Blended travel drives personalised perks in apps

Revolut and Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More are embedding personalised financial services and rewards into travel apps and loyalty programmes across Europe to reflect growing overlap between business and leisure trips.

Revolut has linked currency exchange, travel insurance on selected plans, accommodation and experience booking, and in-app spending summaries. Those features appear in the app when users travel, company materials show. Miles & More has widened its loyalty programme so members can earn and redeem rewards across retail, hotels and financial services, tying everyday spending to travel benefits.

Card networks and banks are adding similar features without launching separate products. Mastercard’s partner network enables banks to offer targeted airport services and destination offers based on cardholder spending and preferences. Issuers can attach personalised perks to existing payment flows so customers do not have to change how they pay.

Changes in travel behaviour are cited as a main reason for the shift. Short business trips extended into weekend stays and longer remote-work visits mean travellers often mix meeting schedules with personal plans. One example used by industry participants contrasts a person who flies to Amsterdam for two days of meetings and then stays the weekend with family, and another who works remotely from Lisbon for three weeks; the two need different insurance and local transport options despite similar flight bookings. Frequent rail passengers across the UK and Europe are reported to value flexible ticket refunds, discounted local travel and disruption support more than additional airline miles.

Employers are adjusting corporate travel rules to match those needs. Some companies are adding insurance, real-time payment controls and expense-management tools directly into booking platforms to keep staff spending within policy while giving workers more flexibility.

Firms developing embedded finance say users accept data sharing when they receive clear, timely benefits and when firms explain what data they collect and how it will be used. Companies aiming to keep customers engaged present relevant offers and avoid flooding users with unrelated promotions.

The programmes prioritise timely assistance such as automatic disruption support, local transport discounts and insurance options that fit trip length and purpose. Industry participants expect competitive advantage to come from focusing on the traveller rather than labelling journeys strictly as business or leisure.