asking if she’d like to save $2 on her purchase today. If not, you simply hang onto those points and keep accumulating more.

Washington Post