Amazon lets Hilton loyalty members use points for purchases

Dive Brief:

Hilton and Amazon announced on Tuesday that Hilton Honors members, which include 66 million people, can redeem their Hilton Honors Points to buy things on Amazon.com, according to a press release.
To use their points on Amazon, members must complete a one-time link of their Hilton Honors account to their Amazon.com account, and the service is free.
Amazon Shop with Points is the fourth major benefit Hilton has added to its loyalty program this year, and Hilton is the first hotel to expand its points to an Amazon payment method. Amazon customers can also use points from their Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card for most purchases on Amazon and more programs are likely to come, according to TechCrunch.

Dive Insight:

Amazon’s Prime membership is the most high-profile way the e-commerce giant corrals sticky customers, but payment-by-points appears to be emerging as a way to lead more sales its way. Points can be used for just a portion of a purchase, so Amazon is highly likely to garner cash in the process.

It’s also just the latest partnership between Amazon and an outside player with brick-and-mortar locations. Beyond its recent acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon is staffing dedicated spaces in some Kohl’s stores, and the discount department store this week said it will accept free returns of Amazon orders in even more stores in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas. Amazon is also expanding Amazon Pay Places, allowing customers to use their saved Amazon payment information to pay at some TGI Fridays restaurants via Amazon's mobile app.

Amazon Payments, a PayPal-like service, was used by 33 million people in 2016, with transactions doubling and the number of online merchants accepting Amazon Payments increasing 120%. Earlier this year, the e-commerce giant partnered with luxury fashion retailer Moda Operandi and Curalate to allow remote checkout on Moda Operandi's Instagram page using Amazon Payments. That partnership came after Moda Operandi earlier allowed customers to use Amazon Payments to pay for their orders on its web site and at trunk shows.