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Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue loyalty program has been named the best airline rewards system globally, according to a new ranking by Point.me, a company specializing in searching award availability across airlines. The rankings, which evaluated 62 airlines, placed Air Canada’s Aeroplan and United’s MileagePlus in second and third, respectively.
The analysis focused on determining which loyalty programs provide the best value for consumers, regardless of travel frequency. It was based on a combination of nine factors, including ease of earning miles (25%), redemption rates (20%), availability with partner airlines (15%), and ease of booking (12.5%).
Flying Blue outperformed competitors significantly, receiving high scores across most categories. The program’s strong redemption rates and its extensive network of partners, which allow for easier and more flexible points accrual, were highlighted as key factors for its success.
Air Canada’s Aeroplan also garnered praise for its extensive partner airline availability and its compatibility with major credit card point transfers, including those from American Express, Chase, and Capital One. Meanwhile, United’s MileagePlus stood out for being particularly advantageous for less-frequent travelers. United's dynamic pricing keeps redemption costs lower than many other airlines, and it offers a wide availability of reward seats.
Among U.S.-based airlines, American Airlines’ AAdvantage (6th), Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan (7th), and JetBlue’s TrueBlue (9th) were ranked in the global top ten. In North America, Air Canada, United, American, Alaska, and JetBlue comprised the top five, followed by Southwest, Hawaiian, Delta, Allegiant, and Spirit.
Delta's lower ranking was attributed to its higher redemption costs. According to Point.me co-founder Tiffany Funk, Delta has prioritized operational reliability and its lounge network over competitive redemption pricing.
Funk advised consumers to maximize their redemptions by choosing credit cards like Bilt Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, which offer transferable points to multiple airlines, enabling travelers to shop around for the best redemption deals.
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Jeff Colhoun
Jeff Colhoun is an acclaimed travel writer, photographer, and filmmaker, whose work is respected both in the United States and internationally.
