Travelers Just Named Their Most Rewarding Loyalty Program, and No Hotel Group Runs It

Credit cards and banks are now the loyalty programs travelers find most rewarding, according to Skift Research's Global Travel Insights survey published September 4. Asked to name the program that pays them back best, 32% of travelers picked a card or bank. Hotels took 26%, airlines 20%, online travel agencies 8% and retail or lifestyle programs 5%.

That ordering is new, and it reframes a competitive fight the industry has spent two decades having with the wrong opponent. Hotel groups built their loyalty economics around defending direct bookings from online travel agencies. The channel that actually pulled ahead was the card in the wallet, funded in the United States by uncapped interchange fees that bankroll premium card rewards at a scale no single hotel program can match.

What it means at the top of the market

Direct booking still wins on trust. Suppliers scored a 49% net comfort rating in the survey, while AI assistants and chatbots came in at negative 7%. Travelers are not abandoning hotel websites. They are increasingly deciding which hotel to open in the first place inside a bank's portal.

The ultra-luxury end has always been a partial exception. Independent groups such as Aman and Belmond have largely stayed out of the points race, relying instead on travel advisors and curated card programs to deliver upgrades, credits and amenities. Those same card portals are now the ones travelers rate most highly, which gives the banks unusual leverage over which properties get shelf space.

Skift Research also flags a wider fragmentation: banks, social platforms, creators and AI tools are all becoming travel storefronts. Social commerce alone represents a $7 billion opportunity that travel has barely touched, holding under 1% of it today. The next round of co-brand negotiations will be where hotel companies find out how much that 32% is worth.