Due to the associated risk, customer loyalty programs worldwide – not just in the travel sector – operate on the principle that you first collect points and then redeem them. Exceptions are rare, such as Miles & More, which grants its Senator status members a mileage overdraft of up to 50,000 miles.

The relatively young HeyMax program in the Far East is now turning this principle on its head. HeyMax is a coalition program in the retail market, operating in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong or Japan, with the only reward option being the exchange of points for the currency of one of its numerous partner programs of airlines and hotels.

Under the slogan “Fly Now. Earn Later,” you can now indeed use rewards on a large scale and collect the points later. Given the constant devaluation of the programs, the argument is certainly compelling that you don’t know how much the points you collect today will be worth in two or three years.

Let’s hope that HeyMax’s courage will be rewarded and that they won’t be exploited by fraudsters!