The Business Of podcast by UNSW

Reaping the rewards – The promises and pitfalls of loyalty programs

About the episode

That satisfying ding when you scan your rewards card. The little thrill of watching points accumulate. The smug satisfaction of using miles for a "free" flight. Sound familiar?

We're all players in the massive loyalty program game—whether we're collecting coffee stamps, airline miles, or cashback percentages. But here's the million-dollar question: Who's really winning?

Is that loyalty card in your wallet a golden ticket to genuine value, or are you just a willing participant in the most sophisticated customer retention scheme ever devised?

Steve Hui, founder of iFLYflat, explains the psychology behind those irresistible point systems, the real mathematics of "free" rewards, and the critical difference between programs that genuinely reward customers versus those that incentivise loyalty more than deliver true benefit.