PointCheckOut (payment method) has studied loyalty programs in Saudi Arabia banks to summarize the best reward programs based on specific factorspayment method, loyalty program, reward program, saudi arabia

Top 5 Reward Programs in Saudi Arabia’s Banking Sector


By  Hana Ihjoul , Digital Marketing.

According to a study done by CGI, 81% of bank customers expect incentives and special benefits from their bank’s rewards programs. For that reason, banks utilize these loyalty programs as a strategic marketing tool to maintain current customers and acquire new ones.

For our followers in Saudi Arabia, PointCheckout compiled a list of Top 5 Banking Loyalty Programs rated based on the below criterion:

  • Ease of joining the program
  • Variety in points earning methods
  • Redemption Options

NB: This listing is merely an indication of the difference between these programs, and is not intended to rank programs from best to worst.

Tedallal by Alawwal Bank

tedallal

Ease of joining the program: 5 stars

This lands a 5 stars rating for this criteria as customers do not need to go through another application to sign up, they are automatically enrolled in the program when they open an account and issue a debit or credit card.

Variety of points earning methods: 4 Stars

With this program, you can earn points with almost any transaction, below is a listing of how you can earn your points:

  • 1 point with every 1 SAR spent on your Classic or Gold card
  • 5 points for every 1 SAR spent on your Platinum or World card.
  • 1000 points for every personal or commercial loan
  • 10 points for bill settlements on any Alawwal ATM
  • 20 points for transactions done on any Alawwal ATM
  • 200 points for signing up for the Online Banking Platform and 200 points upon activating the application
  • 30 points for any bill settlement on the online banking application.

Redemption Options: 2 stars

We rated this program with 2 stars because it only allows you to redeem your points for vouchers from in-store purchases. However, the list within the Tedallal program includes a total of 137 retails stores, restaurants, and furniture stores across Saudi Arabia. The program also allows you to benefit from special discounts at certain stores, which increases your chances of collecting points.

Total: 11/15 stars

 read more details about AlAwwal bank's reward program "Tedallal"


The Saudi Investment Bank: Aseel & WooW Loyalty Programs


The advantage of this bank is that it offers two programs: Aseel, which entitles credit card users for instant discounts at certain stores and WooW, which allows customers to redeem loyalty points online unlike many other banks.

 


Ease of joining the program: 3 stars

Although the process is easy customers need to sign up for the programs online. This earns the programs 3 points because customers need to go through another application to join, and some might find it a hassle to do so online.

Variety of points earning methods: 5 Stars

In this program, points are linked to your accounts, the services you are signed up for and spending routines, which gives you many opportunities to collect points:

  • 1000 points for the Silver Card
  • 30,000 points upon promoting your account to Gold with 2500 points upon claiming your Gold card
  • 50,000 points upon promoting your account to Platinum with 5000 points upon claiming your Platinum card.
  • 1000 points for signing up for Saddad program and 10 points for every 10 SAR paid through Sadad.
  • Points for activating any of the online banking services: The least is Flexx Call for 1000 points and a maximum of 5000 for Flexx Safe.
  • 2 points for every 1 SAR spent on your Infinite Card inside Saudi Arabia and any 1 SAR spent on your Gold or Silver outside the KSA.
  • 3 points for every 10 SAR spent on your Gold, Silver or Silver Mastercard inside KSA and 20 points for every 10 SAR spent on those cards outside KSA
  • 200 points for every cash withdrawal regardless of the card or ATM used (you can still earn withdrawal points if you use another bank’s ATM)
  • 5 points for every 1 SAR spent on Booking.com

Redemption Options: 4 stars

Woow Programs allows you to redeem your points online, albeit through vouchers, and in a variety of retail shops, restaurants or redeem the points as a monetary donation to Charity through the Woow Al Khair, in addition to redeeming points for Air miles.

This program earns 4 stars for providing several options to redeem the points and not just offering discounts.

Total: 12/15 stars

LAK Program by AL Ahli Bank



Ease of joining the program: 3 stars

Similarly joining LAK program requires filling an online application, thus 3 stars for ease of joining.

