Travel loyalty programmes are not dying. Far from it. But according to a new three-part consumer research series from Phocuswright, they are no longer working the way the industry likes to believe they do. airline and hotel loyalty trends 2026

Yes, participation is high. Yes, travellers are deeply engaged. But the idea that loyalty programmes automatically translate into long-term brand devotion is increasingly out of sync with how people actually plan and book travel in 2026.

The headline number is striking. Phocuswright found that 84% of leisure travellers engaged in some form of loyalty “gaming” behaviour in the past 12 months. That is not fringe behaviour. That is the mainstream.

Travellers are not just collecting points passively anymore. They are optimising, arbitraging, and sometimes outright exploiting loyalty ecosystems in ways that look far more like financial strategy than emotional attachment.

Gaming has gone mainstream

Loyalty gaming used to be associated with travel hackers and mileage nerds. Today, it is simply how informed travellers behave.

According to the research, optimisation tactics now include booking specific trips or properties to retain elite status, choosing one airline over another for a single segment purely to protect tier benefits, and using a mix of credit cards, gift cards, and third-party purchases to squeeze more value out of the system.

The numbers tell the story clearly:

How travellers optimise loyalty

• One in five airline loyalty programme users took a flight they would not otherwise have booked just to maintain status
• One in four hotel loyalty members stayed at a property they would not have chosen without status benefits
• 39% charged gift cards to earn points for future personal use
• 27% opened credit cards with the intention of reducing spend or closing the account after receiving a welcome bonus
• 16% increased spending by purchasing on behalf of others to earn rewards

This is not accidental behaviour. It is intentional, strategic, and widely understood by consumers.

What is more interesting is what happens next.

High engagement, low exclusivity

Despite all that effort, loyalty does not necessarily lock travellers into a single brand.

Phocuswright found that between 57% and 68% of travellers who identified one or more “go-to” brands across airlines, hotels, and online travel agencies still booked outside those brands in the past year.

Even elite status does not guarantee exclusivity. Travellers with top-tier airline or hotel status frequently defect when pricing, schedules, routes, or availability make another option more attractive.

In other words, loyalty programmes are not failing because travellers do not understand them. They are failing because travellers understand them very well.

“When we talk about loyalty in travel, the conversation often gets reduced to points and miles, but that misses the bigger picture,” said Madeline List, Manager, Research & Special Projects at Phocuswright.
“Travelers are highly engaged with these programs and they are gaming them in very intentional ways, yet engagement alone does not equal loyalty. True loyalty is the result of consistently delivering value, reliable experiences and fair pricing over time.”

That distinction matters more than ever.

Loyalty reinforces; it rarely creates

One of the most revealing findings in the research is that loyalty programmes tend to reinforce brand preference rather than create it.

In the study Playing Favorites: What Makes a Go-To Brand in Travel, and Why Do Customers Stray?, travellers consistently ranked value for money, perceived pricing fairness, reliability, and ease of use above loyalty programmes as reasons for choosing a brand.

Points are not the starting point. They are the accelerator.

If the core product is weak, the programme does not save it. If the experience is unreliable, perks do not compensate. If pricing feels unfair or unpredictable, status benefits lose their emotional pull.

This aligns with what we see across the market. Airlines with complex fare families but inconsistent on-time performance struggle to convert elite members into exclusive bookers. Hotel groups with bloated portfolios often see loyalty members hop brands within the same umbrella just to maximise benefits.

Loyalty becomes a tool, not a bond.

Budget pressure changes the role of rewards

Economic conditions are further reshaping how loyalty is used.

As travel budgets tighten, points and miles increasingly function as cost-management tools, not brand-commitment signals. Travellers redeem rewards to make trips more affordable, to travel more often, or to upgrade comfort rather than as a “thank you” for past loyalty.

Phocuswright found that half of travellers who redeemed rewards on a recent leisure trip were visiting a destination for the first time. That detail matters.

It suggests that flexible redemption, broad partner ecosystems, and non-traditional destinations are becoming more important than aspirational redemptions tied to a narrow set of flagship routes or properties.

In practical terms, travellers want programmes that help them go somewhere new, not just back to the same familiar places.

Generations are not loyal in the same way

The research also highlights a generational shift that travel brands cannot ignore.

Approximately half of Gen Z and millennial travellers said that variety matters more than consistently using the same brand. For younger travellers, experimenting with different airlines, hotels, and platforms is not a sign of dissatisfaction. It is part of the experience.

This does not mean younger travellers dislike loyalty programmes. It means they treat them differently.

They value flexibility over lock-in, optionality over obligation, and relevance over longevity. Status matters, but only when it fits the trip they are taking right now.

This mindset is already visible in the rise of modular travel products, multi-brand wallets, and app-based ecosystems that aggregate value across providers rather than demanding exclusivity.

What loyalty actually means now

“If there’s one thing I would emphasize, it’s that loyalty is not the product of an interaction with a program,” List added.
“It’s the totality of all brand interactions over the customer lifetime. Points and perks can reinforce that relationship, but without strong product quality, fair pricing and experiences that work well, there’s no reason to expect a loyalty program to move behavior in a meaningful way.”

That statement captures the core challenge facing the industry.

Loyalty programmes are no longer the differentiator. They are the multiplier. When the base experience is strong, loyalty compounds value. When it is weak, loyalty exposes the cracks faster.

Conclusion: Loyalty is shifting from ownership to relevance

What this research ultimately shows is not that loyalty is broken, but that its centre of gravity has moved.

Compare this with how other sectors are evolving. Retail has shifted from store-specific loyalty cards to ecosystem memberships. Streaming platforms win loyalty through habit and ease, not points. Fintech rewards focus on utility and flexibility rather than exclusivity.

Travel is heading in the same direction.

Brands that continue to treat loyalty programmes as the engine of retention will struggle. Those who see them as one layer in a broader value system will adapt more successfully.

The winners are likely to be the players who simplify pricing, reduce friction, expand redemption relevance, and deliver reliably good experiences across channels. Loyalty will still matter, but less as a promise of devotion and more as a reflection of trust earned repeatedly.

Phocuswright’s findings align closely with broader industry research, including its own Travel Forward 2026 outlook, as well as long-standing themes from organisations like Skift and McKinsey around value-led retention.

In a market where travellers are smarter, more mobile, and more strategic than ever, loyalty is no longer something you enrol people into.

It is something you prove, trip after trip.