Uptrip - Launch pitch at Phocuswright Europe 2023

Uptrip is a venture created within the Lufthansa Innovation Hub to combine gamification and loyalty for air travelers.

The app is currently available for consumers traveling on any of the Lufthansa Group airlines.

Travelers scan their boarding pass to receive digital trading cards. Once they complete a “collection” of cards, they can receive a reward, such as award miles or free Wi-Fi or lounge access. Collections can be completed with as little as one trip, to reward consumers that travel infrequently, while larger collections provide rewards of greater value.

Lufthansa Innovation Hub venture development manager Joao Fernandes presented the company during the Launch competition at Phocuswright Europe 2023.

Fernandes explained that, because the cards are stored on a blockchain, users have the option to connect them to a crypto wallet and to mint the cards as NFTs, but they can also simply collect and trade the cards in the app.

“Our hope, and that’s what we want to prove with this venture, is that travelers will travel more with certain airlines because they want certain trip cards,” he said.

“It’s not a substitute for the current airline loyalty programs, it’s more like a complement - a gamified approach. And we hope it can bring good results.”

Watch Fernandes' Center Stage presentation below.

And here is Fernandes' follow-up interview in the PhocusWire studio.