The World’s Best Airline Rewards Programs 2025

Gone are the days when you needed to be a frequent flyer to reap the best rewards of airline status. Today, most of the points that unlock premium flight experiences aren’t actually earned from flying; they’re earned from credit card swipes at grocery stores, restaurants, and online shopping. Billions of dollars in value is transferred as points from financial institutions to consumers every year, and when it’s time to redeem them, travelers can choose among dozens of airline programs. 

It’s a game-changing shift in travel wealth and the way loyalty programs can retain customers. Airline loyalty programs are no longer competing for the few times a year sporadic travel done by the average traveler; they are competing for the daily transactions made by millions of consumers. And as consumers realize how much choice they have in how they earn and redeem points, loyalty programs have expanded their focus beyond the flying experience, seeking to influence how those everyday transactions are carried out.

Simply put, the perks of status and the potential travel wealth provided by points and miles are now open to millions more travelers, and airlines must compete harder than ever to earn loyalty.

But with opportunity comes complexity, and even many savvy points users are leaving massive value on the table simply because they don’t know how to navigate this intricate web of programs, don’t want to spend the time to search airline by airline for the best fare, or are simply overwhelmed by their options. 

That’s where we come in. We’ve spent years helping travelers redeem billions of miles and uncovering the strategies that unlock the most value for their points. Our approach is simple: cut through the noise, make the system transparent, and put the traveler first. Every recommendation we make is about helping people manage their travel wealth portfolio — choosing the right program, the right redemption, and the right strategy for their unique goals.

This comprehensive ranking addresses exactly that. Using extensive data from more than 22 million searches and real-world expertise, we analyzed program policies, earning opportunities, and redemptions from September 1, 2024, through August 1, 2025.

While some programs continue to devalue, others remain committed to providing great value to travelers. What makes the point.me World’s Best Airline Rewards Programs Report so powerful is the scale of its data — millions of searches and strong booking insights that no one else has. This annual report shines a light on the programs that are getting loyalty right. I hope others take notice and do more to offer value to consumers.”

– BRIAN KELLY, The Points Guy

We examined each program across eight metrics that matter most to modern travelers, focusing on how easy it is for travelers to earn and use points in that program. The result: a clear, evidence-based picture of which programs help travelers grow and spend their travel wealth most effectively.

The categories we scored and the weight given to each are covered in detail in the methodology section below. The categories are: 

• Ease of earning miles: Can a user build a balance without being a frequent flyer?  
• Redemption rates: How far do the points really go on routes people actually want to book?   
• Partner opportunities: How do alliance and non-alliance partners extend a program’s footprint? 
• Redemption experience: When it’s time to actually book, how easy is it to find a flight and complete the purchase? 
• Award availability: How often is a seat actually available on a given route? 
• Customer service quality: Are customer support staff informed, can they effectively resolve issues, and how easy or frustrating is it to get someone on the phone? 
• Change and cancellation fees/policies: How much does it cost for a family of four to make a change or cancel a flight? 
• Award holds: Are award holds allowed, and how easy is it to hold a ticket? 

One caveat for travelers: Loyalty is personal, and everyone’s travel dreams are different. The program that’s perfect for someone chasing luxury experiences across the Pacific might not work as well for a family planning domestic vacations. And just because a program ranks low on our list doesn’t mean you should never use your points with that program; sometimes there’s a good reason to fly with a lower-ranked program. Our rankings provide the foundation and highlight the programs that have the most customer-friendly policies, but your personal travel style, spending patterns, and goals will determine your perfect match.

Whether you’re choosing your first travel credit card, deciding where to credit a paid flight, or planning your next award redemption strategy, this report will set you up to successfully navigate a system that often feels intentionally opaque.

Top 10 Airline Loyalty Programs 2025 

1. Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Score: 92.38 points 
2024 Rank: #1 (0)

Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM, maintains its championship position this year, thanks to “Great” ratings across five categories. While the program is based in Europe, Flying Blue is on its way to becoming a household name among American travelers, with increased visibility and popularity driven by the program’s focus on securing transfer partners and growing its coverage of key routes with a robust partner network.

