Lufthansa’s NFT loyalty scheme fuses gamification with airline perks such as free wifi and lounge access in the hope of wooing Gen Z flyers.

Lufthansa Group‘s innovative loyalty programme replaces traditional air miles with digital trading cards, marking one of the first major airline ventures into Web3 technology.

The scheme, called Uptrip, rewards travellers with NFT (non-fungible token) trading cards for each flight taken across the group’s airlines, which include Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines.

The programme features more than 400 collectible cards spanning global destinations from Mombasa to Salt Lake City, aircraft types, and special achievements such as crossing the North Pole.

Users can pursue over 20 different collections, including “Travel the World” – which requires cards from five continents – and “Lufthansa Fan,” focusing on Frankfurt and Munich hub connections.

Each user can potentially earn rewards worth up to €3,000, including 2,000 award miles, wifi vouchers for continental and intercontinental flights, business lounge access, and coveted Frequent Traveller and Senator status.

As reported by Miles and More, Christopher Siegloch, head of programme development for the company says: “Gamification elements introduce participants to Web3 technologies such as NFTs in a fun way. We have managed to transfer the enthusiasm for collecting that people know from trading card booklets into a digital space.”

The initiative, developed with Polygon blockchain technology, allows users to connect their digital wallets to mint, transfer and trade their cards as NFTs.

It represents a significant departure from conventional loyalty schemes, specifically targeting Generation Z travellers who may be less interested in traditional status symbols like gold membership cards.

Lufthansa Group joins major companies including Adobe, Stripe and Robinhood in utilising the Polygon network. The airline group plans to launch a marketplace for Uptrip NFTs and expand available rewards in the next phase of development.

In May 2024, the group launched “Lufthansa Insights Art”, showcasing works by renowned pixel art collective eBoy.

The artists, known for their detailed digital cityscapes, created 30 special edition trading cards and unique “pixorama” artworks of destinations including Vancouver, Toronto, Munich, Chicago and Montreal.

“It’s nice when you recognize the city and yet it’s completely different. We don’t see our Pixoramas as a copy of reality, but as an alternative of how it could exist in a parallel universe of pixels,” eBoy said in a statement.

by Olivia Palamountain | GLOBETRENDER