The Mileage Company, the brainchild of Airmiles' managing director Andrew Swaffield, will also manage the current AirMiles scheme and BA's own frequent-flier programme, BA Miles.
Swaffield says he has been inundated with marketers wanting to talk to AirMiles about loyalty programmes, albeit without securing a first client for the new company. He adds that the company sees a number of potential clients among airline brands and global retailers.
‘Over the last 21 years we have built up a lot of expertise, and there is definitely demand out there. Particularly since the economy has deteriorated, loyalty schemes have a wider role to play,' says Swaffield.
The recession has certainly brought reward programmes to the attention of retail and travel brands. For example, hotel chain Hyatt recently announced the expansion of its Golden Ticket programme.
Hyatt's global head of marketing and brand strategy, John Wallis, goes as far as to claim that only hotel brands with attractive loyalty programmes will weather the current economic storm.
Matthew Heath, strategy director at LIDA, which works on Boots' Advantage scheme, says that while Airmiles is well-placed to take advantage of the trend, brands must ensure there is real benefit for the consumer.
‘In the past it was easy to distinguish different schemes,' says Heath. ‘Now, with many aggregated schemes, it is becoming harder to carve a niche in the market. All brands need to be really careful that rewards just that and not just a substitute for loyalty or pretence for a real relationship.
What remains questionable whether Airmiles, despite its 20 years of experience in loyalty programme, is the right company for brands to turn to.
Since its launch in the 1980s, many consumers have complained that Airmiles is overly complicated, and restrictive of when points could be redeemed. It also suffered from the launch of rival programme Nectar in 2002.
The company has ratcheted up its marketing budget in recent months, rolling out its first TV ads for four years last December. And managing director Swaffield is adamant Airmiles is sufficiently modernised.
‘We have shown enough that we are relevant in today's market, especially in a time when established loyalty programmes are hard to set up,' he says.
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