Its extensive partnerships make it almost effortless to earn miles without ever boarding an Air France or KLM flight, as consumers can transfer points from all of the major credit card points currencies to Flying Blue, and it has its own co-branded card available to U.S. consumers. 

Flying Blue has access to the SkyTeam network as well as 21 non-SkyTeam partners that offer good inventory access. The redemption experience is a great one, with excellent customer service from well-trained agents and an easy-to-use website and app. 

“Flying Blue is pleased to win the world’s best airline rewards program for the second year running. In the last year, Flying Blue has implemented several improvements designed to enhance customer value, focusing on maximizing the benefits of point transfers and redemptions across Air France, KLM, and our extensive network of over 40 airline partners. By maintaining a compelling rewards program, Flying Blue expands its market presence, attracting new travelers and building lasting customer relationships, including among those who haven’t yet flown with our core airlines.”

– BENJAMIN LIPSEY, SVP Customer Loyalty, President, Flying Blue

What’s keeping it from a perfect score: Compared to last year, the program did drop from “Great” to “Good” in redemption rates, though it does excel in availability, with essentially every seat available and fair pricing overall. Additionally, Flying Blue gets dinged for not allowing award holds online (you’ll need to call) and its less competitive fees of €75 per ticket for changes and cancellations. 

Credit card currencies that transfer into Flying Blue: 

• American Express Membership Rewards 
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Capital One Miles
• Citi ThankYou Points
• Bilt Rewards
• Wells Fargo Rewards

2. American Airlines AAdvantage

Score: 87.63 points
2024 Rank: #6 (+4)

American Airlines AAdvantage takes second place (surging four spots from last year) and achieves “Great” ratings in five of eight categories. Contributing to its high scores are its global reach, which is due, in part, to its strong Oneworld alliance, easy booking experience, reliable award availability, industry-leading cancellation policies, and, of course, its new transfer partnership with Citi. 

The Citi partnership makes it easier to earn points, but you can also earn points with Bask Bank, by accumulating points through online shopping, or by using one of the many American Airlines co-branded credit cards. AAdvantage miles can be used to book flights across the Oneworld alliance, along with four non-alliance partners (including Gol for South America access, Air Tahiti Nui for French Polynesia, and Etihad for the Middle East). 

There’s great award availability on American flights with a mix of fixed and dynamic pricing (where prices fluctuate based on demand and other factors) and consistently great redemption rates across airlines on popular routes. The redemption experience is a good one (all partners can be booked online and AA’s customer service agents are well-trained), award holds are available online, and the change policy is excellent — cancel at least 24 hours before the first flight on your itinerary, and your miles will be redeposited with no charge.

Where AAdvantage could level up: AAdvantage’s new partnership with Citi is great, but compared to other programs, it still has limited transfer partners. AAdvantage also offers fewer options when traveling to or from the Asia-Pacific region, with limited partner availability in the region. 

Credit card currencies that transfer into AAdvantage: 

• Citi ThankYou Points

3. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Score: 82.38 points
2024 Rank: #7 (+4)

Note: As of August 20, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan has rebranded as Atmos Rewards, which will encompass Hawaiian Airlines’ HawaiianMiles program. We evaluated programs through August 1, 2025, and many changes won’t go into effect until next year, so we have not factored those changes into our rankings. 

Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan climbs four spots to secure third place, driven by exceptional redemption value and award availability. The program earns “Great” performance in redemption experience, rates, availability, change fees and policies, and partner opportunities – with partner opportunities being where Alaska particularly excels. 

Alaska is a member of the Oneworld alliance but also has several non-alliance partners, including Aer Lingus, Air Tahiti Nui, Starlux, Icelandair, Condor, and Hainan Airlines, which gives them access to a much broader network than Alaska could provide on its own, and opens up more opportunities for travelers to reach destinations via Alaska miles that they could not otherwise. 

