Banks and loyalty teams no longer evaluate tours and activities APIs just to “add activities.” The real goal is usually broader: increase engagement, deepen retention, and keep the customer in your own app or rewards journey.
That’s why this category can seem confusing. Some providers are B2B or B2B2C infrastructure platforms. Others are consumer marketplaces that provide partner APIs. And some offer hybrid models with APIs, widgets, portals or white label tiers. For banks and loyalty programs, choosing the right type of provider is usually more important than choosing the largest catalog. In this category, operational suitability is typically more important than overall inventory size.
Which banks and loyalty programs should you pay attention to first?
For this type of buyer, the first questions are usually more operational than cosmetic. Who is the registered dealer? Can members collect or redeem points within the experience flow? Who handles customer service, cancellations and disputes?
Do you need a full API or would you go live faster with a widget or white label path?
For example, Travel Curious specifically highlights loyalty program integration, points redemption, merchant services, dispute resolution and fraud control, while Viator draws a clear line between affiliate and merchant models.
Provider Types: Affiliate vs. Booking vs. Distributor
Affiliate is the easiest model. Startup is typically quicker, but you have less control over checkout and redemption design. For example, Viator’s affiliate API is purely content-oriented, directing traffic to Viator for the transaction and maintaining Viator as the merchant of record and customer service owner.
Booking or merchant models are stronger if you want a native experience in your own loyalty or banking environment. For example, Viator’s Merchant API stores the transaction on the partner’s website, with the partner controlling the customer journey. While Bridgify focuses on embedded partner-owned experiences via APIs and white label adoption paths for banks, loyalty programs and digital platforms.
Dealer models lie somewhere in between. They typically provide inventory, pricing, and booking tools through an affiliate program, but access is often blocked. For example, Tiqets describes its channel partner API as suitable for channel partners, including OTAs and corporate benefits or gifting platforms, while GetYourGuide requires a partner account to access its marketplace API.
Integration checklist for banks and loyalty teams
Before entering into a partnership, ask yourself the following questions:
- Can users earn or redeem points, cashback, or other incentives within the flow?
- Who is a registered dealer?
- Who handles refunds, disputes and post-booking support?
- Is the launch path API only available or are there widget/portal/white label options available?
- Are prices, availability and vouchers managed in real time?
- Does the product support multiple currencies and localizations?
- Is access immediate, qualification-based or performance-based?
- Is the offering broad enough for your use case or primarily for selling attraction tickets?
Quick comparison of platforms to consider
| platform | Best for | Provider type | Integration model | Why shortlist it? | Important NOTE |
| Bridge | Banks, credit cards, digital wallets, fintechs and loyalty ecosystems | B2B2C experiences infrastructure | API + white label + AI-driven recommendation layer | Built on embedded experiences, with access to more than a million experiences and onboarding paths for loyalty, financial, and other corporate partners. | Best if you want infrastructure and merchandising depth, not just a light affiliate feed |
| Travel Curious Access / Amplify | Curated or premium loyalty programs and branded experiential commerce | B2B experience commerce platform | API + Portal + Widget + White Label Layers | Over 70,000 products, strength in private tours, loyalty integration and dealer services | More curated exposure than mass market marketplaces |
| Viator Partner API | Loyalty shops with the choice between affiliate and retailer | Marketplace Affiliate Program | Affiliate API or Merchant API | Clear separation between redirect-driven affiliate and on-site transactional merchant models, citing loyalty and redemption as a use case | The dealer mode means more operational responsibility and access is qualification-controlled |
| Tiqets Distributor API | Attraction-oriented reward catalogs and company benefits/gifts | API distributor | Content + availability/prices + booking | Ideal for attractions, museums and ticket inventory | Booking access is reviewed based on performance, so it is not always a complete booking configuration from day one |
| GetYourGuide API | Brands that want market access via a partner API | Marketplace Partner API | Partner API | Direct access to the GetYourGuide marketplace | Partner account required and positioning is less explicitly focused on loyalty |
1) Bridgify: Best for embedded loyalty and banking experiences
Bridge
is one of the clearest B2B2C infrastructure providers in this shortlist. It is positioned as an embedded experiences infrastructure platform, providing partners access to more than a million experiences through flexible adoption models, including API, white label, and an AI agent layer.
