Google unveils Pixel 11 series with advanced camera features and health monitoring on Pixel Watch 5. Meanwhile, AI makes waves in news reporting, theme park character selections spark debate, and unusual stories emerge, including a startup founder's tattoo and a detailed McDonald's consumer dossier.
Booking.com offers various discounts on flights, hotels, car rentals, and packages. The Genius loyalty program provides tiered discounts up to 20% off stays and 15% off car rentals. A co-branded credit card offers travel credits and bonuses. Deals include spring travel starting at $18/night and cruise packages with up to $1,000 onboard credit.
Waymo is introducing Waymo Premier, a $29.99/month loyalty program offering perks like priority rides and 10% cash back to frequent robotaxi users. The program excludes Austin and Atlanta due to Uber app integration.
Spirit Airlines faces potential liquidation due to rising costs, intense competition from legacy carriers' loyalty programs, and a pullback in leisure travel among price-sensitive consumers.
Starbucks is observing early positive signals from its loyalty program changes, with the new 60-star redemption option becoming most popular. Over a quarter of all redemptions now use the $2 discount. The first 'free Mod Monday' more than doubled point redemptions compared to earlier Mondays. The program accounted for 60% of revenue in fiscal 2025.
Lucra offers corporate loyalty programs reimagined as interactive esports. But winning ARK as a lead wasn't easy.
ARK Invest Venture Fund has led a $20 million Series B investment in Lucra, marking the first time the famed investment firm has ever led an early-stage startup deal. Lucra transforms corporate loyalty programs into interactive eSports-like tournaments where customers compete for cash or company giveaways. The investment is notable because ARK, known for its public ETF funds, runs an SEC-regulated interval fund that allows retail investors to participate with as little as $500. ARK previously avoided lead roles due to a bad experience with similar company Skillz, but was convinced by Lucra's B2B approach and founder Dylan Robbins' thorough preparation.