Their international award pricing is exceptionally strong, particularly to Asia and Oceania in both economy and business class. Mileage Plan is competing successfully in these regions thanks to innovative routing rules, such as a complimentary stopover of more than 24 hours on award tickets (including on one-way trips), and strong partner award charts are driving more interest among leisure travelers.

“Our newly enhanced loyalty program, Atmos Rewards, builds on many of the benefits that made Mileage Plan so popular – and our program is now getting even better. With the combination of Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, Atmos Rewards sets a new standard with industry-firsts such as customizable ways to earn points and unique benefits tailored to how our members travel.”

– BRETT CATLIN, Vice President of Loyalty, Alliances and Sales at Alaska Airlines

The downsides: Redemption rates are less competitive for domestic first and business class, awards can’t be placed on hold, customer service can be inconsistent, and points can be harder to earn, as Mileage Plan has limited transfer partners.

Credit card currencies that transfer into Mileage Plan: 

• Bilt Rewards

4. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Score: 81.25 points 
2024 Rank: #4 (0)

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club maintains its fourth-place position year-over-year with consistent, strong performance across most categories. Earning points is easy, as you can transfer them from all the major credit card currencies. Flying Club also offers features like household point pooling, where multiple people can combine points into one pool for shared use. 

Last year, Virgin introduced dynamic pricing on its award seats. While this shift has increased pricing for some routes and premium cabins and has put overall redemption rates at “Good” (down from “Great” last year), they are still competitive. In fact, Flying Club has some of the best pricing on transatlantic economy and premium economy routes, with round-trip fares from New York to London frequently around 12,000 points. This shift has also unlocked significantly more seat availability, earning them a “Great” rating for award availability on Virgin Atlantic flights. 

“We’re delighted that Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club has been recognised as one of the best frequent flyer programs.  We’re committed to rewarding every customer who chooses to fly with us, through a program that’s simple to navigate, with attractive benefits from day one, including easy to spend points that never expire, which can even be shared amongst friends and family.  We believe that loyalty should be accessible for all which is why we strive to personalise the needs and preferences of our rich member base. 2025 has been a fantastic year for Flying Club and there’s more to come, as we build towards rewarding those travellers who do not fly regularly enough for tier status progression, ensuring every one of our members feels valued.”

– ANTHONY WOODMAN, Vice President Flying Club and CRM at Virgin Atlantic

The downsides: Carrier-imposed fuel surcharges are extremely high in premium cabins, so travelers will want to budget or supplement with a cash-back card accordingly. Additionally, award holds require phone calls, cancellation fees can be up to $100, and customer service is good, but not great. 

Credit card currencies that transfer into Flying Club: 

• American Express Membership Rewards 
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Points
• Bilt
• Wells Fargo

5. United MileagePlus

Score: 79.88 points 
2024 Rank: #3 (-2)

United MileagePlus remains one of the best programs for less-frequent travelers. Its Star Alliance network and access to 16 non-Star Alliance partners expand its network across the globe. MileagePlus miles are easy to earn through a host of partner and co-branded credit cards, and families can pool points. The program has good redemption rates, flexible routing rules, and offers close to last-seat availability on many dates. 

Additionally, MileagePlus has implemented dynamic award pricing in a way that can actually benefit casual travelers — particularly those tied to school schedules and fixed dates — as it’s relatively easy to find award seats even during peak times. 

Where United MileagePlus can improve: United MileagePlus no longer allows award holds, there are often website booking issues that require phone calls, schedule changes require customer service contact, and partner availability and inventory are inconsistent.

Credit card currencies that transfer into MileagePlus: 

• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Bilt Rewards

6. The British Airways Club

Score: 76.38 points
2024 Rank: #4 (-2)

The British Airways Club is another strong program with a lot going for it. It received a “Good” ranking for redemption rates and redemption experience, fueled in part by its connection to the Avios currency, which offers great flexibility, as you can move points between programs (including Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Qatar). 

Its rates are competitive, and it has good availability on many routes, including some underserved routes, such as those from the West Coast to London. The British Airways Club has strong Oneworld partnerships, great connectivity to Europe via its London hub, and its peak/off-peak pricing creates excellent value opportunities. 

