More than two decades after suspending its popular stamp card loyalty program, Subway announced Dec. 1 plans to revive and revamp the Sub Club, a once game-changing customer rewards initiative.
The relaunch not only represents an effort to capture consumer favorability through a nostalgic campaign from the global sandwich leader, but also highlights broader shifts in the customer loyalty landscape.
Subway initially rolled out the Sub Club in the 1980s, issuing what would now be considered old-fashioned loyalty cards to guests and offering a stamp for each 6-inch sandwich purchase, according to 2005 reporting from Chief Marketer. Once customers filled the card with eight stamps, the next sandwich came free.
Although popular, company leadership opted to discontinue the Sub Club in the fall of 2005 to stop a stream of fraud associated with the program and modernize the brand’s loyalty offerings, according to the Chief Marketer article published shortly after Subway announced plans to phase out the program.
Reportedly, franchisees told company officials that customers were trying to redeem counterfeit stamps and Sub Club cards for free sandwiches, with significant amounts of fake stamps being sold through online auction sites. A new program with electronic cards replaced the outdated stamp-based loyalty effort.
Even beyond the fraud concern, a 2006 Harvard Business Review article criticized the original Sub Club for giving away products unnecessarily. After all, if customers liked Subway enough to fill their cards with stamps, the free sandwich effectively offered a quantity discount to habitual buyers.
Since the Sub Club came to a halt 20 years ago, the sandwich giant promoted several loyalty programs in its place, such as digital point-based systems like MyWay Rewards and MVP Rewards.
With Subway officially bringing back the Sub Club this month, the brand is continuing down the path of digital loyalty programs rather than reverting to the physical card-and-stamp system that proved problematic during the initiative’s original run.
The new-and-improved Sub Club, according to a Dec. 1 release from Subway, capitalizes on the brand’s dormant but previously successful loyalty effort by the same name, but the updated version is more rewarding than ever.
Now, guests receive a free footlong sandwich following the purchase of three footlongs or six 6-inch subs, or any qualifying combination of those items. Catering orders and third-party deliveries are not eligible, and points earned through transactions can also be converted into Subway Cash for savings on orders.
Subway MVP rewards members automatically enrolled in the Sub Club Dec. 1; others can join in on the benefits by downloading the Subway App or visiting the brand’s website. To entice prospective enrollees, members who redeem their first free footlong by Dec. 10 and visit SubClubBreadwinner.com have the chance to win one of four prizes — either $10,000 or the same 6-foot, 600-pound Subway baking oven visible at each of its locations across the country.
“Subway’s original Sub Club card set thestandard for restaurant loyalty programs, and we’re committed to ensuring our current program continues to deliver meaningful rewards and experiences for our guests,” Dave Skena, Subway’s North America chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Our top priority as we rebuilt Sub Club was to reduce the number of visits needed to earn something of real value. With that focus, we’re introducing our richest loyalty program ever.”
Research shows tech’s role in loyalty programs
Industry research indicates that a focus on value and commitment to loyalty programs is an effective method to steer consumers toward one restaurant over another, according to 2024 data from Medallia, a California-based customer and employee experience management company.
Andrew Custage, head of research insights at Medallia
Medallia’s 2024 value perceptions report ranked loyalty programs seventh among 17 attributes driving consumer restaurant selection, with 18 percent of customers saying the loyalty program was a factor in their most recent restaurant transaction. Similarly, Medallia’s 2024 brand loyalty report found 78 percent of retail consumers felt loyalty program generally affected their brand choices.
While most loyalty programs may not undergo the same level of technological renovations as the Sub Club has seen with its recent relaunch, industry research shows that adapting to technological advancements is a key trend in customer rewards initiatives.
According to 2024 Medallia data on shifting dynamics of customer loyalty, 54 percent of organizations with revenue growth rates above 10 percent in the previous year already used AI to drive their loyalty programs.
“Fast-growing organizations are often ones who embrace innovation more generally, or in many cases are in an earlier stage of their lifecycle,” said Andrew Custage, head of research insights at Medallia. “If the latter, they are more likely to have been built around a digital-centric customer experience, compared to more mature, legacy organizations. Both of these are big influencers on the appetite and ability to experiment with AI to drive customer loyalty.”
Custage said research indicates that many organizations misunderstand how loyal their customers truly are. One of the culprits for those misconceptions, he explained, is that many organizations rely on a limited set of insight sources and metrics, like feedback surveys and internal transaction data. That is an area where loyalty programs can help operators better understand their patrons.
“Brands that are better able to assess and act on the loyalty of their customers are the ones that are also using data from customer service interactions, digital channel visits, social media and third-party review monitoring, and more,” Custage said. “Loyalty programs are often a good enabler, but not the only enabler, to recognize and monitor the behaviors and sentiments of individual consumers in order to improve the experience.”
By reviving the Sub Club with digital guard rails and richer perks, Subway is not just tapping into nostalgia; it is capitalizing on the trends of convenience, value and personalization that help shape customer loyalty.
