Which companies have the best loyalty and rewards programs? CVS, Kroger, Kohl's made the list
Grocery chain Kroger, pharmacy giant CVS, and department retailer Kohl's are among the 350 companies with the best loyalty and rewards programs in the United States, according to USA TODAY and its research partner Plant-A Insights Group.
America’s Best Loyalty & Rewards Programs 2025 highlights companies across 26 industries in the U.S. whose rewards programs provide the best customer experience. Results were determined using a variety of measures, including reviewing public data and conducting a large-scale confidential online survey among U.S. customers, according to the ranking's methodology.
More than 21,000 customers and over 204,000 program reviews offered insights across five key categories of program experience, including ease of enrollment, clarity of rewards, value and relevance of rewards, ease of use across channels and participating companies, and safety of personal data.
To limit responses to real-world experiences, customers were asked to evaluate companies they were familiar with and had personal experiences with.
The final list of top rewards programs excluded companies involved in incidents of consumer data breaches, major recalls, lawsuits, unethical practices, or environmental harm. Plant-A used media monitoring platform Onclusive to identify the incidents.
A well-designed loyalty program can generate up to 20% of a company’s profits by targeting high-value customers and increasing wallet share among them, global management firm McKinsey & Company determined, while customers enrolled in loyalty programs are 64% more likely to purchase more frequently from the brand, with 31% willing to pay a higher price to stay with the brand, another McKinsey study determined.
