81% of travellers have missed free perks

The brands winning loyalty today are not necessarily those offering the most rewards. They are the ones removing friction from the customer experience. That distinction is becoming commercially critical across the GCC’s increasingly competitive banking and travel sectors. 

Consumers today compare ecosystems, not individual products. Dragonpass’ GCC Loyalty Index found that more than 82% of consumers would be likely to switch to a competitor brand offering better perks or convenience. A customer evaluating two premium banking cards is no longer just comparing annual fees or points accumulation. They are comparing the entire experience surrounding those benefits, including how easy they are to access, how relevant they feel and whether they genuinely improve everyday life. When rewards become difficult to use, the perceived value of the brand diminishes with them. 

Dragonpass’ research found that consumers associate loyalty most strongly with tangible value, meaningful rewards and trust. In other words, loyalty is emotional as much as transactional and is far harder to maintain when customers feel benefits are intentionally difficult to access.

The good news for businesses is that this problem is solvable, and the solution is not necessarily offering more perks. In fact, the future of loyalty may depend less on increasing rewards and more on reducing effort. 

The next generation of loyalty ecosystems will likely be invisible, intelligent and contextual. Benefits will surface automatically based on customer behaviour, travel patterns and real-time needs. Lounge access prompts could appear automatically upon airport arrival. Dining offers may become location-aware. Travel perks may activate seamlessly without manual enrolment or complicated redemption journeys. 

This is where the industry has a significant opportunity. The GCC is uniquely positioned to lead the next evolution of loyalty because its consumers are digitally engaged, travel frequently and adopt new technologies quickly. But meeting those expectations requires businesses to rethink loyalty not as a marketing function, but as part of the overall customer experience. 

That means designing ecosystems around simplicity, accessibility and relevance rather than sheer volume of rewards. It also means recognising that modern loyalty increasingly extends beyond flights and points. Consumers are looking for integrated lifestyle ecosystems spanning travel, dining, wellness, entertainment and premium everyday experiences. The most effective programs will be those that embed themselves naturally into how people live, not just how they spend. 

At Dragonpass, this shift is already underway, with investment focused on simplifying fragmented supply chains, enabling more flexible integrations and introducing behaviour-driven rewards designed to reduce friction across the customer experience. More broadly, the industry is beginning to move in the same direction. 

Ultimately, the 81% figure should not simply be viewed as a statistic about missed perks. It is a warning sign for an industry at a turning point. Consumers in the GCC are loyal. They are engaged. And they are willing to invest in brands that deliver meaningful value. But their expectations have evolved faster than many loyalty systems have. In an era defined by digital convenience, the brands that succeed will not be those offering the most perks. They will be the ones making those perks effortless to use.