The British Airways Club also earns a “Great” rating for ease of earning miles. It has a transfer partnership with five out of the six major credit card programs and allows family points pooling. As part of the Avios family, you can move Avios from airlines including Finnair, Qatar, and Iberia. 

There are some drawbacks, though: The program charges separately for each “segment” on an itinerary, with pricing based on the distance of each flight. That means you can find great options to and from hub cities, but the program can be less competitive when it comes to connecting itineraries. 

This impact is especially pronounced when combined with the imposition of hefty carrier-driven surcharges on non-Reward Flight Saver trips. Award holds are not allowed, change fees can be up to $55 per ticket, and the customer service call center closes at 5pm PT — which is not in line with global customer needs and can be extremely frustrating for West Coast travelers who need to speak to someone after hours. 

Credit card currencies that transfer into The British Airways Club: 

• American Express Membership Rewards 
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Capital One Miles
• Bilt Rewards
• Wells Fargo

7. Air Canada Aeroplan

Score: 72.38 points
2024 Rank: #2 (-5)

Aeroplan dropped significantly this year from second to seventh place, though it remains competitive and still shines for its ease of earning miles. Points from most of the major credit card programs transfer to Aeroplan. It has great availability on both Air Canada and Star Alliance partners, though Aeroplan has less partner award access compared to other Star Alliance competitors. Generous stopover policies continue to provide excellent value and make it easier for travelers in non-hub cities to use their points.

What’s driven the rankings decline: Redemption rates have dropped from “Great” to “Good,” due to shifts in dynamic pricing. While Aeroplan performs well on Canadian domestic routes, it is less competitive on international routes, particularly for business class awards. These issues, along with the challenges with booking some flights online, long hold times, poor customer service, and non-competitive change and cancellation policies, keep Aeroplan from the upper half of our top ten this year, but this is otherwise still a solid program.

Credit card currencies that transfer into Aeroplan: 

• American Express Membership Rewards 
• Capital One Miles
• Bilt Rewards
• Chase Ultimate Rewards

8. JetBlue TrueBlue

Score: 69.88 points
2024 Rank: #9 (+1)

The JetBlue TrueBlue program earns a “Good” rating for redemption rates and “Great” for redemption experience. There is fantastic award availability on JetBlue, booking any flight online with points is easy and straightforward, and there is competitive pricing on popular East Coast routes. This includes last-minute deals between New York and popular destinations in Florida and Mexico, sometimes for as few as 8,000 points per person. 

While JetBlue isn’t part of any major alliance, it has partnerships with six airlines, including Icelandair, Qatar, and Etihad, which expand its global reach. JetBlue offers a lie-flat Mint seat on a large number of routes, a product that competes with legacy airlines like United, Delta, and American. 

Like some of the other top-rated programs on this list, TrueBlue makes it easy to earn points by accepting transfers from most major credit card programs. It also offers good earning opportunities via its shopping portal and Points Pooling program, which makes it easier for families to earn and redeem points collectively. 

Room for improvement: While you can transfer points from most major currencies to TrueBlue, the points don’t all transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Additionally, TrueBlue does not allow award holds. 

Credit card currencies that transfer into TrueBlue: 

• American Express Membership Rewards 
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Points
• Capital One

9. Emirates Skywards

Score: 68.75 points 
2024 Rank: #11 (+2)

Emirates Skywards is the second program outside of North America and Europe to join the top ten this year. It scored highly in award availability, partner opportunities, customer service, and change policies. While Emirates doesn’t belong to any of the three major alliances, it has 19 airline non-alliance partners, including major international airlines like Air Canada, Korean Air, Qantas, and United, wideningthat give its global reach. Awards are easy to book, and free stopovers are allowed, but award holds are not. 

Some areas it could improve: Emirates Skywards is less competitive when it comes to earning and redeeming miles. While it offers good economy award rates, high fuel surcharges on business class fares combined with just average pricing mean they aren’t very competitive when it comes to premium seat value.

