As the travel season heats up and Americans hunt for the best airfares, airline rewards programs remain a good source of savings, according to a new study.
Personal finance website WalletHub looked at frequent flyer programs offered by the 10 largest domestic airlines, basing its ranking on 21 key metrics ranging from earnings policies to the value of a reward point or mile to redemption policies and blackout date policies.
The study found that frequent flyer programs, which are free to join, save travelers nearly 9% on airfare. It also found that many of the 10 largest U.S. airlines are sweetening their deals this year and that on average the top 10 airlines are offering 18% more value than they did last year.
Additionally, WalletHub said six of the 10 largest U.S. airlines allow program members to redeem miles with partner carriers.
Here is WalletHub’s ranking of the10 best frequent flyer programs for 2024:
10. Sun Country Airlines – Sun Country Rewards
Sun Country Rewards program’s points are worth an average of one cent per mile. There are no blackout dates on award flights, and members can book a flight on short notice without paying a fee.
9. Spirit Airlines – Free Spirit
Spirit’s Free Spirit program offers points worth an average of 1.12 cents apiece. Members have multiple ways to earn points, and elite members get bonus points on flights. Also, there are no blackout dates on award flights.
8. Frontier Airlines – Frontier Miles
Frontier Miles program offers the most rewards value ($15.40 per $100 spent) than any other carriers in the top 10 category. The program’s miles are each worth an average of 1.09 cents. Members have multiple ways to earn miles and there are no blackout dates on award nights.
7. Southwest Airlines – Rapid Rewards
Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program points value an average of 1.39 cents per mile and it is among one of the six top carriers that does not impose an expiration date on members’ earned points. The program scored highest in the many ways that members can earn points. Members are awarded up to 100% bonus points on bookings; and there are no blackout dates on reward flights.
6. JetBlue Airways – TrueBlue
JetBlue’s TrueBlue program is one of the six major carriers’ programs that do not have an expiration date on earned miles. An average TrueBlue mile is worth 1.36 cents. The airline is also one of the six largest to allow rewards members to redeem miles with one of its 14 partner carriers. Other features include lots of options to earn points, and no blackout dates on reward flights.
5. American Airlines – AAdvantage
The AAdvantage program includes an average mileage value of 1.43 cents per mile. The airline offers flights to 352 destinations, second to United’s 354 destinations. It is among the six largest airlines to allow program members to redeem miles with its 22 partner carriers. Its policy also allows for bumping passengers from overbooked flights in favor of members, and it offers generous earning bonuses.
4. Hawaiian Airlines – HawaiianMiles
The HawaiianMiles program is one of the six major carriers’ programs that do not have an expiration date on earned miles. Its average miles are worth 1.20 cents each. Its redemption policies get high marks, ranking it fifth among the other top carriers. It is also one of the six of the 10 largest U.S. airlines that allows members to redeem miles with its six partner carriers. The HawaiianMiles program also boasts relatively low fees, and it offers a range of options to earn miles. Also, its gold and platinum members get bonus miles on flights.
3. Delta Air Lines – SkyMiles
Delta’s SkyMiles program ranks highly for many attractive features such as its average mileage value of 1.22 cents per mile. Delta is among the six major carriers that do not impose an expiration on earned miles, and is also one of the six that allows members to redeem miles with its 25 partner carriers. Members in the SkyMiles program are given preference on overbooked flights and the program also includes a wide array of credit card choices.
2. United Airlines – MileagePlus
The United MileagePlus program stands out for having the best destination coverage and redemption policies. It offers flights to 354 destinations and has 42 airline partners. Other attractive features of MileagePlus are its average mileage value of 1.14 cents per mile, its policy on bumping passengers from overbooked flights in favor of members, miles that do not expire and big earning bonuses such as getting up to 75,000 MileagePlus miles per ticket.
1. Alaska Airlines – Mileage Plan
The Mileage Plan has the best airlines rewards program for 2024, dethroning last year’s winner, United MileagePlus. Ther program has a robust rewards value of $11 per $100 spent, which ranks it second behind Frontier Airlines. Miles earned never expire; and members are given preference on overbooked flights. Other big attractions include its average mileage value of 1.65 cents per mile, lots of bonus miles and ample ways to earn points.
The full report can be viewed here.
