Smart Strategy or Risky Move?

The Gist

• Premium CX as a value proposition. Consumers increasingly associate higher cost with better service, but will they pay a separate fee for CX?
• Budget airlines and financial tech lead experimentation. Some sectors are already testing pay-for-perks experiences, from boarding privileges to priority support.
• AI shifts human support into a luxury tier. As AI handles more service tasks, live human interaction may become a paid upgrade.

What Drives Consumers to Pay for Better CX?

Research has constantly found consumers will pay more for good customer experience. In fact, a recent report found 43% of consumers would pay more for greater convenience, and 42% would pay more for a friendly, welcoming experience.

As a result, great CX can be and is being used as a differentiator to set brands apart from their competitors.

However, while CX costs are currently built into an organization’s overall price for its goods and services, could we now be entering an era where a direct charge could be levied for premium CX and if so, would that premium experience sink or swim?

Creating Premium Brands Delivering Premium Service

Examples of Premium CX in Hospitality

Across many sectors, the price a customer pays directly impacts the level of service and experience they can expect. Customers arriving at a budget chain motel wouldn’t expect a door person or porter to greet them the way they do at a high-end hotels. Brands such as Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton can go above and beyond to fulfill guests’ needs. Other brands such as DoubleTree by Hilton differentiate themselves by welcoming guests with a signature warm cookie on arrival.

In all of these examples, the price premium is commensurate with the level of service received. The cost to deliver better experiences is built into the overall fee a customer pays, and such an approach is unlikely to change within that sector, but what about making better experiences a chargeable, optional item more generally?

Related Article: Top Customer Experience Trends You Should Watch in 2025

The Rise of ‘No Frills’ Experiences

When Stripped-Down Experiences Succeed

In the aviation industry the number of low-cost airlines has surged in recent years with providers stripping back virtually all expected “perks.”

Budget airline passengers now pay a very low initial ticket fee, but have the option to add on extras such as priority boarding, hand and hold luggage, in-flight food and assigned seating, amongst other benefits.

The United Airlines CEO was recently critical of this approach, stating that travelers likely wouldn’t continue to fly with budget airlines as the model was designed to “screw the customer.”

Despite the criticism, the success of low-cost carriers is notable, with Ryanair becoming Europe’s largest carrier by passenger numbers and Southwest Airlines remaining one of America’s largest and most consistently profitable domestic airlines.

Premium CX for the budget airline sector isn’t currently an add-on that is available, though notably it is an integral part of the package with the higher tiers of traditional airlines’ frequent flyer programs, but it isn’t out of the question.

Priority CX, at a Cost

Turning Human Support Into a Paid Upgrade

We are starting to see providers emerge that do indeed package up priority CX as a perk, most notably in the financial sector. App-based banks with no physical branches have changed the way millions of people engage with financial services. Their new, technology-focused, approach to banking has allowed providers to rip up the rule book and take an approach that was previously not available, including a higher level of CX for paying customers.

Revolut is one such “neobank” that has improved CX for customers with upgraded plans via its “priority support” function, with four paid tiers above the standard free account for priority in-app chat support, and only the highest tier of membership, Ultra, eligible for direct phone support, with the exception of any user trying to recover their locked-out account.

The inclusion of human support within the highest tier demonstrates how human agents are being positioned as the gold standard: further proof that humans see interacting with other humans as a preferable experience in certain circumstances, especially in sectors such as finance that often throw up sensitive and complex issues.

Increase in AI Elevates the Human Touch

AI Raises the Stakes for Human Interaction

As AI continues to mature, its ability to take on more complex tasks will increase. For example, AI-driven chatbots will be able to support customers more effectively and resolve a number of issues that previous chatbots couldn’t, meaning customers can easily self-serve for a growing number of issues around the clock.

The introduction of Agentic AI will mean customers get an even better experience when dealing with a chatbot, as the AI agent will not only reply to questions but can also complete multiple tasks in order to resolve a query. Additionally, AI agents will be able to behave proactively and semi-autonomously, with the potential to contact customers about an issue and suggest paths to resolution, before the customer reaches out, creating a highly efficient process.

As customers increasingly use AI-driven self-service channels, there will be less need to speak with a human agent, whether that is through a chat or voice channel. As a result, CX provided by a human agent could become seen as a luxury, rather than the standard.

Human support could be included as a perk for certain customers in the future, as currently seen with Revolut, or even customers could find themselves opting in to a one-off fee to speak with a human agent about a certain topic, similarly to how customers pay a fee to reserve a desired seat on a plane. Time will tell if customers would embrace a fee-based approach or if, like the budget airline model, brands would become synonymous with trying to charge customers for what used to be available at no additional cost.

Will Customers Embrace Paid Human CX?

Organizations will have to tread carefully if they adopt an approach that places a price on speaking with a human agent. Customers are most reassured when speaking with a person, especially in industries where it is typical for enquires to be urgent, complex or emotive. Finding the best way to support all customers and agents is crucial to success, and AI will play an increasingly key role for both.