Rules and voting

Loyalty awards rules: entries, voting and winners

Loyalty awards rules for entering, voting and winning in the Online Loyalty Awards. By entering or voting, you agree to these rules.

How it works, step by step

Nominate. Nominations for the 2027 awards open on 17 October 2026 and close at the end of 1 January 2027. Nominating is free and takes about ten minutes. You confirm your nomination by clicking a link we email you.
Approval. We check every nomination. Once it’s approved, it becomes a nominee with its own voting page and badge, and votes for it count straight away. The earlier you nominate, the longer you have to collect votes.
Voting. Anyone can vote, once per email address in each category. Every vote is confirmed by email before it counts. Voting runs until the end of 29 January 2027.
The shortlist, 25 January 2027. The top 5 in each category on votes make the 2027 shortlist, and every nominee is emailed to say whether they’re on it. Voting carries on for every entry, and any entry whose votes climb into its category’s top 5 before voting closes joins the shortlist. Nobody is taken off it.
Voting closes. At the end of 29 January 2027, the votes are counted.
Winners, 15 February 2027. The People’s Choice in each category goes to the entry with the most confirmed votes. Our editors also choose one Editor’s Pick per category. Shortlisted entries become Finalists. Winners are published on the Winners page, and nominee badges update themselves.

Ties. If two entries have the same number of votes, for a shortlist place or for the People’s Choice, the one that received its first vote earlier goes ahead.

Who can enter

Any loyalty programme, loyalty platform, agency or brand partnership, from anywhere in the world. Entering is free. You must run the programme, or have permission to enter it on behalf of the organisation that does.

Organisations connected with the people who run the awards may enter, but cannot receive an Editor’s Pick.

Entries

Up to three entries per organisation, each in a different category, one form per entry.
Each entry is checked before it goes live. We may decline entries that are incomplete, misleading, offensive or not about loyalty, and we may trim text for length.
The information and logo you send must be accurate and yours to share. You allow us to show them on this site and in awards announcements.

Voting

Anyone can vote. Each email address can vote once in each category, per awards year.
A vote only counts once you click the link in the confirmation email.
Voting for each entry opens as soon as it’s approved and runs until voting closes, so the earlier a programme is nominated, the longer it has to collect votes.
On the shortlist date, the entries with the most votes in each category make the shortlist. Every entry can still be voted for after that, and any entry that climbs into its category’s top places before voting closes joins the shortlist. Votes are never reset.
Vote counts stay hidden while voting is open and are published with the results.

Winners

People’s Choice: the entry with the most confirmed votes in each category when voting closes.
Ties: if two entries have the same number of votes, for a shortlist place or for the People’s Choice, the one that received its first vote earlier goes ahead.
Editor’s Pick: one entry per category, chosen by our editors from all entries, based on what the entry shows about the programme.
Shortlisted entries become Finalists. Results are announced on this site. Winners may describe themselves as winners of the Online Loyalty Awards for that year.

Fair play

You’re welcome to ask your members, customers and followers to vote for you, including with your nominee badge, which is optional.
You must not pay for votes, reward people for voting, or use automated, bulk or throwaway email addresses.
We may remove votes, or disqualify entries, that break these rules. Our decision is final.

Changes and questions

We may update these rules between awards years; the version on this page applies. Questions? Contact us.