Accor and IndiGo spent more than a year building a reciprocal loyalty partnership before launching the point exchange on Monday. Members of ALL Accor Reward and IndiGo BluChip can now convert points across hotel stays and flights. The companies describe the exchange as one of the first reciprocal point-exchange alliances between an airline and a hospitality brand in India. IndiGo’s network of 140-plus destinations and 13 million BluChip members now links with Accor’s global footprint of 45-plus hotel brands. Executives stated that loyalty exchange forms only the first phase. The partnership will next integrate Accor into IndiGo’s travel ecosystem that already spans hotels, cabs and sightseeing experiences. IndiGo’s Chief Digital and Information Officer Neetan Chopra said the second proposition over the next few months and quarters is building experiences that will define the strategic partnership. Travel companies increasingly link separate loyalty programs to retain customers across multiple services rather than isolated transactions.
