Flybuys and Qantas Frequent Flyer are the top two Australian loyalty programs in 2026, as consumers demand a greater value exchange in return for their loyalty, The Science of Loyalty 2026 study from Honeycomb Strategy reveals.
Flybuys ranked first among retail loyalty programs, ahead of Everyday Rewards and McDonald’s MyMacca’s Rewards. Qantas Frequent Flyer topped the travel category, followed by Velocity Frequent Flyer and Booking.com Genius.
Australia’s most comprehensive loyalty study also reveals that while consumers have no shortage of loyalty cards, memberships and rewards apps, active use of loyalty programs sits at just 45 per cent, a year-on-year decline from 52 per cent in 2025.
The study analysed 60 of the nation’s leading loyalty programs, assessing them across measures including saliency, membership rates, active engagement and impact on spend. What it reveals is that the best performing programs work with human behaviour, not against it.
Renata Freund, Founder at Honeycomb Strategy, said mental availability is where many programs are losing ground.
“Mental availability for loyalty programs isn’t just limited, it’s shrinking. Consumers hold fewer programs top of mind than they used to, so the fight isn’t for attention once, it’s for staying there. That’s a behavioural problem as much as a rewards one, and it starts with understanding the Human Truths™ behind how people really behave,” she said.
Freund said the strongest programs are built around a value exchange that rewards customers for the effort they put in, whether that’s money off the grocery bill, free food, a better travel experience or a curated beauty gift.
“The best loyalty programs understand that loyalty is a value exchange. If you’re asking customers to give you their time, attention, personal data and spend, they need to feel they’re getting more back than they’re putting in,” she said.
“The programs winning right now share two things: they overdeliver on that exchange, and they work with human behaviour. They’ve stripped out the friction that makes engagement hard work. If someone can’t engage with the program easily, or nothing triggers them to return before they’ve moved on, engagement fades.
“That’s what creates loyalty. Customers feel that the effort they put into the relationship is being rewarded exponentially, rather than simply being given a token thank you.”
Loyalty and five Human Truths
Honeycomb Strategy’s proprietary Human Truths framework translates behavioural science into the forces that drive real buyer behaviour, analysing loyalty programs through a human truth lens rather than in purely technical or academic terms.
The 2026 study found five Human Truths that supercharge customer engagement: we want it now, we buy who we are, we hate losing more than we love winning, we spend in mental buckets, and we take the path of least effort.
Honeycomb Strategy Strategy Director, Kieran Collins, said: “These five Human Truths™ show what Australians want from their loyalty program. That includes the truths that we will consistently take a smaller reward now over a bigger one later; every purchase says something about who we are, or who we want to become; the fear of losing something, or missing out on it, moves us more than the promise of getting it; we treat the same money differently depending on which mental bucket it comes from and how much it hurts to hand over; and we choose what is easiest to think of and easiest to buy.”
How the top programs win
The study notes that Flybuys is a masterclass in delivering cognitive ease and reducing friction at every interaction, resulting in 79% of members actively favouring shopping where they can use Flybuys.
Leading the telco loyalty programs, 64 per cent of Telstra Plus members actively favour using the telco for its points redemption.
For McDonald’s 65 per cent of MyMacca’s Rewards members actively favour McDonald’s as a result of the loyalty program; while 54% of Mecca Beauty Loop members actively engage with the program.
MECCA’s highly successful Beauty Loop demonstrates the value of a personalised loyalty experience. Members receive curated Beauty Loop boxes during the year, with frequency and value increasing by tier, alongside birthday rewards and additional bonus gifts.
MECCA Chief Loyalty Officer, Sarah Kearney, said Beauty Loop was built around a meaningful value exchange: members receiving tangible rewards, products and experiences, designed to feel genuine and personal.
“Beauty Loop has always been more than rewards: it’s one of the ways we show our customers how much they mean to MECCA,” she said.
“From a thoughtfully curated Beauty Loop Box that helps our community discover something new, to events, experiences and rewards that feel made for them, we want every part of Beauty Loop to feel thoughtful, inspiring and distinctly MECCA.
“We’re incredibly proud to see Beauty Loop recognised, and even more excited about where we can take it next. We’ll keep listening to our customers, learning what they love and finding new ways to make Beauty Loop more meaningful to them.”
Among other findings:
● Australians have an average number of four loyalty programs actively used, down from five last year
● The past year has seen many major programs transform to increase motivation, with a rapid rise in multi-brand integration – including MYER One, Bunnings PowerPass, Qantas Frequent Flyer and David Jones Rewards
● Multi-retailer programs, airlines and major department stores have the highest member numbers
● Millennials and Gen X have the highest rates of membership, with older generations concentrating their programs, while younger people spread it around
● The top quartile of loyalty programs see more than a quarter of members actively shifting their spend behaviour as a result of the loyalty program
● There are nine predominant loyalty benefits ranging from exclusive discounts to points-based rewards.
