Whistle Rewards reported a $1.085 million reduction in program costs for an unnamed national healthcare organization that changed its staff rewards process. The case study, published on August 23, 2024, describes a move from individual retailer gift cards to a reloadable, company-branded Visa rewards card.

The organization had distributed $2 million in Starbucks and Grubhub gift cards to 4,000 employees during 2023. According to Whistle’s account, its finance team found that only 44% of the gift cards sent had been accessed, leaving $1.12 million of the purchased value unused.

The replacement program allowed rewards to be loaded onto a custom-branded Visa card. Whistle says this gave staff more spending options and reduced the number of separate retailer gift cards they needed to manage.

The funding arrangement described in the case lets the employer retain and repurpose rewards that employees have not accessed. Once funds are accessed and loaded onto a staff member’s card, the case study says that value does not expire.

Whistle reports that the change reduced total program costs by $1.085 million and provided visibility into reward senders, recipients and use. It also reports that 93% of staff preferred the new platform. The healthcare organization and the measurement period for those post-change results are not named in the case study.