Etisalat announced that Shukran has joined the Smiles’ Rewards Exchange.

The new affiliation – announced on the sidelines of GITEX Global in Dubai – will allow members of Smiles and Shukran to cross-exchange points and maximise their benefits.

Launched in December 2020, the Smiles Rewards Exchange is still currently the only blockchain-powered rewards exchange in the UAE  which can onboard multiple programmes and allow the flexibility of exchanging points or rewards from one programme to any other programme in real-time.

Members can cross-transfer points to benefit from deals, discounts and a range of partner offers across both platforms, with buy-one-get-one free offers and discounts on many of the UAE’s leading lifestyle, entertainment, wellness, and F&B outlets.   

Smiles members can convert their Smiles points into Shukrans in multiples of 6,200 Smiles points, equivalent to 1,000 Shukrans. Through the Shukran app, members can convert their Shukrans into Smiles points in multiples of 1,200 Shukrans, equivalent to 4,000 Smiles points.

Khaled ElKhouly, Chief Consumer Officer of Etisalat, said: “We are pleased to partner with Shukran on Smiles’ Rewards Exchange, enabling both Smiles and Shukran customers to get the best value with a wide range of deals and benefits from partner offers across both platforms. At Etisalat, we always strive to offer the best value to our customers by forging the right partnerships to provide innovative services.”

Commenting on the partnership, Rahul Jagtiani, Group Director – Digital, Landmark Group, said: “We are delighted to partner with Smiles and offer our customers a new avenue to avail beneficial incentive and rewards. With Shukran, our commitment has always been towards innovation and value, enabled by robust partnerships. We continue to have our pulse on the growing demand for value-based offerings, and this new partnership is yet another way to cater to our ever-evolving customers.”

Under Rewards Exchange, Smiles customers can add loyalty memberships on one app, exchange points with any programme within the Rewards Exchange network in real-time, and access an expanded marketplace for points’ redemption. More importantly, members can avoid losing their hard-earned points due to expiry as they convert them to their most preferred loyalty programme such as Shukran.

Smiles, one of the largest lifestyle engagement programmes in the UAE, has more than 2.6 million registered members and is open to all citizens, residents and visitors of the UAE. Smiles offers everyday savings to its members through earn and redemption of Smiles points for Etisalat, partner products and services as well as ‘Unlimited Buy 1 Get 1 Free’ and other discount offers at over 3,000 outlets, on entertainment, shopping, dining, travel, services and wellness experience.

Shukran, Landmark Group’s premiere loyalty programme is the most successful retail loyalty program in the Middle East. Encompassing Landmark’s wide array of retail and hospitality concepts, the loyalty programme has a member base of over 12+ million across eight countries, 43 brands and over 2,100 stores.