Lufthansa Group, the parent company of one of the largest airlines globally, has announced the public launch of an innovative loyalty program using NFTs. The program, called Uptrip, rewards passengers from all of the group’s airlines, including Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Swiss International Air Lines, with digital collectibles that unlock additional benefits. By flying with these airlines, passengers can collect digital trading cards that are themed based on destinations, aircraft, and holidays. Accumulating the necessary cards for specific collections allows Uptrip users to enjoy exclusive perks such as free in-flight Wi-Fi, access to airport lounges, redeemable airline miles, and more. Uptrip also plans to introduce a trading feature, enabling users to complete their collections.
Developed by Lufthansa Innovation Group, Uptrip is built on Polygon, an Ethereum scaling network. The loyalty program underwent a soft launch and testing phase, which attracted over 20,000 users and resulted in the issuance of more than 200,000 digital trading cards. Lufthansa Group’s traditional Miles and More loyalty program already boasts 36 million members. By leveraging Polygon’s faster and more cost-efficient transactions compared to Ethereum’s mainnet, Lufthansa joined other brands, such as Starbucks, Nike, McDonald’s, Reddit, and Coca-Cola, in utilizing Polygon for their blockchain-based initiatives.
Lufthansa announced the expansion of its NFT trading card program in partnership with Uptrip. Now, all Lufthansa passengers can receive a Polygon-based NFT by simply scanning their boarding pass in the Uptrip app. These NFTs serve a practical purpose rather than being mere collectibles. Frequent flyers have the opportunity to redeem complete NFT collections for airport lounge access, flight upgrades, status upgrades, and award miles. Christopher Siegloch, an executive at Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program, expressed delight in the enthusiastic response to the NFT offering. The program garnered 20,000 registered users and issued over 200,000 NFTs during its soft launch period. Siegloch emphasized that the gamification elements of the program introduce participants to Web3 technologies in an enjoyable manner.
Uptrip plans to launch its own NFT marketplace in the second half of the year and is considering expanding the range of available rewards. NFTs are gaining traction as a general application in ticketing and rewards programs across different industries. Starbucks, for example, has been developing its Web3 side to enhance its global rewards program, while Argentina’s Flybondi offers NFT tickets for flights via the Algorand blockchain.
NFT Prizes 