Thanks Again is the first loyalty programme to be offered on prepaid forex cards in India.
The cross-border loyalty programme offers multiple benefits to customers:
o Reward points earned (in addition to existing programmes)
o 100 free points on sign-up
o Redemption for airline benefits with the JetPrivilege programme and hotel benefits with the Taj InnerCircle programme Mumbai.
Thomas Cook India Ltd., has partnered with Mastercard to launch Thanks Again, the leading global loyalty and consumer engagement platform to the India market. This is a pioneering initiative, making Thomas Cook India’s One Currency and Borderless the first prepaid travel cards to offer a loyalty programme to its customers in India.
Thanks Again makes travel even more rewarding for Thomas Cook India’s travel prepaid card holders by enabling them to automatically earn points when they shop, dine or park in and around more than 100 airports in North America that comprise the Thanks Again Airport Loyalty Coalition. In addition, Thomas Cook India’s prepaid cardholders registering for the programme earn a joining bonus of 100 free points. Subsequently, Thomas Cook’s customers then receive Thanks Again points for every USD 1 spent at participating locations. The accumulated points are incremental, hence above and beyond rewards already received from existing loyalty programmes. The loyalty points can be redeemed for JPMiles with Jet Airways’ JetPrivilege which can then be used to award flights or for Taj InnerCircle hotel points with The Taj Group.
Customers also enjoy the flexibility of redeeming earned points for valuable travel rewards and perks seamlessly via the Thanks Again mobile app. According to a 2015 report released by the global loyalty management firm Aimia, overall loyalty spending in India is significant: estimated to be over Rs 2000 crore annually and growing at 10%. The report further highlights that loyalty programmes result in a 2.5 increase in an engaged customer spend, as against that of a typical customer.
The Thomas Cook One Currency Card and the Borderless Prepaid Card have seen strong customer resonance, with 42% growth in Q2 2016 (over Q1) and a high double-digit Y-o-Y growth of 32%, respectively. The introduction of the Thanks Again programme aims to reward and benefit this high potential and rapidly growing customer base.
Commenting on the partnership, Mahesh Iyer, Chief Operating Officer, said, “Indians are increasingly travelling smart with high adoption of prepaid travel cards. We have noticed a clear preference for plastic over cash, across both leisure and business travellers. Our collaboration with Mastercard and Thanks Again is hence yet another endeavour to offer both increased value and simultaneously reward Thomas Cook India’s travel prepaid card users with attractive benefits. Our partnership with Thanks Again aims to inspire our existing and potential customers to opt for our travel prepaid cards, thus giving a further fillip to a cashless ecosystem.”
Marc Ellis, Chief Executive Officer, Thanks Again LLC remarked, “India is a rapidly growing travel market and we are excited to partner with Thomas Cook and Mastercard to enable frequent travellers in the country to earn valuable rewards every time they use their Thomas Cook travel prepaid cards at participating Thanks Again locations. Our objective is to make travel more rewarding for frequent travellers, and this partnership is the key in helping us achieve this goal in such an important market like India.”
Porush Singh, Country Corporate Officer, India & Division President, South Asia, MasterCard said, “We are delighted to partner with Thomas Cook and expand our partnership with Thanks Again in India. As one of the fastest growing air travel markets, this partnership will open up more opportunities for our outbound Indian cardholders to earn additional rewards whilst they travel. Providing customer loyalty benefits across our global network is another example of how we deliver added value and experiences for Indian Mastercard cardholders who travel abroad.”