National Car Rental has more than 300 locations across Canada. In a highly competitive market, the company’s affiliation with AIR MILES — as a Sponsor and Reward supplier — has definitely been a success factor. “When I look at AIR MILES transactions year over year,” DeCesare says, “there’s been continuous growth on both sides.”

Indeed, the pace has been fastest in the challenging consumer retail segment. At the end of the day, it comes down to each consumer weighing competing offers. And for DeCesare, the AIR MILES factor is decisive in those decisions. “What the program does,” he says, “is give us a targeted group of consumers we can reach more effectively than we’d be able to do on our own.”