Flagstar Bank has started running a new points-based loyalty program with help from Kobie Marketing.
Flagstar Rewards replaces a less flexible loyalty program the bank had in place before and runs on Kobie’s Alchemy rewards platform. Kobie was chosen from a large pool of vendors for its flexibility and experience and the dynamic Web site it offered for customer use. With Kobie, the Flagstar loyalty program now offers experiential rewards, travel rewards and the ability to pool or share points, which are earned when customers use their Flagstar debit cards — 1 point for every $3 spent when they sign at point of sale, and 1 point for every $10 when they key in their PIN number.
“We changed to our new program with Kobie because we had the opportunity to enhance benefits for our customers,” said Bev Carter, SVP of retail banking for Flagstar. “One of the things we like about this system is that it is easier to use: Everything is automatically in your account, and you can see it on the rewards Web site.”
A number of small enhancements have also been added. For example, points now expire after three years, rather then the previous two-year limit, points can be earned more quickly, and there are more gift options available when customers redeem points.
“We have a very wide ranging loyalty program, and this is just one piece of it,” Carter explained. “With this enhancement, we tried to give everyone the different things they are interested in.”
Flagstar has already started promoting the new loyalty program to existing customers through direct mail, and since launching last month, Flagstar Rewards has accumulated 1800 active members. The bank will be measuring customer use of the program, their feedback, and points redemption to gauge its success.
Kobie has also worked with Bank of America and RBC Bank, as well as non-bank clients like Verizon, Barnes and Noble and CBS Sportsline.
As of March 31, Flagstar operated 177 banking centers in MI, IN and GA and 61 home loan centers in 18 states.
