Avios broadens its horizons with Club LeShuttle vouchers

Georgia André, Commercial Lead – Global Travel Partnerships, Avios

The challenge

Always looking for ways to grow and add value to its customer base, leading travel reward currency Avios recently spotted an unmissable opportunity. The operator of the popular rail link across the English Channel between Folkestone and Calais, LeShuttle, was keen to attract more passengers – and keep them – by launching a loyalty initiative. Building and implementing a voucher redemption system allowing Avios members to exchange their accumulated points for LeShuttle tickets seemed an ideal solution for both parties. It would also enable Avios to expand its market further beyond its traditional association with airlines and increase spending options for its customers.

Mindera was brought in to oversee the project, due to its long-standing and trusted technology partnership with Avios. With proven experience in API integrations and loyalty solutions in the travel sector, Mindera ensured the flexible voucher system was seamlessly integrated between the Avios loyalty platform and LeShuttle’s booking system.

The solution

Along with a smooth integration between the two platforms, it was vital the new system validated and redeemed vouchers as quickly and easily as possible. Fraud prevention measures also had to be built into the solution.

Mindera’s strategy was to create a digital voucher system that was as flexible as possible. Achieving this meant including real-time pricing calculation to minimise customer waiting time, and providing secure, unique voucher codes with validation at the point of redemption. The aim was to offer a streamlined customer journey from exchange to booking confirmation.

To achieve these aims, the project was carefully planned across five phases:

• Discovery & Requirements: Including regular calls with stakeholders across Avios and LeShuttle.
• Design & Architecture: Creating the technical blueprint for integration and user journey mapping.
• Development & Integration: Building the voucher system with API connections to both platforms.
• Development & Testing: Building a user-friendly frontend interface for voucher issuance with intuitive design and streamlined workflows.
• Testing & Optimisation: Rigorous testing across various scenarios and user journeys.

The build began with the development of secure API endpoints that enabled real-time communication between the two systems. A voucher generation and management system was then put together from scratch, tailored to the specific needs of both Avios and LeShuttle, including sophisticated tracking and analytics capabilities.

An intuitive and responsive customer interface was also created for a seamless voucher validation and redemption journey across desktop and mobile environments. Underpinning this process were regular stakeholder sessions to ensure full transparency and keep all parties aligned at every phase.

The results

Following the successful implementation and launch of the new voucher platform, Avios and its partner LeShuttle are reaping multiple rewards. With the seamless secure connection between the two systems complete and delivering real-time interaction, Avios can be quickly and easily converted into vouchers for Club LeShuttle (the train operator’s loyalty scheme launched for the new partnership) and then redeemed for rail travel when required.

Duncan Hughes, Head of CRM and Loyalty, LeShuttle

As well as enabling Avios to broaden its service and deliver extra value to its customers, LeShuttle now has a new sales channel with loyalty built in. The successful strategy was realised almost immediately, with the first quarterly target set for voucher redemption exceeded within two months of launch. Meanwhile, the highly intuitive self-service functionality of the new voucher system dashboard makes it easy for customers to answer their own queries and access their voucher history, reducing the need to get in touch with the Avios contact centre team.

Furthermore, the highly scalable nature of this system means that Avios can easily add new voucher partners to venture into new sectors. Mindera and IAG Loyalty, which manages the Avios currency and its associated programmes, are working hard to streamline the currency’s integration process to make it even quicker and easier to onboard future partners.

Commenting on the project, Georgia André, Commercial Lead – Global Travel Partnerships at Avios, said: “We're thrilled to launch our new partnership with LeShuttle, giving British Airways Club members another way to collect and spend Avios – a brilliant collaboration!”

Delighted with successfully activation of the the loyalty scheme, Duncan Hughes, Head of CRM and Loyalty at LeShuttle, added: “A fantastic team effort to bring Club LeShuttle to life after many months of hard work.”

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About IAG Loyalty

IAG Loyalty is a pioneer in the loyalty industry with over 30 years of experience. It's home to British Airways Holidays and Avios - the loyalty currency of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, Qatar Airways, Finnair and Loganair. With a vision to create the world's most rewarding experiences, IAG Loyalty enables more than 69 million members worldwide to collect and redeem Avios through a diverse range of partners spanning retail, travel and financial services. Its parent company, International Airlines Group (IAG), is one of the world’s largest airline groups with 600+ aircraft carrying more than 122 million customers to 260 destinations across 91 countries each year. For more information, visit www.iagloyalty.com.

About Avios

Avios is the global loyalty currency of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, Qatar Airways, Finnair and Loganair. It enables over 69 million members in more than 200 countries worldwide to collect and redeem rewards across a broad ecosystem of travel, retail and financial services partners. More than 20 million Avios are collected and 16 million are redeemed every hour through partnerships with thousands of leading brands including Nectar, American Express, Uber, Cabify, Repsol and Royal Caribbean. From flights and hotel stays to groceries and daily commutes, Avios allows members to turn their everyday spending into meaningful rewards.

For more information, visit www.avios.com.