Welcome to the 21st Annual Freddie Awards! Now that everyone has enjoyed dinner and cocktails, we're gearing up for the main attraction. We're at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where 300 people have gathered to discover who will be taking home a prestigious Freddie Award this evening. We have representatives from airline, hotel and credit card programs from all over the world, as well as our sponsors of the evening's ceremony, and a dedicated group of FlyerTalk members who are some of the best customers of the airlines and hotels represented here tonight. For the the 21st year, frequent travelers around the world voted for their favorite airline, hotel and credit card loyalty programs. We tabulated the votes, and tonight, the winners will be announced. Enjoy the ride - the Freddies have begun! And Here's Randy! Randy Petersen, our host of the evening, takes the stage to let everyone know that the festivities will begin in a mere 10 minutes. Karen Welcomes the Freddie Attendees Karen Heldt takes the stage to welcome everyone to the 21st Annual Freddie Awards. Karen is representing InsideFlyer magazine, the first Freddie sponsor, and is the steam behind the Freddie engine. She thanks our sponsors for this evening: Randy Petersen and InsideFlyer, Points.com, Priority Pass, ICLP, Loylogic, Executive Travel Magazine and EzRez; with dinner sponsored by Visa and wine at dinner by Synapse. Special Freddie awards are given for the sponsors' support. Tina Fitch of EzRez Tina Fitch from EzRez, one of our sponsors this evening takes the stage. Thank you for your introduction, Karen. It is our pleasure to be here participating in the 21st Freddie Awards and to show our support for our many partners who are here today. Congratulations to all of you for the phenomenal work you've done this year. One of the highlights this year for us has been working with Starwood Preferred Guest. EzRez powers SPG's new SPG Flights and members can use points on flights with hundreds of airlines. Good luck to all of you. Kirk Stuart of Visa A short video from Visa is shown featuring some of the latest commercials featuring some funky and fun music to start the evening with, "Hey Mombo." "Tuesday Afternoon" - all to entice customers to "Go explore with Visa." Next up on stage is Kirk Stuart of Visa. Visa sponsored our excellent dinner this evening. Kirk thanks the Visa partners and expresses that they are happy to be part of the Freddies. Keeping Score and a Look at Numbers Karen tells everyone in the audience about the "scorecards" that have been placed at their tables—everyone can keep their own play-by-play list of the winners and near winners. You can also make notes and keep track of the winners. Also, everyone in the audience will receive a copy of InsideFlyer magazine—hot off the press with all the Freddie winners. What we have going on this year is a live webcast of the event. What a great opportunity for those who aren't here to watch what's going on tonight. Acxiom is giving a Kindle today and winning this prize is a Miss Cassandra from IHG. Congratulations and thank for your presentation at the FTMA. And Karen delves into Freddie by the numbers: 707,069 - The final number of audited votes cast this year - this is a 12% increase over next year. 8,680 - The number of pages of comments that were recorded in this year's voting process. 110,719 - The most votes that were cast in a single day - January 22. 212 - The number of countries or regions of the world from which votes were cast. 2 - The number of programs that will be winning Freddies for the first time. 1 - There will be one award category this evening that every single trophy awarded will be different from last year. 28 - The number of trophies that will change hands this year. 21 - As you know, this is the 21st annual Freddie Awards. Thanks for coming this year. And let's just sit back, relax, and enjoy the evening. Live, from Ft. Lauderdale, it's Randy Petersen and the 21st Annual Freddie Awards. Karen introduces our host for this evening, Randy Petersen. Randy Petersen On Stage What's that behind the screen? Is that a man with a - top hat? Gloves? The man of the hour, our host of this evening and Freddie Awards creator, Randy Petersen takes the stage. It's time to kick back to the tune of Margaritaville. Randy is in tux tails and --- a Hawaiian shirt. Randy starts the Freddie evening as he often does, by thanking his "bosses" his dedicated, intelligent, witty and fabulously handsome staff for all the hard work they do through the year. (Yes, that's us, and yes, we might have embellished slightly.) He thanks Karen (his right hand), Janet (his left hand), Eric (photographer), Lisa (the rookie), Tim (master of all data), Lynda (managing editor of InsideFlyer), Darcie (Assoc. Editor InsideFlyer) and behind the screen Mikel, Jamie and Norbert - who are creating the magic you're seeing now. And who exactly are the Freddie voters? Randy gives us insight into who votes. When looking at those from the armed forces who voted, the Army was #1 in voting, Air Force #2. In the IT sector, Oracle had a strong showing. Yahoo addresses were the most prevalent, Hotmail was second. The agency in the government who voted the most was from the IRS. More FedEx employees voted than from UPS. Ford employees had the strongest showing from the car companies. Randy gives tribute to Freddie Laker, the Freddie Awards namesake, and shouts out a welcome to Lady Jacqueline Laker who is in the audience tonight. As an aside, Randy gifts the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Bahamas with a check to help toward their work there. The hospital is of special interest to Lady Jacqueline Laker, Freddie Laker's wife. Sir Freddie, the check is in the mail. Industry Impact Award :: Continental OnePass Randy says that Continental took a chance on this promotion