The Best Airline and Hotel Loyalty Programs Are…..

I’ve been helping organize the Freddie Awards for the last few years which means I’ve gotten an up close view to the best in airline and hotel loyalty programs as they’re announced every year.  The Freddie Awards recognize the best airline and hotel loyalty programs, but their different than other awards.  These awards are determined by frequent travelers. Each of us gets one vote so it really is up to the programs to show their best so enough members vote for them.

I’ve got all the winners listed at the bottom but there are a couple of highlight items.  These are things that are most interesting to me, so might not be super intriguing to everyone:

• American Airlines AAdvantage won less Freddie Awards this year versus the year before.  But, they won the two important ones, Best Elite Program and Program of the Year.  It’s not that Best Promotion isn’t a “good win”, but Program of the Year is the one I would value most highly.  After that, I would value Best Elite Program since that indicates your best members are enjoying the service they’re receiving.
• Hyatt Gold Passport won 3 awards this year.  They won Best Elite Program and Program of the Year in the Middle East & Asia/Oceania region.  I think that speaks a lot to the growth Hyatt has seen overseas.  They’re a smaller program than Marriott, IHG or Hilton, but more and more of that disparity is in the US as they continue to expand overseas.  They serve their members well (Park Hyatt Tokyo was one of the best stays I’ve ever had) and these awards show that.
• IHG won Best Promotion for their “Big Win” promotion in both Europe/Africa region and the Middle East & Asia/Oceania region.  While I didn’t participate, I thought the promotion was very imaginative.  The results show me one of two things.  Either the folks in the regions they won really like “gamification” or folks in the US are WAY too brainwashed by Marriott Rewards.
• Suzanne Rubin took a moment on stage when they won Program of the Year.  I can’t say I remember the exact words, but her point was to semi-publicly establish that she knew they had to try harder and get better at listening to their members.  It’s certainly the first time I can recall that sort of speech at a Freddie Awards.  I like hearing Suzanne continue to say things like this.  I took some flack when I posted a few days ago that I still trusted her, but I’m still okay with my position and I’m glad Suzanne got up and said what she did.

It was a pretty awesome venue, sitting underneath an SR-71 Blackbird at the Museum of Flight while the awards were being announced.

It was a great night in a great venue.  The full winners are:

Americas: