But across travel, hospitality, and payments, companies are now building loyalty around a broader idea of value, one that extends beyond points and cashback to include personalised experiences, flexibility, and access.
Experts say travellers today are evaluating rewards ecosystems more holistically.
“Loyalty is no longer defined only by points accumulation, but by how relevant and flexible those rewards are in enhancing the overall experience,” said Karthik Venkataraman, Chief Product and Revenue Officer at VeTravel – Vernost, a comprehensive, holistic B2B travel technology platform.
According to him, travellers continue to value savings and rewards, but expect them to integrate with convenience and personalised travel experiences.
The shift is visible across hospitality as well.
Hotels and travel companies are focusing on curated stays, local experiences, wellness offerings, and seamless service to strengthen customer engagement.
“Today’s discerning traveller is no longer motivated purely by points accumulation or transactional rewards; they seek connection, meaning, and memories that outlast the stay itself,” said Vikram Puri, Managing Director at Archer Hospitality, a hospitality company in India.
According to Puri, hospitality brands are trying to build loyalty through personalised and experience-led offerings rather than traditional reward mechanics alone.
He said guests in the premium segment want the price they pay to “unlock something irreplaceable, not something redeemable.
Puneet Sethi, Managing Director at Kaara Hotels, a hotel management company, said the industry is gradually moving from “transactional loyalty to relational loyalty,” where emotional connection becomes a stronger driver of repeat engagement than discounts or point accumulation alone.
“Unlike points, which are easily comparable across brands, experiences are difficult to replicate,” Sethi said. “They are tied to how a guest felt during the stay, and that emotional recall becomes the strongest driver of repeat engagement.”
Premium cards are selling access
Travel-focused credit cards have evolved significantly over the past few years. Earlier, rewards programmes largely competed on points and redemption values.
Now, banks are positioning premium cards around lifestyle and travel ecosystems.
Airport lounge access, concierge services, hotel memberships, premium dining privileges, travel insurance, airport transfers, and curated experiences have become key differentiators.
“People want the card that makes the experience better, not the card that makes the points math work,” said Dhruv Verma, CEO of Thriwe, a global technology-driven B2B consumer benefits and loyalty program provider.
According to Verma, many consumers are evaluating premium cards less on reward calculations and more on how effectively they simplify the travel experience itself.
Travel platforms are seeing similar preferences emerge.
“While rewards and loyalty programmes remain important, they are no longer the sole driver of travel decisions,” said Bernard Corraya, General Manager at Wego, a global travel metasearch engine and online marketplace.
Satheesh Satchit, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Verteil Technologies, a travel technology company, said travellers are looking beyond the lowest fare.
“Many people are now willing to spend a little more if it gives them a better flight time, more comfort, flexibility, or simply a smoother journey,” he said.
Why card issuers are quietly scaling back rewards
While premium travel benefits are becoming more attractive, the economics behind them are becoming more difficult for issuers.
Credit card companies have revised travel programmes by reducing certain benefits, increasing eligibility requirements, and changing redemption structures as costs rise.
Several issuers have introduced higher annual spending thresholds to unlock accelerated reward points, hotel memberships, or complimentary travel privileges.
Transfer partnerships have also changed.
Axis Bank, for example, removed several hotel and airline transfer partners across some premium offerings, including partnerships linked to hotel and airline loyalty ecosystems. Reward structures across issuers have also seen revisions in milestone spending benefits and redemption values.
The changes reflect a broader challenge within loyalty programmes: premium experiences such as airport lounges, hotel partnerships, and travel privileges cost significantly more to sustain than traditional rewards structures.
As usage increases, banks are trying to balance customer acquisition, benefit costs, and profitability.
What should cardholders do?
For consumers, the evolving landscape creates a different question: how should travel cards be evaluated when perks and reward structures can change?
Experts suggest focusing less on headline benefits and more on actual usage.
Rather than chasing every premium card or relying heavily on a single rewards ecosystem, consumers may benefit from diversifying spending across a small set of cards aligned with their spending patterns.
Cards co-branded directly with travel or hospitality brands may also become more relevant for consumers who consistently use specific hotel chains or airline networks.
At the same time, experts caution against allowing rewards structures to drive spending behaviour itself.
“The experience economy hasn’t changed the mathematics of personal finance,” Verma said. “It has simply changed what people are willing to prioritise.”
Satchit echoed a similar view, adding that experience-led spending works best when it is planned rather than impulsive.
