Chili’s® Grill & Bar is always trying to improve its customer experience any way it can and its successful loyalty program, My Chili’s Rewards, is a great place to start.
Combining the program with Plenti, the first U.S.-based coalition loyalty program that launched 18 months ago and has gained considerable momentum during that time period, was another positive move for Chili’s.
Wade Allen, vice president of digital innovation and customer engagement for Chili’s, talked to Loyalty360 about why the company joined Plenti.
“Joining the Plenti coalition provided a great opportunity for us to combine our current program, My Chili’s Rewards, with the Plenti program, allowing us to provide our guests with even more value,” Allen explained. “Guests can both earn and use points across the Plenti coalition partners while still earning in-restaurant benefits from Chili’s. We’re confident our existing rewards members will love the new My Chili's + Plenti program and existing Plenti members will be excited to earn and redeem points in our restaurants. We will continue to measure the success of our program by closely monitoring the number of guests registering, linking, redeeming, and earning points. Our goal is to transition as many of our current My Chili’s Rewards members and to acquire new Plenti members.”
Chili’s has been very innovative when it comes to digital customer engagement.
“Joining Plenti is another innovative step forward for Chili's,” Allen said. “Plenti and the coalition partners are committed to continually improving and enhancing the digital guest experience by meshing the physical retail experience with the digital and mobile experience. Similar to our existing program, the new My Chili's + Plenti program allows guests to register, log in, and link accounts, check point balances and bonus reward totals, and earn and redeem points all via our tabletop tablets, the web, and our mobile app.”
Several leading brands, including American Express, Macy’s, Rite Aid, AT&T, ExxonMobil, Macy’s, Nationwide, Hulu, Rite Aid, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Expedia, and Direct Energy are part of the extraordinary new coalition loyalty program, which will allow consumers to quickly collect rewards across numerous brands. Plenti is the first loyalty program of its kind to ever feature such a significant list of widely known top brands in the U.S.
Chili’s joins the Plenti program as the first casual dining partner offering both Plenti and My Chili’s Rewards members the opportunity to earn and use Plenti points, plus receive additional benefits with My Chili’s + Plenti.
“We officially launched My Chili’s + Plenti on Nov. 14,” Allen said. “It’s still early and we’re collecting feedback, but so far we’re seeing positive initial insights from customers.”
U.S. Loyalty, a division of American Express, operates Plenti.
Josh Berwitz, president, U.S. Loyalty, American Express, talked to Loyalty360 about the progression of the Plenti coalition loyalty program.
“A year and a half ago, Plenti launched with nine partners, across industries, creating the first loyalty program coalition in the U.S.,” Berwitz said. “The founding partners could reward their collective customers by allowing consumers to earn points with one brand and use them for rewards at another. The idea struck a chord with shoppers, and the program has quickly grown to be one of the largest retail-based loyalty programs in the country.”
The coalition now spans 13 partners, with 16 brands, putting 71 percent of all US households within five miles of at least two of the 30,000 retail locations participating in the program. Since launch, tens of millions of Americans have joined Plenti, new brands have signed on, and the program continues to evolve.
In the past 12 months, more than 36 million consumers have used Plenti and, since its launch, members have earned more than 40 billion points and redeemed for more than 90 million in offers.
Plenti is free to join and there is no limit to the number of points a member can earn. One thousand points translates to at least $10 in savings.