Elevating loyalty: How British Airways is enhancing customer engagement with an integrated SAF program
For airlines, loyalty programs are more than a system of rewards — they’re central to the customer experience and a core way to build lasting relationships.
As airlines advance their work to reduce the carbon emissions associated with aviation, these programs present a unique opportunity: to go beyond rewarding travel and actively encourage participation in sustainability-related initiatives.
British Airways, IAG Loyalty, and Chooose built on this opportunity by integrating sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) contributions into The British Airways Club. The result is a first-of-its-kind solution that lets members support SAF adoption while earning tier points and Avios.
British Airways and IAG Loyalty
British Airways is the largest airline owned by International Airlines Group (IAG). IAG Loyalty, the group’s dedicated loyalty business, manages Avios across IAG airlines and a wide network of partners — providing the shared platform that powers loyalty across the group.
This SAF integration, built for The British Airways Club, runs on IAG Loyalty’s technology — which means the foundation is already in place to extend similar initiatives across other IAG airlines in the future.
Challenge: Engaging members in SAF adoption
SAF is one of the most readily available tools for reducing the lifecycle carbon emissions of aviation in the near- and medium-term — but its widespread adoption requires participation from across the value chain. For British Airways, SAF represents just one element on its path to net zero — with SAF making up 2.7% of fuel supply in 2024.
British Airways set out to:
- Embed SAF engagement into the everyday member experience, not just limited campaigns — and through this, scale contributions towards their voluntary SAF initiatives, beyond the current UK Government SAF mandate.
- Create a new way for members of The British Airways Club to earn tier points and Avios outside of flying.
- Deliver a seamless, transparent, and instant experience that increases loyalty engagement.
What is SAF?
Sustainable aviation fuels ("SAF") are defined in the Refuel EU Aviation Regulation as aviation fuels that are synthetic aviation fuels, biofuels, or recycled carbon aviation fuels.
SAF produces similar levels of carbon dioxide to conventional aviation fuels when burned, but the carbon dioxide generated is already part of the carbon cycle and is not extracted from the ground specifically for creating aviation fuel. This means that using SAF results in a reduction in carbon emissions — in fact, SAF has the potential to provide a lifecycle carbon reduction of up to 80% compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces.
Technical solution: A SAF-linked loyalty integration
Chooose partnered with IAG Loyalty and British Airways to build a fully integrated solution that connects SAF contributions directly to The British Airways Club.
Key features:
- Dual earn mechanics: Members can earn both tier points and Avios for SAF contributions.
- Avios redemption: Contributions can be made using cash, Avios, or a mix of both.
- Real-time transactions: Rewards are credited and redemptions debited instantly for a seamless experience.
Technical highlights:
- Deep loyalty integration: Built on IAG Loyalty’s API, featuring single sign-on (SSO), live Avios balances, dynamic pricing, and real-time crediting of tier points and Avios.
- Full reconciliation & audit trail: Every transaction is matched against the airline’s SAF inventory for transparency and integrity within IAG’s book and claim ledger.
- Blueprint for expansion: While launched specifically with British Airways, the integration is built with the flexibility to be leveraged across programs using Avios.
Impact: Making SAF part of everyday loyalty
This collaboration between British Airways, IAG Loyalty, and Chooose demonstrates the value of intertwining loyalty into sustainability-oriented products, marking an evolution for travelers where rewards and decarbonization initiatives support one another. This approach broadens the reach of customers who might contribute to these products while also serving as an effective lever in accelerating voluntary SAF adoption within the industry.
“IAG Loyalty, British Airways, and Chooose have built a technical foundation that other IAG airlines and Avios-partner airlines can easily adapt to bring SAF into their own loyalty programs. We look forward to seeing how loyalty can further enable SAF support across the IAG and Avios networks.”
