Americas Best Loyalty Programs 2023

By Ed Barredo

There are countless customer loyalty programs out there and they work in a wide variety of ways, but they all have one purpose: to reward you for regularly buying from a particular brand. Simple enough. But with the huge range of loyalty programs across the entire spectrum of consumer product and service brands, one program can at first glance look very much like all the others. How can you tell which are good deals which aren't?

To try to simplify that question, Newsweek has partnered again with global data research firm Statista to find America's Best Loyalty Programs 2023. This year, we surveyed more than 4,000 customers who are members of U.S. loyalty programs and asked them several questions including which programs offered worthwhile rewards, which they were most satisfied with and which they would recommend to friends and family.

Altogether we rated 239 programs in 32 product and service categories in 11 broad sectors: apparel, baby and children, banking, general reward programs, grocery stores, health and beauty, home, leisure and entertainment, restaurants, sports and transportation and travel. We found the highest number of top-rated rewards programs among supermarkets with 25, followed by 20 each in clothing and fast food.

Loyalty programs are a prominent way in which brands compete for your business. We hope you will find our ranking helpful as you decide which loyalty programs best fit your shopping needs, habits and preferences.

Nancy Cooper Signature 5

...

Category

Subcategory

Loyalty Program

Participating Brands

Score

ApparelClothingH&M Loyalty ProgramH&M8.62ApparelClothingExpress InsiderExpress8.42ApparelClothingVictoria’s Secret Credit CardVictoria’s Secret8.32ApparelClothingRealRewardsAmerican Eagle Outfitters8.11ApparelClothingKohl's RewardsKohl’s8.10ApparelClothingStar RewardsMacy's8.08ApparelClothingPacSun RewardsPacSun8.06ApparelClothingForever RewardedForever 218.02ApparelClothingTJX RewardsT.J.Maxx7.94ApparelClothingRue Rewardsrue27.84ApparelClothingJCPenney RewardsJCPenney7.84ApparelClothingHollister House RewardsHollister7.79ApparelClothingNavyist RewardsOld Navy7.77ApparelClothingThe Nordy ClubNordstrom7.67ApparelClothingGap Good RewardsGAP7.64ApparelClothingTarget CircleTarget7.58ApparelClothingUO RewardsUrban Outfitters7.49ApparelClothingBurlington Loyalty ProgramBurlington7.48ApparelClothingHot Topic RewardsHot Topic7.04ApparelClothingBanana Republic RewardsBanana Republic6.98ApparelDepartment storesLoyallistBloomingdale's9.41ApparelDepartment storesAmazon Prime Store CardAmazon9.13ApparelDepartment storesBurlington Loyalty ProgramBurlington8.67ApparelDepartment storesBelk Rewards+Belk8.39ApparelDepartment storesTJX RewardsT.J.Maxx8.20ApparelDepartment storesCapital One Walmart Rewards CardWalmart8.11ApparelDepartment storesKohl's RewardsKohl’s8.03ApparelDepartment storesDillard's RewardsDillard's8.01ApparelDepartment storesBoscov's Rewards ProgramBoscov's7.92ApparelDepartment storesOllie's ArmyOllie's7.90ApparelDepartment storesStar RewardsMacy's7.75ApparelDepartment storesTarget CircleTarget7.71ApparelDepartment storesThe Nordy ClubNordstrom7.56ApparelDepartment storesJCPenney RewardsJCPenney7.51ApparelDepartment storesMORE rewardsBealls6.20ApparelFootwearZappos VIPZappos9.01ApparelFootwearReebok UnlockedReebok8.91ApparelFootwearDSW VIPDSW8.45ApparelFootwearShoe PerksShoe Carnival8.33ApparelFootwearNike MembershipNike8.22ApparelFootwearVans FamilyVans8.18ApparelFootwearHibbett | City Gear RewardsHibbett | City Gear8.06ApparelFootwearSTATUSFinish Line7.90ApparelFootwearFLX RewardsChamps Sports, Footlocker7.89ApparelFootwearSkechers PlusSkechers7.88ApparelPlus-Size fashionC&B VIP MembershipChristopher and Banks9.25ApparelPlus-Size fashionMy Maurices Rewardsmaurices8.67ApparelPlus-Size fashionTorrid RewardsTorrid7.96ApparelPlus-Size fashionLane RewardsLane Bryant7.46ApparelPlus-size fashionThe DXL rewards ClubDXL Big + Tall6.97

12...5

LICENSING
If your company is listed in the ranking, click here to learn more about the licensing options.

METHODOLOGY

The 2023 ranking of America's Best Loyalty Programs was compiled based on the results of an independent survey of more than 4,000 U.S. customers who are members of loyalty programs of retailers or service providers in the U.S.

Customers were given the opportunity to evaluate various loyalty programs: about 16,000 evaluations were collected. The survey period ran from October to November 2022.

We defined loyalty programs as all reward programs that provided the customer with a benefit when purchasing or using the products or services of the associated brands.

The survey was conducted on retailers and service providers from 32 categories, providing results for a broad spectrum of loyalty programs in traditional retail, online retail and service segments. The awarded loyalty programs each received an above average overall score.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The final assessment and rankings were based on six criteria:
1. Ease and enjoyment: Measures the value of the perks of being in the rewards program. (5%)
2. Benefit: Measures whether the rewards are—in the customer's perception—worth being part of the program. (20%)
3. Overall satisfaction: Measures whether personal expectations were fulfilled and whether the customer is satisfied with the experience of the loyalty program overall. (25%)
4. Customer support: Measures the level of assistance provided to customers when signing up for the program or having trouble redeeming benefits. (10%)
5. Trust: Measures the trust in the loyalty program around how the brand uses personal data provided through the program. (10%)
6. Recommendation: Measures the likelihood of recommending the program to friends and family. (30%)

The full methodology is available here.