And the world's top frequent-flier awards for 2017 go to ...

And the envelope for the top frequent-flier program goes to … Southwest Airlines.

The loyalty programs for Southwest and hotel chain Marriott took the coveted "Program of the Year” titles for the “Americas" region in the 2017 Freddie Awards, which were revealed Thursday evening in Jersey City, N.J.

Both programs are repeat winners. For Marriott, the win was the 10th in a row for its Marriott Rewards loyalty program. The win for Southwest and its Rapid Rewards program was its second in a row.  (Scroll down for the full list of award winners)

Among the overall results, which include regional award winners from all parts of the world, Starwood Hotels’ Starwood Preferred Guest program claimed more individual Freddies than any other program. It took six in total, buoyed by strong results in the Middle East & Asia/Oceania region, where it claimed five Freddies.

Southwest and Marriott each won four individual Freddies.

Looking just at the Americas, winners of multiple Freddies were Southwest’s Rapid Rewards (4), Marriott’s Marriott Rewards (4) and the LifeMiles program of Colombia-based Avianca (2).

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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. And there's a special "210 Award" for programs being recognized programs "trending higher" among travelers.

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. A record 4.2 million frequent travelers voted in the latest Freddie Awards.

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:.

IN PICTURES: 30 (more) cool aviation photos (story continues below)

AMERICAS

Airline 

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 — Southwest Airlines - Rapid Rewards

210 AWARD — Avianca - LifeMiles

Hotel Category

Program of the Year — Marriott Hotels - Marriott Rewards

Best Elite Program — Marriott Hotels - Marriott Rewards

Best Promotion — MGM - M life Rewards

Best Customer Service — Marriott Hotels - Marriott Rewards

Best Redemption Ability — Marriott Hotels - Marriott Rewards

210 AWARD — Accor Hotels – Le Club AccorHotels

Credit Card

Best Loyalty Credit Card — Southwest Airlines - Rapid Rewards from Chase Bank

EUROPE & AFRICA

Airline Category

Program of the Year — Norwegian Air – Norwegian Reward

Best Elite Program — AIR FRANCE/KLM – Flying Blue

Best Promotion — AIR FRANCE/KLM – Flying Blue

Best Customer Service — Aeroflot – Aeroflot Bonus

Best Redemption Ability — Aeroflot – Aeroflot Bonus

210 AWARD — TAP Portugal – Victoria

Hotel Category

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 — Accor Hotels – Le Club AccorHotels

210 AWARD — Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

Credit Card

Best Affinity Credit Card — Bank Norwegian Norwegian Card

MIDDLE EAST & ASIA/OCEANIA

Airline Category

Program of the Year — EL AL – Matmid Club

Best Elite Program — Virgin Australia – Velocity

Best Promotion — EL AL – Matmid Club

Best Customer Service — EL AL – Matmid Club

Best Redemption Ability — Virgin Australia – Velocity

210 AWARD — ANA – ANA Mileage Club

Hotel Category

Program of the Year — Starwood Preferred Guest

Best Elite Program — Starwood Preferred Guest

Best Promotion — Starwood Preferred Guest

Best Customer Service — Starwood Preferred Guest

Best Redemption Ability — Starwood Preferred Guest

210 AWARD — Trident Hotels – Trident Privilege

Credit Card

Best Affinity Credit Card — American Express Membership Rewards

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