Thursday, March 23, 2017

Day 17 -- Loyalty Program News. -- What's this that I signed up for?

Yes, just 17 days since Cruise Society started a Facebook page.

Now up to 127 Twitter Followers.

17 registrants with Travel Scores -- Six of the 17 have circumnavigated, three of them twice or more.

Statement of principals for Loyalty Program News. 

Uh, --  What's this that I signed up for anwways?  

Here's what the opt-in question says on the questionnaire from at www.YourTravelScore.com

[__] -  Check here for Loyalty Program News. Opt in to receive our highly focused weekly newsletter (sometimes more often with breaking news) with the latest on how to buy, sell, trade, earn, get, share, give and receive points in cruise ship loyalty programs worldwide, including which lines are honoring other line's status points. We will never spam you.

Our goal is the be the "gas in lamp" that on this single focused topic of cruise line loyalty programs.  [ yes, now and then we might wander over to hotel & air programs too. ]

What promoted this?

That there is a trend. that started with the airline alliances that carriers will 'code share' and allow members for one loyalty status program benefit across across members.

You can see that with the airline programs One World and Star Alliance:

One World key members are shown the their site: https://www.oneworld.com/member-airlines/overview and include American Airlines and British Airways:

Star Alliance key members are shown here: http://www.staralliance.com/en/member-airlines  and include Untied, Air Canada and Air China.

Basically there are two completing alliances.

Will cruise ships do the same?  

In some ways there already are two groups --- Those under the Carnival umbrella and those not.

According to Wikipedia Carnival controls 21% of the cruise industry with 25 ships -- ...and the offer very limited reciprocity between lines.  Their VIFP program does not cross all lines.

There is a trend of cruise lines offering matching loyalty bonus to traveler who switch lines, as shown in the MSC Loyalty Satuts Match offer -- that's here:

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Loyalty-Match-Program.aspx

The advent of travel companies doing status match is clearly shown for air, hotel & car rental at http://www.statusmatcher.com/ -- site that reports on incidents of travel company accommodations to loyalty matching.

So will this loyalty match phenomenon grow into cruise line Alliance programs.

That the news story this blog will cover.

More news soon.

Take action today, request your Travel Score and opt-in for our Loyalty Program News email newsletter at www.YourTravelScore.com

Signing off.

Luck be with you.

Mitchell P. Davis

CEO,  CruisingSociety.com 

A Broadcast Interview Source, Inc.company

Request to follow our Tweets at www.Twitter.com/CruisingSociety.