Email is the workhorse of rewards marketing.
It’s cheap, it’s measurable. It’s a channel where you know exactly who you’re reaching. So why does it feel like nobody’s reading the rewards emails you send?
There could be a number of reasons, but there are a few likely culprits.
Below, we’ll share what they are, and how you can overcome them to drive more opens, more clicks, and more redemptions.
Fix Your Subject Line
Your subject line has one job: answer “What’s in it for me?” in 50 characters or less.
Most rewards emails lead with the program name, the company name, or other vague subject lines that cardholders immediately tune out, like:
- “Monthly rewards update”
- “Great savings inside”
- “Exciting news from [insert company name]”
These don’t tell the reader anything, really, and often end up unread in the trash. When writing subject lines focus on:
- Plugging a recognizable brand name (gets people’s attention)
- Sharing a specific cash back amount (gives them a sense of what’s inside)
For example:
- “10% back at Walmart this week 👀”
- “Your latest cash back offers: DoorDash, Shell & more”
- “Earn $5 back on your next Target run”
Once you’ve got the two-part framework on lock, try adding:
- Emojis (but not too many). Ones like 👀, 💰, 🛒 can lift open rates, but test before going too wild with these. Otherwise, your email looks like spam.
- Urgency with expiration dates. A concrete date, like “Ends Sunday,” drives people to act before it’s too late. “Limited time” doesn’t tell them how much time they have left, so they don’t feel it’s that pressing.
- Some curiosity. Don’t answer every open question. An “and more” at the end is a good way to get people to wonder about what else you might be offering (if you have the character space).
Lead With the Brand
Assuming you have great brands in your rewards network, let them do some of the heavy lifting.
A Logitech, Lids, or TurboTax logo tells cardholders, in a split second, that an offer is worth their time. Unfortunately, your own logo doesn’t do that, no matter how much you’ve invested in brand. It’s just not the same.
So put the partner brand front and center: in the subject line, in the preview text, in the hero image. Cardholders should be able to tell what's in the email before they read a single word of body copy.
Majority experimented with single offer emails during tax season, partnering with TurboTax to offer $5 cash back when cardholders filed their federal or state taxes:
This one email hit a 96.1% delivery rate and 27.7% open rate — with only a 0.07% bounce rate, showing just how impactful a targeted email can be.
Only Use One Compelling CTA
Every extra click between email and redemption is a chance to lose someone.
If you’re featuring an offer for Duluth Trading Company, that CTA should drop cardholders straight to said offer in the app. If you’re just nudging them to explore all offers, take them to the offer discovery part of your app.
4 Email Formats to Experiment With
The three best practices above apply to every email you send. But the format of the email itself matters, too, and different formats work for different goals. Here are four to start building today:
1. A Monthly Offer Roundup
Consider this your bread and butter: an email that could catch folks who missed your social campaigns, totally forgot you have a rewards program, or saw your push notification but didn't tap.
One Kard partner told us monthly roundups consistently drive the biggest spikes in redemption and impressions of any rewards email they send.
Here’s a quick template:
→ Lead with your two strongest offers (highest cash back % or biggest brands)
→ Display their logos and expiration dates prominently, visually
→ CTA to “see all offers,” which links to your rewards page
And an example:
2. A Seasonal Spotlight
When you've got a heavy-hitter brand or a seasonal moment, give it the spotlight. Send an email about one cash back offer.
Tying an offer to a seasonal moment (1) shows cardholders why you’re promoting it now, and (2) makes it extremely relevant to what’s going on in their lives.
Example: a “back-to-school” offer
One partner marketed 5% cash back on laptops and other tech from Dell, landing in cardholders’ inboxes right as parents and students were shopping for the new school year.
3. A Category Highlight
Pick one category and feature every offer you have in it. These work because they map directly to cardholder behavior. People don’t think "I want to redeem rewards." They think "I need gas."
High-frequency categories (gas, dining, grocery) tend to drive immediate redemptions, whereas lower-frequency ones (travel, electronics) drive clicks to your full offer page — which is still a win. You never know what other offers might pique their interest.
Want to know where most Millennials and Gen Z are splurging? Download our 2026 Modern Consumer Journey report.
4. An Add-on to an Existing Newsletter
If you already send a regular cardholder newsletter, carve out a rewards section. Two or three current offers, logos, expiration dates.
It might feel repetitive. That's the point. Repetition is how you stay top of wallet.
What to Measure (and What to Do About It)
Sending rewards emails without tracking how they perform is how you end up six months in with an underperforming program. A few simple KPIs can get and keep you on track.
Here’s what to monitor and how to course correct:
The most common pattern we see is high open rate, low CTR.
That means your subject line is probably doing its job but the offers you’ve chosen aren’t quite landing with your audience. Try swapping them out and testing how that changes the CTR.
And again, make sure you’ve only got one compelling CTA (A/B testing can help a lot here).
Build Emails Around the Cardholder
You may not be a star copywriter, and you don’t have to be. All you have to do is put yourself in your cardholders’ shoes.
What do they really want to know? What you’re giving them, how valuable it is, and how to get it. Deliver that information consistently, and your card engagement will climb.
Distribution partners like BM Technologies, Vervent, Grit, and Narmi are already using Kard to power their rewards programs.
Want to see what our network can do for you? Book a demo to see it in action.
