Everyone likes getting something for nothing, which is why 74% of U.S. adults participate in customer loyalty programs like those offered by credit card companies, hotel chains, and retailers.
If they’re racking up charges anyway, why not get rewarded for it?
The problem is many of those accumulated reward points sit unused because cardholders don’t necessarily want the goods offered by the programs.
According to data from rewards research company Colloquy, the value of rewards miles issued in the U.S. last year was $48 billion, of which almost $16 billion went unused.
That means the average U.S. household active in a rewards program earns $622 in points per year, but fails to “cash in” one-third of it, or more than $200.
But consumers will soon have a new way to get “free” stuff, and this time it is not just another hotel room stay, airline flight, or toaster oven.
Members of rewards programs will be able to exchange points for shares of the sponsoring company. That’s right, points for stock.
The new program, launched by LoyaltyShares under the name Loyalty Equity Acquisition Program (LEAP), allows companies to add their publicly traded stock as an award redemption option in existing point programs.
In the first week after the product launched last month, a total of 600 companies expressed interest. Of those, the most likely early adopters are two major financial services firms, hotel chains and a handful of consumer retail brands.
Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-10/news/30381260_1_reward-points-hotel-chains-direct-stock-purchase-plans#ixzz1dPRaDhoo