Credit card currencies that transfer into Skywards: 

• American Express Membership Rewards 
• Capital One Miles
• Citi ThankYou Points
• Bilt Rewards

10. Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Score: 67.38 points  
2024 Rank: #8 (-2)

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is one of just two programs outside of North America and Europe to crack the top ten. Its success stems from generous award inventory, global partnerships, and transfer relationships with U.S. issuers — advantages most regional carriers have not prioritized, leaving their currencies less accessible to U.S. travelers and less integrated into global ecosystems.

Qatar Airways itself serves 11 U.S. cities, offering flights to over 90 countries through its Doha hub, including many international destinations that would otherwise require multiple connections for most U.S. travelers. The route network alone makes Privilege Club a solid option for those with more breadth in their travel patterns. But when you add in Qatar’s Oneworld partners, plus additional non-alliance partners like JetBlue and LATAM, its global reach is even wider. 

Award prices are competitive. Even the “Flexi” awards, which are roughly twice as costly as the “Saver” awards, stack up well against the lower-ranking programs on this list. Privilege Club has good redemption rates and, in our analysis, its rates were consistently in the top 10 best fares for the New York-London route in economy class. 

On top of that, Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club is a full participant in the Avios loyalty ecosystem. This means travelers can not only redeem on Oneworld and other Privilege Club partners, but they can also move points between IAG loyalty programs to take advantage of the best flight options across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Iberia. Members can also transfer points from several major card reward programs. 

What is holding Privilege Club back: Fuel surcharges are higher than last year, and its award chart updates have generally devalued its points and increased redemption rates across the board compared to last year.

Credit card currencies that transfer into the Privilege Club:

• Citi ThankYou Points
• Bilt Rewards
• American Express Membership Rewards

Full List of Scores

Regional Leaders

These programs ranked the highest compared to others in each region. 

North America

• American Airlines AAdvantage (#2 globally)
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan (#3 globally) 
• United MileagePlus (#5 globally) 

Europe

• Flying Blue (#1 globally) 
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (#4 globally) 
• British Airways Executive Club (#6 globally) 

Asia and Oceania 

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (#11 globally)
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (#11 globally) 
• Qantas Frequent Flyer (#17 globally)

Middle East and Africa

• Emirates Skywards (#9 globally) 
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club (#10 globally) 
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (#14 globally)

Latin America

• Avianca LifeMiles (#14 globally) 
• Copa Airlines ConnectMiles (#24 globally) 
• LATAM Pass (#43 globally) 

Category Winners

Ease of Earning Miles 

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Club Iberia Plus
• Flying Blue
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• The British Airways Club
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Redemption Rates

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Club
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• ANA Mileage Club
• Club Iberia Plus
• Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank
• Korean Air SKYPASS Club

Partner Opportunities

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Club
• ANA Mileage Club
• Etihad Guest
• Flying Blue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer

Redemption Experience

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Club
• Allegiant Allways Rewards
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• Delta SkyMiles
• Flying Blue
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus

Award Availability on Own Airline 

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air New Zealand Airpoints
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Club
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• Aviance lifemiles
• Delta SkyMiles
• Etihad Gust
• Flying Blue
• FRONTIER Miles
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• SAS EuroBonus 
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• Spirit Airlines Free Spirit
• TAP Miles&Go
• The British Airways Club
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• WestJet Rewards

Award Holds

• American Airlines AAdvantage

Customer Service Quality

• Delta SkyMiles
• Flying Blue

Change/Cancellation Policies

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• Spirit Airlines Free Spirit
• United MileagePlus

2025’s Biggest Climbs and Slides

Largest changes in the top 10: 

• American Airlines AAdvantage rose 4 spots from #6 to #2
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan rose 4 spots from #7 to #3
• Air Canada Aeroplan dropped 5 spots from #2 to #7
• Avianca lifemiles dropped 4 spots from #10 to #14

Largest overall ranking swings: 

• Air India Maharaja Club rose 25 spots to #37
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles rose 24 spots to #14
• EGYPTAIR Plus dropped 22 spots to tie for #58
• Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club dropped 25 spots to tie for #58

Key Trends and Analysis

The 2025 rankings demonstrate that the loyalty program landscape remains highly dynamic. Year-over-year ranking changes demonstrate that strategic investments in member experience, partnerships, and earning accessibility can produce significant results. This competition ultimately benefits travelers as programs raise their standards to secure top positions.

