Skip navigation

AIR MILES CARD EVENT TAKES OFF AT RALPHS

COMPTON, Calif. -- Ralphs Grocery Co. here this month began testing airline miles as an incentive for customers to use its loyalty-card program.The Kroger division is testing a program, developed by WebMiles Corp., Sandy, Utah, in its 28 San Diego County stores. Customers who make a purchase using the Ralphs Club Card will receive one mile in the WebMile program for every dollar they spend in the

COMPTON, Calif. -- Ralphs Grocery Co. here this month began testing airline miles as an incentive for customers to use its loyalty-card program.

The Kroger division is testing a program, developed by WebMiles Corp., Sandy, Utah, in its 28 San Diego County stores. Customers who make a purchase using the Ralphs Club Card will receive one mile in the WebMile program for every dollar they spend in the stores. This is believed to be one of the first tie-ins of air miles to a supermarket frequent-shopper program.

"WebMiles adds extra value to our Ralphs Club Card loyalty program," said Terry O'Neil, Ralphs spokesman. "It also adds extra value to the consumer's shopping dollar at Ralphs stores."

A rollout of the program to the entire Ralphs chain is under consideration, he added. "At this point, it is in our San Diego County stores and there is no timeline for when it may be extended chainwide. We are in a wait-and-see mode," he said.

The retailer said it hopes the program will "solidify" the loyalty of its shoppers and promote the value of the card, according to O'Neil. "Our agreement with WebMiles is just one more reason for our shoppers in San Diego County to choose Ralphs over the competition, and to become Ralphs Club Card holders," he said.

Sam Duncan, president of Ralphs, said, "The WebMiles program is an excellent tool that we believe will make our customers' shopping experience more exciting and rewarding."

Customers who have a Ralphs Club Card can sign up for the program on the WebMiles Internet site (www.webmiles.com). One Ralphs store in La Jolla, Calif., has computer terminals available for customer sign-ups. Earned miles are tracked electronically.

Customers get 100 bonus miles for signing up, another 100 miles for completing a profile and 100 miles for each "friends-and-family" referral, said a source close to the program. If a WebMiles co-branded MasterCard is used to make the purchase at Ralphs, double miles are earned.

From the Aug. 16 launch to Sept. 5, Ralphs will give away 50,000 WebMiles to anyone who swipes the retailer's customer card to make a purchase. A total of 1 million miles will be given away during the three-week sweepstakes period, the source said. Ralphs is heavily promoting the program in its circular, radio ads, the Ralphs and WebMiles Web sites, bag stuffers, point-of-purchase materials and a public-relations effort.

Unlike the airlines' frequent-flyer programs, miles earned with WebMiles carry no restrictions on when or on which airline they can be used. "You are looked at as a full-fare customer," said the source, who added that tickets obtained with WebMiles are then eligible for the airline frequent-flyer mileage incentives.

Rewards start at 8,000 miles with an offer of $100 off any airline ticket. At 15,000 miles, people can get $200 off, $300 off at 20,000, and at 25,000 miles people can get a free roundtrip ticket in the continental United States. WebMiles has more than 60 partners, the source added, including Avis, JCPenney.com and Nordstrom.com.

"Free air travel is a proven reward," said the source. "It's the type of reward that people have to earn over time, so they continue to frequent the particular merchant who is offering the reward.

"For the grocery industry, it is a great reward because people love free travel. Many grocery stores have loyalty-card programs to incent people to keep coming back. Adding the benefit of earning miles at the same time that customers are shopping for normal purchases, it enriches their program. It makes Ralphs stand out from the pack."

Beyond the Ralphs stores, WebMiles has hopes of extending the incentive to other Kroger stores, the source said. WebMiles' said it would like, "based on the success of this program, that there will be an opportunity to roll the program out to other stores," she said.