Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Work in loyalty? Join us at Mega Event in Dublin on 21st May

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If you work in travel or loyalty, you are probably familiar with Airline Information’s conferences and events.

Mega Event is its biggest event of the year, pulling together its different specialities (loyalty, airline payments, airline ancillary retailing, loyalty security) into one day.

This year Mega Event is in Europe and will be held in Dublin (at Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport) on 21st May, with some events on 20th May for those who arrive early.

Head for Points is the Media Partner for Mega Event 2025 and Sinead will be speaking on a panel. I will also be present but trying to keep off the stage unless press-ganged at short notice!

Join us at Mega Event in Dublin on 21st May

You can see the full agenda for Mega Event 2025 here.

Early bird events on the afternoon of 20th May include:

  • ChatGPT, AI, Machine Learning And Big Data – Everything you need to know for airlines & travel
  • What the cloud is and how it can benefit your business
  • Loyalty, Ancillaries, Payments and Fraud – Implications of these topics converging

This is followed by the annual Airline Information Lions’ Den competition, where loyalty and airline payments start-ups can show off their latest ideas.

A two-hour welcome party concludes the early bird sessions.

The main event is on 21st May.

The morning starts with three sessions in the main room:

  • Case Study:  Using AI to maximise ancillary revenue
  • Who’s getting it right in airline retail and ancillary revenue?
  • A Loyalty Call to Action:  Trends in program member attitudes & behaviours

…. before attendees split into either a loyalty or ancillary track.

The loyalty track will cover the following sessions:

  • Seamless Redemption: Optimising the order process to boost loyalty program satisfaction
  • Innovation Session:  How United is driving uptake and spend across its co-brand portfolio
  • Mobile-First Loyalty: Engaging travellers on-the-go for maximum revenue impact
  • Loyalty Points as Currency: Revolutionising payment strategies for enhanced customer retention
  • Key Drivers of Loyalty Program Revenue Generation
  • Panel Session:  Balancing member engagement with short term program profitability

What does it cost to attend?

Registration for Mega Event 2025, if you work for an airline or loyalty company, is only $299 which includes all sessions, two networking receptions and lunch on Thursday.

If you are classed as a ‘vendor’ (loosely defined, but if you think the other attendees are people who could buy what you sell, you’ll be seen as a ‘vendor’) you will pay $1,699.

You can find out more, and register, on the Mega Event 2025 website here.

Sinead and I look forward to seeing you in Dublin!

Comments (10)

  • Ryan says:

    You mention Thursday 20th and Thursday 21st in the article but that’s a Tuesday and a Wednesday ….

  • Doug says:

    sp. different

  • Mark says:

    Ooo I’d love to be there to hear the sniggers and snipes about BA / Avios

  • MKB says:

    Those in the industry should ponder whether there is any loyalty left.

    Throughout the 90s and early noughties, I tailored my leisure travel to fit in with providers such as Starwood Hotels, British Midland/bmi, Lufthansa, American Airlines and British Airways, because they offered genuine two-way loyalty. I travelled extensively and had some amazing experiences. (I still do, but with little loyalty to any brand.) I don’t doubt that the cost to those organisations of delivering benefits was hugely outweighed by the business I gave them in return to maintain my status. Suite upgrades were always to rooms that would have likely been unsold, and plane seats similarly.

    As loyalty currencies evolved to become largely earned through credit cards and other partner promotions or even bought, actually staying/flying with the brand itself became less important, the opposite of what was intended by a loyalty scheme. We all became very savvy in how to milk the various schemes for maximum benefit and minimum outlay. You could get status without setting foot in a hotel or on a plane belonging to the organisation.

    The industry’s recent response, to instead closely align their loyalty currencies with revenue, to encourage actual spend, goes to the opposite extreme. It will have the perverse effect of making people question why not just spend cash, with the benefit of allowing freedom to travel with any provider. The newest schemes mean that aspirational travel is something only those with serious wealth can now actually aspire to, and richer people are the least likely to be influenced by loyalty schemes as they have the means to buy luxury travel for cash without the hassle. Why would anyone poorer even bother anymore?

    The industry should revert to first principles if it wants to foster loyalty again. The early years of BA Air Miles and American Aadvantage points worked fantastically well in encouraging brand loyalty in my view.

    • Barrel for Scraping says:

      But it’s not loyalty. If it was loyalty you’d have picked either BA or bmi and stuck with one of them unless it was totally impossible to get where you wanted to be with them.

    • Tariq says:

      I’m just surprised that we haven’t had an article about the gutting of PizzaExpress Club yet…

      • Rob says:

        Its in the forum. Not gutted at all in my view! I never used the free coffee because I am only there with the kids and they won’t sit around whilst I have one, so not major difference.

        • Tariq says:

          The coffee amounted to a free dessert in essence. I was humoured to find an area of the app which stated the total amount saved – £814.28 in my case… so really not surprised that they have ‘revised’ the scheme…

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