Credit card loyalty lags when perks don’t match modern business travel.
Business travelers have long been the backbone of hotel-branded credit card programs. But as we wrap up 2025, that loyalty can’t be taken for granted. While awareness remains high, enthusiasm is starting to fracture, especially among younger and mid-career professionals.
Our research shows the value equation is shifting. Many say the perks feel generic, dated, or irrelevant to modern work-life rhythms. A fast-track to elite status still matters, but not as much as practical, in-the-moment benefits: meal credits, upgrades, and access to wellness partnerships during their stay: things that frequently aren’t part of credit card-based offers.
And the need to rethink transparency may be critical. Confusing redemption tiers, blackout periods, and shifting point values have made the credit card benefits less desirable. This audience wants clarity and consistency, without needing a spreadsheet to decode their benefits.
Quote from the Tribe:
“I still carry a hotel credit card, but half the perks don’t matter to me anymore. It’s gotten a bit dated and confusing.”
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U.K.-based business traveler – 22 professional trips per year
Commercial Takeaway
Rethink or augment your credit card loyalty benefits through the lens of the modern road warrior. Business travelers want perks that work in real time that are easy to understand. Audit your benefit structure and marketing to strip out complexity and highlight tangible, day-of-travel value that makes carrying the card feel indispensable on every trip.
Message us to discuss how your approach compares.
About the MODIV Tribes Series
Since 2022, MODIV’s always-on Mindset® study has engaged more than 48,000 frequent travelers across 25 countries. Our mission: decode the why behind traveler behavior—so travel and hospitality brands can act smarter, faster, and with greater commercial precision.
Our Tribes series distills what hospitality leaders need to know—direct from the source. Each quarter, we engage Business Travelers, Luxury Travelers, Zillennials, and Meeting Planners through our proprietary Mindset® study, then translate what we hear into strategic insights you can use.
This isn't one-and-done research. Each quarter, we go back to a tribe to test sharper questions based on what you tell us you need to know. Got a question you want answered? We invite you to add your voice in the comments or reach out directly.
About the Business Travel Tribe
This study reflects insights from a blended qualitative and quantitative session with 152 travelers across 15 countries, all of whom take 6+ annual business trips requiring flights and hotels. Participants represent a diverse mix of industries, company sizes, job levels, and travel policy types.
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