Core Rewards announced a partnership with Tillo on May 19, 2026, adding travel, dining and lifestyle eGift cards to its enterprise incentive offering. The companies said the new formats would sit alongside a merchandise catalogue of more than 70,000 options. [S01]
The decision addresses a specific product gap. Core Rewards can offer value towards an experience without becoming the system that searches availability, books the journey and handles every change to a travel reservation.
More than a rewards catalogue
Core Rewards describes a full-service business covering programme design, platform configuration, participant communications and reporting. Its customers use those services to motivate direct sales teams, engage dealer or distributor channels and recognise employees. [S02]
That model sells an operating programme around the reward, rather than just the physical item or gift card. The client needs a reason for participants to act, a way to communicate the offer and records showing what happened afterwards.
The catalogue still matters commercially. If a participant cannot find an appealing reward, the effort required to earn points may look less worthwhile. Adding another format gives Core Rewards more options when pitching and adapting programmes for different client populations.
Experience-related value without a booking engine
Show data tableHide data table
| Element | Role in the programme |
|---|---|
| Merchandise catalogue | More than 70,000 options reported by Core Rewards |
| Travel-related eGift cards | Value for flights, hotels, cruises and activities |
| Dining and lifestyle rewards | Additional choices for participant preferences |
| Branded redemption | Curated options within the incentive experience |
David Pressley, Core Rewards’ vice president of technology, describes selecting brands and arranging them into reward options. Tillo supplies the digital gift card connection, while the travel provider remains responsible for the eventual booking experience. [S01]
The operational attraction is a narrower integration than running a live travel service. Core Rewards can present a reward and arrange issuance while avoiding responsibility for maintaining a real-time inventory of rooms, flights or activities inside its own system.
That does not remove every cost or condition. A participant still needs an appropriate denomination, usable local availability and clear supplier terms. A gift card can contribute to an experience without necessarily paying for the entire trip.
The commercial gain is a broader proposition
For Core Rewards, more reward formats can help retain clients whose participant preferences differ or change over time. For Tillo, a managed incentive provider can aggregate demand from multiple enterprise programmes through one connection. For reward brands, the route creates access to recipients chosen by those programmes.
The employer or commercial sponsor funds the incentive, so its return depends on the behaviour it is trying to influence. More redemptions are not automatically proof of more sales: participants may already have been performing the rewarded activity.
The announcement provides no programme-level comparison of engagement, incremental sales or total incentive cost. It establishes additional distribution and choice. The most useful evidence of success would connect those choices to the client’s objective while accounting for reward expense and programme administration, rather than treating a larger catalogue as the outcome.
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Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.