MELBOURNE, Australia, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global branded payments firm Blackhawk Network is helping airlines reduce their multi-billion-dollar air mile challenge by offering consumers gift card options, on which they can spend their loyalty points.

Blackhawk Network Senior Director, Business Development Phil Bedford said airlines need to find alternative methods to reduce their liability on air miles while keeping their customers loyal.

"Traditionally, customers have frequently used their air miles for free flights, seat upgrades, or on overvalued items such as toasters and kettles. By partnering with Blackhawk Network, airlines can now offer their customers a truly desired alternative: to trade their loyalty points for an extensive catalogue of gift cards," Mr Bedford said.

The last two years has created significant frustration for travellers; not only have they been restricted in travelling, but their options to spend their loyalty points has been greatly reduced. As these air miles have remained stockpiled, it has created further issues for the airlines, with the top five US airlines carrying a combined air miles liability of US$27.5 billion at the end of 2020, up 11.4 per cent on 2019^[1].

Mr Bedford, who will speak at this year's Aviation Festival Asia to be held in Singapore on 14 - 15 June, said offering customers more reward choices to redeem their loyalty points can also help airlines increase customer loyalty, which has been tested over the past two years.

"Blackhawk Network has over 20 years' experience working with companies across multiple industries. We know that rewards work for customer acquisition, loyalty, engagement, and customer appeasement," Mr Bedford said.

For several years Blackhawk Network has been connecting directly to airline air mile systems, automating the process of converting loyalty points into rewards of choice. Blackhawk's proprietary technology platforms streamline the delivery redemption process, reducing operational handling costs by delivering directly into a customers' account in near real-time, unlike traditional manual-handling systems which delay the customer experience.

Blackhawk will feature at the Aviation Festival Asia on 14-15 June, 2022. Phil Bedford takes to the floor at 11.20am on 15 June, joining several speakers covering all areas of the industry including retailing, IT, digital transformation, distribution, loyalty, marketing, operations, communications, and innovation.

 ENDS

1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielreed/2021/05/19/airlines-frequent-flier-mileage-points/?sh=3496e0f029b8

2 https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/travel-problems-top-list-of-covid-19-related-reports

About Blackhawk Network

Blackhawk Network delivers payment solutions through the prepaid products, technologies and network that connect brands and people. We collaborate with our partners to innovate, translating market trends in payments to increase reach, loyalty and revenue. Serving more than 28 countries, we reliably execute security-minded solutions worldwide. Join us as we shape the future of global branded payments.

For more information, visit blackhawknetwork.com.