Best Frequent Flyer Programs of 2019
Whether you are traveling once a year or once a month, it makes sense to join the airline’s frequent flyer program. However, which one to choose will depend on your needs: are you only interested in a few flights in one day, or are you a stickler for a rigorous assessment?
WalletHub compared the loyalty programs of the top 10 domestic airlines on 23 parameters, including blackout dates, the ability to earn and redeem miles with partner airlines, the number of flights / destinations served, and of course the value of points / miles, among others.
Results. Delta’s Skymiles program is giving you the best value for your money for the fourth consecutive year, according to WalletHub. Here are the top five suggestions:
- Delta : SkyMiles
- United Airlines : mileage plan
- JetBlue Airways : TrueBlue
- Southwest Airlines : Rapid Rewards
- Hawaiian Airlines : HawaiianMiles
WalletHub compared the top 10 airlines by passenger numbers across three different consumer spending profiles: light ($ 527 spent annually on air travel), medium ($ 3,880 spent annually on air travel), and frequent ($ 7,232 annually spent on air travel). …
In addition to the top five listed above, WalletHum also drew attention to American, Alaska, Spirit, Frontier, and Sun Country Airlines.
You can see how each airline performed in each of the 23 categories as measured by WalletHub here if you want to personalize. Delta performed especially well in terms of number of destinations served, daily flights and expiration of miles (in fact, Delta is one of the two main carriers, along with JetBlue, which does not expire miles).
However, experts interviewed by WalletHub and everyone who has flown with US carriers in the past 10 years say consumers can probably expect loyalty programs to become less and less generous.
“Airlines are increasingly shifting to the ‘bus in the sky’, which lacks any added value when looking at offerings from a decade ago,” says Donna Vertalik, director of marketing at Pamplin Virginia College of Technology. business. “The model will continue to move in this direction.” She says that the depreciation of miles and points can be expected to continue over time.
But listen, at least some airlines offer free baggage check-in for loyal members.