and that he was lucky enough to be a part of the promotion that he's singling out tonight. What happened in Las Vegas didn't stay in Las Vegas. Continental accepts the award: I thank my team because they did all the work - I came up with the idea but they did all the work. Continental OnePass is being singled out this evening for a special Industry Impact Freddie Award for it's Texas Hold'em Pocker Tournament. The Freddie Award reads: To celebrate its 21st anniversary, OnePass turned to a popular pastime, poker, and awarded the largest single bonus in the history of the industry—21 million miles. In addition to being one of the richest contests ever sponsored by a frequent flyer program, it was also one of the most entertaining. Industry Impact Award :: United Mileage Plus United Mileage Plus is being singled out this evening for an Industry Impact Freddie Award for its Elite Team Contest. United asked members to form their own teams, kind of like fantasy baseball. And United Mileage Plus gave away 50 million miles through this promotion. Randy says he read the buzz on the Internet and members were really excited about this. Members were allowed to form their own teams, which is really unusual. Airleen Furlong of United Mileage Plus says she is proud to receive this award. But more importantly, she'd like to thank all of our members who flew many more miles last year in this contest. The Freddie Award reads: This year-over-year EQM contest featured self-selected teams of four members each who competed for over 50 million miles in rewards and other travel benefits. The popularity of this promotion proved that, when presented with a fun challenge to increase their business, members will come through with flying colors. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Elite-Level Program [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Starwood Preferred Guest Starwood Preferred Guest gets the Freddie Award for Best Elite-Level Program for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in this five-year-old category. Last year’s number six program, Hilton HHonors, has moved up to the second spot. Following HHonors is last year’s number two finisher, Marriott Rewards. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Elite-Level Program [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Jet Airways JetPrivilege Jet Airways JetPrivilege wins the Best Elite-Level Program Freddie in this region for the second year in a row. Randy says, "There's much more to India than Slumdog Millionaire." Accepting the award is Rahul Kucheria, General Manager - Relationship Marketing at Jet Airways. "Big thank you to all our customers and the Freddie Awards." JetPrivilege elite members get upgrades, additional baggage allowance and free airport lounge visits among other perks. Just a breath away from Jet Airways JetPrivilege is Virgin Blue Velocity with a value vote difference of only .01. And at number three is another airline from India, Kingfisher Airlines King Club. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Elite-Level Program [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Marriott Rewards Looks like a battle between Hilton and Marriott. And the Freddie goes to...Marriot Rewards. "As everyone in this room knows, elite members are the lifeblood of the program. Thanks for this award." This is a repeat win for Best Elite-Level Program EMEA for Marriott Rewards, although they have not placed at the top the last two years. Not only can Marriott Rewards elite members look forward to earning extra points with status, but they can also take advantage of priority late checkout at all hotel brands and a reservations guarantee. Number two this year is Hilton HHonors, a step up from fifth place last year and sixth the year before. Last year’s winner, Starwood Preferred Guest, is number three this year. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Elite-Level Program [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Delta Air Lines SkyMiles This is the first win for Delta SkyMiles for any international Freddie Award. Randy mentions that he noticed that Delta really went into Europe to push the program in 2008 and obviously did something right. (And there just might still be some old Pan Am members in Europe.) Accepting the award is Jeff Robertson, Vice President - Loyalty Programs. Delta came in at number four in this category two years ago and Delta’s continued network growth in Europe this past year seems to be paying dividends. Delta’s elite members enjoy upgrades, discounted airport lounge membership and many more perks. And for the top earners, there is a well-defined Million Miler program that offers lifetime Silver, Gold and Platinum Medallion status when you earn over one million miles. Coming in at number two is former winner of this category, Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club, which came in at number eight last year. Two-time and last year’s winner, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, came in at number four this year while Etihad Guest is very close at number three, down from second place last year. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Elite-Level Program [Americas] :: Marriott Rewards The top five programs earned over a nine value vote. And the Freddie goes to Marriott Rewards. The crowd cheers and Ed French, SVP, Marriott Rewards/CRM, comes up to accept the award. "These are the best customers that we've got and this is a very meaningful award. Thanks." Marriott Rewards once again finds itself taking home the Best Elite-Level Program Freddie Award. This is the ninth win for the program after losing out to IHG Priority Club Rewards last year. Coming in at number two is Starwood Hotels Starwood Preferred Guest, a six-time winner in this category, and up from a third place finish last year. Rounding out the top three (and a very close finish to SPG) is Hilton Hotels Hilton HHonors. