Functional vs relational benefits: what matters most in affinity marketing?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to classify and compare the importance of the benefits consumers derive from affinity credit card programmes. Design/methodology/approach – A random sample of affinity credit card holders of a major Greek athletic club (AC) was surveyed and a multi-group structural equation model was run to assess the hypothesised relationships among the study constructs. Findings – Overall, the relational benefits of affinity credit cards outperform the functional ones. However, this finding depends on the number of additional credit cards held by affinity credit card holders. Originality/value – The study is the first one to test formally the viability of a core services marketing theory (relational benefits) within the affinity marketing field as a means of explaining consumer behaviour within such a context.