And the world's top frequent-flier awards for 2016 go to ...
The loyalty programs for Southwest Airlines and hotel chain Marriott took home the coveted "Program of the Year” titles for the “Americas" region in the 2016 Freddie Awards, which were revealed Thursday evening at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Among the overall results – which include regional award winners from all parts of the world – Air France/KLM's Flying Blue program and Le Club AccorHotels each claimed five different Freddie awards. That tied them for the most Freddies for any single program in 2016. IHG’s IHG Rewards Club captured the next-highest total with four Freddies, though none of those came in the Americas region. Southwest’s victory came at the expense of American Airlines, which came into the 2016 Freddies riding a four-year winning streak for the Program of the Year in the Americas. There was no such shakeup in the hotels category, where Marriott took home Americas title for the ninth consecutive year. (Scroll down for the full list of award winners.)
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Looking just at the Americas, winners of multiple Freddies were the LifeMiles program of Colombia-based Avianca (3) and Southwest’s Rapid Rewards (2).
In addition to Southwest’s Program of the Year Freddie for the Americas, the carrier also won for the Best Customer Service. Avianca’s three Freddies in the Americas region were for "Best Promotion” and “Best Redemption Ability" as well as for the “210 Award,” a new Freddie category meant to honor an up-and-coming program among smaller operators.
Among hotels in the Americas, Marriott’s Program of the Year award was among three total Freddies. Marriott also won top honors for Best Customer Service and Best Redemption Ability. MGM's M Life Program won two Freddies – Best Promotion and the 210 Award for hotels. MGM's Freddies victories come just a year after the chain won its first-ever Fredddie in 2015 (for Best Customer Service).
LAST YEAR: 2015 Freddies results
The annual "Freddie" awards recognize the world's top airline and hotel loyalty programs. The awards are determined by votes from frequent fliers and hotel patrons, recognizing five "best of" categories for both airlines and hotels in each of three global regions. The Freddies also honor the best loyalty credit cards in each of the regions.
The awards employ a scoring system weighted to balance high-scoring votes against a simple quantity of votes. In doing so, Freddie organizers say the loyalty program of a smaller airline or hotel chain is able to be judged more fairly against bigger programs that can mobilize a large number of voters.
Organizers says they tallied a record 24.8 million pageviews on the Freddie Awards voting page this year during the Feb. 15-March 31 voting period.
The Freddie Awards, first given in 1988, are named for the late Sir Freddie Laker, who achieved knighthood in the United Kingdom for pioneering low-cost air travel across the Atlantic in the 1970s.
Scroll down for a full list of the awards:
AMERICAS
Airlines
Program of the Year: Southwest Airlines – Rapid Rewards
Best Elite Program: American Airlines – AAdvantage
Best Promotion: Avianca – LifeMiles
Best Customer Service: Southwest Airlines – Rapid Rewards
Best Redemption Ability: Avianca – LifeMiles
210 AWARD: Avianca – LifeMiles
Hotels
Program of the Year: Marriott Hotels – Marriott Rewards
Best Elite Program: Hyatt – Gold Passport
Best Promotion: MGM – M life
Best Customer Service: Marriott Hotels – Marriott Rewards
Best Redemption Ability: Marriott Hotels – Marriott Rewards
210 AWARD: MGM – M life
Credit Card
Best Loyalty Credit Card: Starwood – Starwood Preferred Guest from
American Express
EUROPE & AFRICA
Airlines
Program of the Year: Air France/KLM – Flying Blue
Best Elite Program: Lufthansa – Miles & More
Best Promotion: Air France/KLM – Flying Blue
Best Customer Service: Air France/KLM – Flying Blue
Best Redemption Ability: Air France/KLM – Flying Blue
210 AWARD: Norwegian Air – Norwegian Reward
Hotels
Program of the Year: Accor Hotels – Le Club Accorhotels
Best Elite Program: Starwood – Starwood Preferred Guest
Best Promotion: Accor Hotels – Le Club Accorhotels
Best Customer Service: Accor Hotels – Le Club Accorhotels
Best Redemption Ability: IHG – IHG Rewards Club
210 AWARD: IHG – IHG Rewards Club
Credit Card
Best Affinity Credit Card — Flying Blue American Express Card
MIDDLE EAST & OCEANIA
Airlines
Program of the Year: Virgin Australia – Velocity
Best Elite Program: El Al – Matmid Club
Best Promotion: El Al – Matmid Club
Best Customer Service: Virgin Australia – Velocity
Best Redemption Ability: Virgin Australia – Velocity
210 AWARD: Jet Airways – JetPrivilege
Hotel
Program of the Year: Accor Hotels – Le Club Accorhotels
Best Elite Program: Hyatt – Gold Passport
Best Promotion: Accor Hotels – Le Club Accorhotels
Best Customer Service: IHG – IHG Rewards Club
Best Redemption Ability: IHG – IHG Rewards Club
210 AWARD: ITC Hotels – Club ITC
Credit Card
Best Affinity Credit Card — ADIB Etihad Guest VISA Card