Earning ease is paramount: Gone are the days when people were loyal to one airline and earned all their miles from flying that airline exclusively. Now, most points are earned from credit card spending, and travelers pick a few airlines on which they do most of their flying. The programs that allow members to earn points in multiple ways — and without being a road warrior — rise to the top. 

Partnership power: Programs with strong alliance partnerships consistently outperform those without. The top programs all leverage extensive partner networks to provide global redemption opportunities.

Customer experience focus: Programs investing in customer service, user-friendly booking platforms, award hold options, and flexible policies for changes and cancellations rank the highest, as these factors are increasingly important for users. Poor customer service becomes more of a program liability as users have grown to expect fast and easy booking, quick resolution when things go wrong, and customer-friendly policies.

Award availability matters: Programs maintaining good award availability on their own metal consistently rank higher, as this remains the foundation of member satisfaction.

Methodology

From last year’s ranking to this year’s, our evaluation has increased focus on practical usability for average travelers, taking into account the complete redemption experience. The methodology notably prioritizes real-world data — 22+ million user searches —  over theoretical benefits. It places growing importance on features like award holds while considering how most people actually earn and use miles today: primarily through credit cards rather than flying. 

We used a mix of quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate aspects of each program through August 1, 2025. A computed overall score was then determined for each of the airline loyalty programs.

Categories were weighted based on impact on the everyday traveler. Scoring within a category was determined by relative calibration, with a penalty for being below the average (e.g., a ‘Poor’ customer service score resulted in negative points in that category). For 2025, a maximum of 100 points was possible for each program based on the following factors:

• Ease of earning miles (20%): Credit card partnerships, bonus categories, elite qualifying
• Redemption rates (20%): Value proposition across cabin classes and routes
• Partner opportunities (20%): Breadth of earning/burning partners, alliance strength
• Redemption experience (10%): Booking platform usability, search functionality, customer experience
• Award availability (10%): Consistency of award space on the program’s own airline
• Customer service quality (7.5%): Support quality, resolution effectiveness, and staff knowledge
• Change fees/policies (7.5%): Flexibility for modifications and cancellations
• Award holds (5%): Ability to hold space before ticketing

Each factor received ratings from “Poor” to “Great,” with numerical values creating composite scores. Programs were evaluated based on typical traveler experiences rather than ultra-elite scenarios. In fact, we explicitly did not consider status benefits in our evaluation. 

Ease of Earning Miles (20%) 

To determine the ease of earning miles in each program, point.me analyzed the potential points awarded by co-branded credit cards in the United States, along with those of the major transferable credit card currencies, against the Bureau of Economic Analysis statistics on personal consumption expenditures. 

This provided benchmarks for U.S. consumer spending and the average number of miles people could earn from non-flight activity, including earning via spending on rent, groceries, and other expenses on credit cards, using shopping portals, and other methods. We also considered the relative frequency and ratio of credit card transfer bonuses and mileage purchase promotions. 

Redemption Rates (20%)

We analyzed the outputs of more than 10 million searches conducted on point.me to determine the average number of miles required for a free round-trip flight on the most popular medium and long-haul routes; in essence, how competitively each program prices redemptions — a factor that drives share of wallet and customer perception of value relative to peers. 

Additionally, point.me considered median prices of short-haul flights from an airline’s hub or focus city (e.g., British Airways flights from London; Hawaiian Airlines flights from Honolulu; Qantas flights from Sydney) to account for regional variations and situations where travelers have fewer choices. We accounted for dynamic pricing by segmenting out the lowest prices versus average prices to get a real picture of pricing, ensuring programs that offer more seats to customers aren’t inappropriately penalized.

