When it comes to awards for airline loyalty programs, the Freddie Awards are considered to be the Oscars of the industry.
Named after the iconic Sir Freddie Laker, founder of Britain’s first all-jet air carrier Laker Airways, this year’s awards were presented at the end of April at The National WWII Museum / The Boeing Center in New Orleans.
Host of the leading loyalty podcast Let’s Talk Loyalty, Paula Thomas, sat down with Randy Petersen, founder of the Freddie Awards, to learn more about the history of the awards, the affiliation with Freddie and, of course, who scooped the top prizes in 2022.
You can enjoy this episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty here:
This year’s awards were presented in late April. Photo: The Freddie Awards
Who won this year?
The 2022 Freddie Awards mark the 31st year of the program. First introduced in 1988 by InsideFlyer magazine’s Randy Petersen, the awards are considered to be the most prestigious in the travel loyalty industry. Over four million ballots are cast each year, with balloting available in 13 different worldwide languages, and are split between three key regions, The Americas, Europe and Africa, and the Middle East, Asia and Oceania.
Awards are split into three categories: Airline, Hotel and Credit Card. For The Americas region, the winner of the best program of the year for 2022 was Southwest Airlines for its Rapid Rewards scheme. Southwest also scooped the accolade for Best Customer Service, and its Premier Credit Card was voted top in the Best Loyalty Credit Card category.
Southwest Airlines found success in The Americas region. Photo: The Freddie Awards
Best Elite Program went to American Airlines for AAdvantage, Best Promotion was Avianca for its 175% bonus on purchased miles for LifeMiles, while Best Redemption Ability was snagged by Air Canada for Aeroplan.
Across in Europe and Africa, it was a clean sweep of the board for TAP Air Portugal for its Miles&Go program. It won the top spot in all five airline categories, recognizing its excellent customer service, promotions, and redemption ability. The 210 Award, given to programs that are considered to be ‘up and coming’, was given to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club.
TAP Portugal had a clean sweep in Europe and Africa. Photo: The Freddie Awards
For the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, it was again a winner takes all scenario. Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer won all five categories for the region, and its American Express branded credit card also scooped the Best Affinity Credit Card award. The 210 for this region was given to Garuda Indonesia for its GarudaMiles program.
Did your favorite program win? Want to know why these winning programs are so good? Tune into Let’s Talk Loyalty to hear more from the founder.
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