No.

The CCPA prohibits a business from charging different “prices or rates” or offering “discounts, or other benefits” based upon whether a consumer “exercised any of the consumer’s rights” under the Act.¹  The Act does not confer a right to join (or not join) a loyalty program.  As a result, the CCPA does not, on its face, prohibit a loyalty program from charging different prices or offering discounts to loyal consumers.

Some retailers have expressed concern that the CCPA may indirectly prohibit a business from charging different prices through a loyalty program because members of a loyalty program may exercise their right to request the deletion of their information.  The specific concern is that if a loyalty program honored a deletion request it would be forced to stop providing a benefit and thus could be accused of price discrimination.  Such concern is unfounded in the context of most loyalty programs.  Specifically, most loyalty programs are not required to honor most deletion requests.  If a loyalty program chooses to honor a deletion request, there are several steps that can be taken to ensure that a consumer is not disadvantaged because of that election.

For more information and resources about the CCPA visit http://www.CCPA-info.com. 

This article is part of a multi-part series published by BCLP to help companies understand and implement the General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and other privacy statutes.  You can find more information on the CCPA in BCLP’s California Consumer Privacy Act Practical Guide, and more information about the GDPR in the American Bar Association’s The EU GDPR: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions.

1. CCPA, Section 1798.125(a)(1).

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