Best Frequent Flyer Programs 2018
According to the annual seat availability survey IdeaWorks Reward, airlines are improving their frequent flyer programs by increasing the number of seats available and decreasing the number of miles required to travel to certain locations.
The survey shows how easy it is for travelers to redeem miles and frequent flyer points for “basic” tickets (also called least expensive and most popular) on the 10 busiest long and medium routes on 25 different airlines.
Southwest ranks first among 25 carriers with bonus seats on nearly every flight IdeaWorks surveyed. Overall, the study found that bonus tickets were available on 74 percent of flights, a significant improvement over 2010, when 66 percent of flights were available. American Airlines has seen the biggest improvements, with 80% of flights available this year, up from 50% last year. Leading American carriers:
- Southwest -100% seat availability
- JetBlue – availability up 94.3%
- Americans – 82.1% of availability
- United -75.5% availability
- Delta -72.1% availability
- Alaska -69.3% availability
The review notes that the biggest change in recent years is that more carriers are considering ticket price rather than distance traveled to reward consumers. This tends to benefit business class travelers compared to other travelers who don’t have to consider price if the job is paid. However, the survey also notes that many travelers earn more points from credit cards than from flights, giving travelers an alternative way to accumulate points.