Variety of points earning methods: 2 Stars

This program earned 2 stars for this criteria as collecting points is limited to the use of the credit card and vary depending on the type of card you hold:

  • 2 points for every 1 SAR spent within KSA and 2.5 points for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use Mastercard World Elite, Visa Infinite Privilege, Mastercard World, Visa Infinite and Visa Signature Cards.
  • 5 points for every 1 SAR spent within KSA and 2 points for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use Mastercard Platinum and Visa Platinum Cards.
  • 1 point for ever 1 SAR spent within KSA and 1.5 points for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use Mastercard Titanium and Visa (Basic) Cards.
  • You can double your points when making reservations on platforms such as Booking.com and Rocketmiles.com

Redemption Options: 3 stars

The advantage of this program is that it allows the redemption of points for vouchers in retail stores, restaurants, and hotels outside KSA including UAE, UK, USA, and Lebanon. Another advantage is redeeming your points for cash: every 50,000 points are worth 500 SAR. However, it is still voucher based, and the additional steps required by users is a limitation.

Total: 8/15 stars

 read more details about Ahli Rewards Program "Lak" from Ahli Bank in Saudi Arabia

ICSABB Program by Saudi British Bank (SABB) 



saab

Ease of joining the program: 5 stars

An automatic sign up to the loyalty program when opening an account or issuing a card earns ICSAAB a 5 stars rating for this criteria.

Variety of points earning methods: 2 Stars

Earning points in this program are simple yet limited to using only the credit card, you earn:

  • 1 point for every 10 SAR spent on your card.

Redemption Options: 4 stars

The options to redeem points in this program are limited to offline and use on SABB payment terminals, however, the redemption can happen at thousands of stores instantly. Moreover, you can redeem for airline tickets through Dnata Travel Services. Note that you can redeem starting 1000 points. This ease and huge variation earn them a 4-star rating since there are no online options.

Total: 11/15 stars

 

Mukafaat Albilad by Bank Albilad




Ease of joining the program: 3 stars

Another 3-star rating on these criteria as joining this program requires signing up on their website.

Variety of points earning methods: 2 Stars

The only way to earn points in this program is by using their debit and credit cards. However, points vary depending on the card and where you are spending, with debit cards giving 0 points for local spend:

  • 1 point for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use the Albilad Meda Classic and Albilad Meda Gold Debit Cards.
  • 5 points for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use the Albilad Meda Platinum Debit Card
  • 3 points for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use the Albilad Meda Signature Debit Card and Albilad Meda Infinite Debit Card.
  • 1 point for every 1 SAR spent inside and outside KSA when you use Albilad Silver Credit Card and Albilad Gold Credit Card.
  • 5 point for every 1 SAR spent inside and outside KSA when you use Albilad Platinum Credit Card and Albilad Tamkeen Platinum Card.
  • 3 point for every 1 SAR spent inside and outside KSA when you use Albilad Signature Credit Card and Albilad Infinite Credit Card
  • 1 point for every 1 SAR spent within KSA and 2 points for every 1 SAR spent outside KSA when you use ​Albilad Medad Internet Card, Albilad Medad Travel Card, Albilad Medad Control Card and Albilad Virtual Prepaid Card.

Redemption Options: 4 stars

With this program, you can redeem your points through the reward store for air tickets at more than 550 airlines, 175,000 hotels worldwide, donate or shop for merchandise. You can also redeem your points for vouchers in retails stores participating in the program or redeem for cash. Although opportunities to collect points might seem limited but this program offers rewards that encourage their customers. This program drops a star rating for being limited to the Mukafaat online store or vouchers, without the ability to pay online with other merchants.

Total: 9/15 stars


At the end of the day, every bank will offer a form of loyalty program that fits its strategy. However, they need to remember that the value of loyalty will rise with the variety of options they provide to collect and redeem points. If you have a reward program and looking to differentiate your redemption, PointCheckout can assist in improving your redemption options and maintain your customer satisfaction. Get in touch today to learn more about we can help.


You can read about the Top 5 Reward Programs in the United Arab Emirate’s Banking Sector


Last Updated  February 4, 2020