Air Miles backs Yahoo! incentives

Yahoo! UK & Ireland has teamed up with Air Miles to launch an online loyalty programme called Yahoo! Points.

Yahoo! UK & Ireland has teamed up with Air Miles to launch an online loyalty programme called Yahoo! Points.

Under the scheme, launched today (Wednesday), visitors to Yahoo!’s shopping portal can collect one Yahoo! point for every &£1 spent at participating merchants, including retailers such as Debenhams, Carphone Warehouse and Waterstone’s.

The Yahoo! points can then be converted to Air Miles, with ten points being equivalent to one Air Mile, and redeemed against a range of travel and leisure offers.

The two brands will work together to build customer loyalty and encourage return visits to Yahoo! Shopping.

Yahoo! is also talking to other organisations about joining the Yahoo! Points scheme but refused to reveal details of the negotiations.

Yahoo! European marketing director Catherine Taylor says: “Having Air Miles on board will significantly help the launch of Yahoo! Points. This is an opportunity to aid customer acquisition and retention, while also offering benefits to our users shopping on Yahoo.co.uk.

“This is an important step in strengthening our position as the UK’s favourite shopping destination.”

Air Miles marketing director Mary Thomas agrees there is a “really strong fit” between the two brands, adding: “Through our presence on Yahoo! Shopping we have significantly increased the number of ways Air Miles can be collected.”

Air Miles already has partnerships with more than 100 high street outlets including Shell, NatWest and Sainsbury’s.