'Just like back home': LG Uplus tests carrier discount perks at Japanese convenience stores

"It's no different from getting a discount at a convenience store back in Korea."

At a convenience store in central Tokyo on Friday, a shopper placed items on the counter and reached for a phone instead of a wallet. After showing a barcode on the screen to the cashier, roughly 5,000 won was instantly deducted from a 7,000-won purchase — leaving an actual payment of about 2,000 won.

The process was straightforward. There was no need to search for a separate Japanese discount service or sign up for a local app — just show the barcode. The experience mirrored the carrier membership discounts Korean customers are already used to at home, now applied at a Japanese convenience store.

The coupon used that day at one of Japan's most popular tourist destinations was part of a pilot program LG Uplus ran ahead of the official launch of its global membership service. The program lets Korean tourists apply membership perks — including discounts — at general merchandise stores, shopping malls and even on taxi rides.

Until now, a carrier's role in overseas travel has been limited to one thing: roaming, which keeps calls and data connected abroad. LG Uplus is now aiming beyond that, targeting a suite of integrated travel benefits designed to improve the overall travel experience.

LG Uplus announced Sunday that it has completed its membership in the global carrier alliance Wonderjoy Travel Alliance and concluded a pilot of its global membership service that ran in Japan from June through late August. During the pilot, the company offered various perks to customers enrolled in its roaming pass who applied to participate.

The alliance LG Uplus has joined is a global carrier cooperative in which carriers from nine countries share their membership perks through a common platform called Wonderjoy. The arrangement allows subscribers to access membership benefits offered by carriers in other countries without any special conditions. Only one carrier per country may join.

On Friday in Tokyo, it was possible to try the global membership service during its first pilot run. The most popular benefit during the pilot was a discount coupon for Lawson, one of Japan's leading convenience store chains. The 500-yen (about 4,300 won) coupon could be used on-site with no additional spending requirements or other restrictions.

The process was simple: after signing up for roaming, customers received a barcode by text message and presented it at the register. Another benefit that drew strong interest was a discount coupon for Don Quijote, the general merchandise chain that has become a must-visit stop for Korean tourists in Japan.

According to LG Uplus, more than 10,000 coupons were downloaded over the three-month pilot period. Nine out of 10 customers who downloaded a coupon actually used the Don Quijote or Lawson discount.

A select group of customers also received a Go taxi discount, a Mount Fuji one-day tour benefit and a discount coupon for NEWoMan, a shopping mall. Once the full service launches, customers will be able to access a wide range of partner benefits — covering shopping, tourism and transportation — offered by local carriers at major overseas destinations.

The program extends beyond Japan. In addition to Japan's KDDI, carriers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia are participating — eight overseas carriers in total. LG Uplus estimates that about 60 percent of its outbound customers travel to these countries.

A key feature of the service is that any LG Uplus customer can access the benefits — no roaming plan required. Im Hye-kyung, head of rate products at LG Uplus, said the full service will let customers instantly access local perks simply by selecting their destination country in the carrier's existing app, with no complicated steps involved. "This is not just a roaming add-on — it's a global membership for all customers," she said.

Underpinning the partnership is a shared belief among the carriers that telecoms must create lifestyle value beyond connectivity.

Mayuka Mizutani, senior general manager at alliance partner KDDI of Japan, said the platform was built on the idea of delivering special added value across customers' travel and daily lives, not just data connections. "LG Uplus has long been a close partner and shares the same vision, so we were very glad to welcome them into the alliance," she said.

The carriers' push beyond roaming is driven by a shifting market landscape brought on by the rise of eSIM. According to Consumer Insight, a mobile industry research firm, the share of overseas travelers using a local eSIM in the first half of 2026 reached 36 percent — surpassing the carrier roaming rate of 34 percent for the first time in history. More outbound travelers no longer automatically translate into higher roaming revenue for carriers.

An LG Uplus official said the era of competing on network quality and price alone is over. "Securing customer touchpoints from the travel-planning stage through the stay itself, and delivering a differentiated experience, is now the core competitive advantage," the official said.

For LG Uplus, the benefit-sharing arrangement also creates business synergy — maximizing customer perks while keeping marketing costs in check. The company described the structure as one of mutual benefit exchange rather than a top-down contract, likening it to airline alliances such as SkyTeam or Star Alliance. "That structure lets us offer strong benefits to customers while managing costs efficiently," an LG Uplus official said.

The carriers also hope the alliance will generate a lock-in effect, keeping customers within their own ecosystems as simple price competition intensifies amid the spread of eSIM. Another key goal is to continuously expose the large base of overseas subscribers visiting Korea to domestic brands — including K-beauty and K-fashion — through carrier apps, creating a virtuous cycle of co-growth with partner companies.

Alliance partner KDDI also expressed strong interest in K-content benefits. Mizutani said Japanese tourists visiting Korea tend to be especially interested in food culture and cosmetics. "We hope to see a diverse range of perks tailored to the needs of Japanese customers," she said.

Meanwhile, LG Uplus plans to incorporate usage data and customer feedback gathered during the pilot to refine the service before its official launch later this year.

Im said joining the Travel Alliance has laid the groundwork for customers to more conveniently access the wide range of benefits offered by local carriers abroad. "We will continue expanding our global partnerships to strengthen the overseas experience for our customers and deliver differentiated travel benefits," she said.