MilesPay – the new flexible payment solution

With SWISS Miles & More credit cards, award miles can be earned not only when flying, but also when shopping. These miles are usually redeemed for upgrades, flights or awards. As of now, holders of a SWISS Miles & More credit card can also pay for purchases easily with miles. The new service was thoroughly tested in a pilot phase from fall 2019 to early 2021 and the findings are clear: "Our customers want more flexibility. They want to choose when and for which products or services they use their miles, and to do so as straightforwardly as possible," emphasizes Enrico Salvadori, Chief Commercial Officer at Swisscard. "With MilesPay, we are now offering them the opportunity to use miles to pay for everyday purchases with just a few clicks."

Use miles how you want

If a purchase is paid for with a SWISS Miles & More credit card in a shop or online in Switzerland, and qualifies for MilesPay, the Swisscard app automatically informs you of the availability of a new offer. Users decide for themselves whether the entire purchase amount or just part of it is to be redeemed with miles, which gives them more flexibility. You can also decline payment by miles. With MilesPay, miles can be used for small amounts in everyday life, which is attractive to the broad customer segment. "With MilesPay, we are offering our Miles & More members personal choices for redeeming their miles," says Sven Lareida, Head of Loyalty Commercial & Partner Management at SWISS. "As a result, we are meeting a long-awaited customer request."

User figures show high demand

The evaluation of the first MilesPay usage figures shows that the new feature is already attracting widespread interest and successfully serving current customer needs. The MilesPay feature is activated for over 95% of SWISS Miles & More cardholders who use the Swisscard app. MilesPay is mainly used to pay for everyday purchases at the supermarket or for travel on public transport. But MilesPay is also used for purchases in luxury stores. The highest MilesPay transaction made to date corresponded to an equivalent value of CHF 2,800. The average redeemed purchase amount is currently CHF 99. "These figures speak for themselves: MilesPay captures the spirit of the times and its success reinforces our common goal to continuously expand the offer for our customers and to make our services even more attractive," summarizes Enrico Salvadori.

MilesPay feature is part of the new Swisscard app

Holders of a SWISS Miles & More credit card can voluntarily activate and use or deactivate the MilesPay feature at any time. With the Swisscard app, users can access all relevant information about their credit cards and card payments in real time, as well as easily check and approve online payments thanks to integrated 3-D Secure service. The app now not only allows you to request a replacement card and a new PIN code, but also to temporarily block and unblock credit cards.

Protect miles easily

If you don’t want to spend your miles but keep them and protect them from the regular expiry, simply use your SWISS Miles & More credit card every month for everyday payments, and reward yourself with a flight or upgrade at a later date. Using the credit cards regularly means that miles do not expire after 36 months, as is usually the case, but are protected – regardless of whether they were earned when flying or paying.