One key weakness of affinity or loyalty marketing programs is the inability to effectively manage customer information, according to a new piece in CMO Magazine. One company that's managing data well, however, is American Express, which is leveraging it through its credit card loyalty program to encourage behavioral change.

AmEx's loyalty program, which was launched in 1991 as a partnership with the airlines, has become more sophisticated over the years through the addition of partnerships, particularly with hotels and vacation providers (and more recently, consumer product goods companies). Now, the company's Membership Rewards program is linked to more than 140 companies and provides a vast array of options for redeeming points.

"The genius of AmEx is how they got people to use the card at gas stations, supermarkets and hardware stores by doubling the points people get at those places," Michael Capizzi, vice president of Frequency Marketing, a loyalty marketing provider. "So it becomes their preferred method of payment. That's why AmEx is the leader."

The company succeeds by intelligently monitoring the spending habits of its cardholders and enhancing the program in relation to that knowledge. "We've found that our customers love using points as currency," says American Express spokesman Channing Barringer. "They're accruing banks of points and using them on expenses they would normally charge—everything from movie tickets and flat-screen televisions to RV rentals in New Zealand."

As a result of such efforts, average card spending is 400% higher among Rewards members than nonparticipants. "Understanding how our customers want to spend points helps us strengthen the program, which in turn helps drive spending on American Express cards," says Barringer.