Finally, we compared the points programs charged for a given flight with worldwide fare data from Cirium (a trusted aviation data analytics company); a loyalty program had to offer a redemption value of at least $0.01 USD/mile in order to receive positive points in this category.

Partner Opportunities (20%)

The best travel rewards programs have alliances and partnerships that expand the reach of the primary airline. These alliances include Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance, though many programs have additional partnerships outside of these alliances.

While there are agreements around award space, airline programs have significant discretion as to what partner flights they make available to members of their own loyalty program and under what conditions. We analyzed millions of point.me award flight results to determine the percentage of potential partner award space available to each loyalty program.

Redemption Experience (10%)

Redemption experience is a new category we’ve added for 2025, and we’ve given it significant weight because booking a flight using points can sometimes be one of the most challenging parts of earning and redeeming — in fact, it’s why we include detailed step-by-step booking instructions on point.me (and offer live help from an expert for those who need it). Programs that invest in making their websites easier to use for non-experts rank higher than those that don’t. 

To reach a score for this category, we looked at the likelihood of success for the average, non-expert consumer going through the booking process. We evaluated the overall ease of searching for, finding, and booking an award ticket online. We also looked at the website’s ease of use and navigation, as well as how often users needed to call or contact customer service to complete a booking. We considered the impact of routing rules that don’t allow users to travel between certain regions, restrictions on stopovers, and limitations on who you can book flights for using your miles. 

Award availability on Own Airline (10%)

We increased the weight of this category slightly from last year. Last year, it was a binary score (a program that offered expanded availability to members of the loyalty program received points; one that did not received no points for this category). This year, we looked at whether or not a program added expanded availability on flights on its own airline, whether that pricing was fixed or dynamic, and how much inventory there really was, so that we could get a true picture of how likely a traveler would be to find availability on the airline for a given route. 

Customer Service Quality (7.5%)

To determine customer service quality, we analyzed records from thousands of point.me concierge bookings and considered the number of calls required to resolve the situation, the time spent on hold or waiting for an agent, and whether or not the customer was ultimately accommodated. 

Based on feedback from last year, several programs have invested heavily in customer service capabilities, including Avianca Lifemiles, Qantas Frequent Flyer, and

Qatar Airways Privilege Club, which increased their scores in this category in 2025. 

Change Fees (5%)

We analyzed the cost for a family of four to make changes to an award flight booking more than 24 hours prior to departure. Flexibility has become increasingly important to travelers, and industry-leading standards include free or low-cost change and cancellations, ideally with minimal customer service involvement. The programs receiving top marks allowed miles to be redeposited for no fee or new flights to be booked for only the difference in miles.

Award Hold Capabilities (5%)

Award holds were a binary category in 2024 (points were awarded if holds were allowed). This year, we’ve also taken into account the rules on holds and how easy it is to hold an award ticket. With the majority of points earned via credit cards and an increased emphasis on flexibility, award holds have become increasingly important. 

Travelers need to be able to place an award on hold while they transfer points from their credit card (many transfers are not instant on a consistent basis) or confirm their travel plans (especially if the awards have a significant cancellation fee). These holds directly influence whether points transfers (a key revenue driver for programs) actually convert to bookings. They come at little cost to the airline or program, yet can provide so much benefit to travelers. That’s why this category was given appropriately considerable weight. 

Why point.me 

While airlines and loyalty programs don’t intentionally make the process difficult, the fact is that booking award travel can feel complex and confusing, even for experienced travelers. The rules can vary widely, making it difficult to know which program is right for your circumstances. This is where point.me comes in.

We’re the first company to offer a tool that makes it easier to use miles and points for air travel. Not only does the point.me’ award search show you flight options across 150+ airlines and programs that are bookable using the specific points you have, we also show you all the different ways you can book them, so you can evaluate which method is best for your situation. We guide you step-by-step on how to transfer the points to the right loyalty program and book the flight yourself. And if you need a little help, we have a team of experts available to help you.