This is important because banks generally don’t need “just another marketplace feed.” They need a way to launch embedded experiences via API or white label, create incentives like cashback, gift cards or points redemption, and avoid having to manage multiple suppliers themselves.
2) Travel Curious Access/Amplify: Best for curated and points-based programs
Curious about traveling
is one of the more relevant non-OTA options for this audience as its stack fits well with brand experience commerce. Travel Curious Access offers over 70,000 products, instant availability, API/portal/widget launch options, and multi-currency support, while its widget model lists Travel Curious as a merchant of record.
Amplify goes one step further for loyalty-style use cases. According to Travel Curious, rewards or loyalty programs can be integrated into the experience flow to allow customers to earn and redeem points. Additionally, merchant services, dispute resolution, fraud control, and white label activation are highlighted.
The downside is that Travel Curious looks more curated than mass-market. This can be a strength for premium programs and private tour use cases, but it is different than a purely volume-driven marketplace feed.
3) Viator Partner API: Best for teams deciding between affiliate and merchant
Viator
is still one of the clearest examples of why provider type matters. The API Solutions page specifically states that the company supports airlines, OTAs, e-commerce companies, and loyalty brands, and then breaks down the offering into Affiliate API and Merchant API. The affiliate version is content-only and directs traffic to Viator, while the merchant version keeps the transaction on the partner’s website and lets the partner handle their own customer support and price control.
Viator is therefore useful for loyalty programs because it is easy to choose. If you want a lower buoyancy start, affiliate deployment is easier. If you want tighter brand control and a more native redemption flow, merchant is the better route. The main disadvantage is that the two models have very different operational responsibilities.
4) Tiqets Distributor API: Best for attractive rewards and benefits
Tiqets is strongest when the catalog is focused on museums, attractions, and other ticketed experiences. Its API program describes a direct connection to its catalog, structured content, real-time pricing and availability, booking and cancellation support, and dedicated technical and commercial support.
Their Distributor API is aimed at distribution partners, including OTAs, corporate benefits and gifting platforms, electronic distribution systems, and destination management companies.
There is one access nuance worth noting. According to Tiqets, new affiliates typically start with access to the affiliate portal, content and availability APIs, and eligibility for the booking API is verified based on performance. So Tiqets can be a strong specialist, but it is not always a fully open booking API from day one.
5) GetYourGuide API: Best for marketplace access
GetYourGuide remains relevant because its API gives partners access to the GetYourGuide marketplace for tours and activities. The API page also notes that partners must contact GetYourGuide directly to create an account and gain access.
For banks and loyalty programs, the appeal lies in the recognizable marketplace inventory via a partner API. The caveat is that, based on the current partner site, GetYourGuide is less explicitly focused on loyalty mechanisms than providers like Bridgify, Travel Curious, or Viator’s loyalty-speak partner materials.
Which platform type suits which program?
If you need embedded earn-and-burn experiences (a system where users can both earn and redeem points on the same platform) in a banking, card, wallet or loyalty app, Bridgify and Travel Curious are the most obvious B2B/B2B2C solutions. Both are about partner-operated travel, and Travel Curious explicitly offers loyalty program integration and points redemption.
If you want the clearest choice between an easier affiliate launch and a deeper merchant setup, Viator offers the most obvious solution. If your rewards mix consists mainly of attractions and museums, Tiqets is the sharper specialist. If your team wants access to a large consumer marketplace primarily through a partner API, GetYourGuide is among your choices.
Last recording
The best tours and activities API for a bank or loyalty program is usually not the one with the most well-known consumer brand. It is the one whose provider type fits your operating model. For embedded, partner-owned experiential commerce, Bridgify and Travel Curious stand out as the most B2B-focused providers on this list. Viator is the clearest comparison if you want to choose between an affiliate and a merchant. Tiqets is particularly suitable for use cases with attractive benefits or gifts. GetYourGuide remains relevant when market access is the main goal.