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Elite-Level Program [Americas] :: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Those guys in Seattle always give high value for their members. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan wins for the fourth year in a row. Accepting the award is Rick Rasmussen, Director-Customer Loyalty. "Quick thanks to Randy and our customers." Randy says, "I don't know if I'll see you again..." (Just a joke.) Elite-level members appreciate the upgrades, waived fees, priority treatment at the airport and the variety of partners they can fly to earn elite status. Northwest WorldPerks shot up to second place last year from an eighth-place finish the year before but finished in third place behind Continental Airlines OnePass this year. Continental OnePass can boast of 12 former wins in this category and this second place position brings the program close to its former glory. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Web Site [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Marriott Rewards This is becoming one of the most important categories these days. Top two are Hilton and Marriott again. And the winner is Marriott Rewards with a third consecutive win of the night. "Thank you, Randy." Marriott Rewards wins for a third consecutive year for its ability to reach out to members in Asia/Pacific. Dedicated Web sites are available for members residing in Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Moving up the ladder and coming in at second place, up from last year’s sixth place finish, is Hilton HHonors. And at third place is last year’s second place program, Starwood Preferred Guest. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Web Site [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Virgin Blue Velocity This is the first win for Virgin Blue Velocity in this category as it moves up from last year’s fourth place position. Satisfied Velocity members report that the Web site is “well planned,” “easy to use” and “simple to understand.” Accepting the award is Neda Nazem, Business Development Manager, V Australia. She just arrived in time to take the Freddie home. "Thank you Randy. I'm with the new international arm of Virgin Blue." And she explains that Virgin Blue is giving other airlines in Australia a little bit of a run for the money. "Thank you Randy." Last year’s winner, Jet Airways JetPrivilege, is at number two this year while Kingfisher Airlines King Club moves from number six last year to number three this year. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Web Site [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Starwood Preferred Guest Starwood and Hilton in the top two - let's find out who's tougher. And the winner is...Starwood Preferred Guest, good going! "Thanks you. Obviously we give a huge thanks to our members. We've done a lot of enhancements this year based on member feedback and we have more coming up. Stay tuned!" This is the third (second consecutive) win for Starwood Preferred Guest in this category after taking the place of two-time winner Marriott Rewards. Hilton HHonors comes in at number two, taking the second place honor from Marriott Rewards, which is at number three this year. Marriott is a former two-time winner in this category. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Web Site [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Etihad Airways Etihad Guest This is the third consecutive Freddie Award win for Etihad Guest in this category. The Web site features a “slider” tool that allows members to design their own cash plus miles awards (you can redeem an award with as little as one mile), a massive online awards catalog as well as full information and functionality that frequent flyers expect from an award-winning Web site. Accepting the award for Etihad Guest is Barry Green, Head of CRM & Loyalty. "It is a great pleasure to pick this award up. We put a great deal into the development of our Web site this year. Thank you." Coming in at second place this year is the Delta SkyMiles Web site, rising up from fourth place last year. Lufthansa (and Partners) Miles & More rounds out the top three Best Web Sites, following closely behind Delta with its value vote. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Web Site [Americas] :: Marriott Rewards This year the best Web site hotels America goes to Marriott Rewards. This is the second win for the Marriott Rewards Web site, knocking the IHG Priority Club Rewards Web site off the pinnacle with that program’s fourth consecutive Freddie Award in this category last year. "On behalf of the web team that knocks themselves out on behalf of our members, thank you." Marriott has put together a no-nonsense, effective and user-friendly Web site that is receiving high praises from Marriott Rewards members. Members of second place finisher Choice Hotels Choice Privileges saw improvement in the Web site and voted accordingly and Hilton HHonors placed third this year. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Web Site [Americas] :: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan wins Best Web site for the third consecutive year and for the sixth time overall. Accepting the award this evening is Missy Darling. (Jean Whiteley, FlyerTalk Liaison). The Mileage Plan Web site wins with good, clean design, ease of use and improving functionality, such as the ability to redeem airline partner awards online and an award calendar to see if award seats are available at a glance. “Jenn” the virtual assistant is also online to answer any question Mileage Plan members might have. Placing second again this year is Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, a two-time winner in this category. And new to the top three is AirTran Airways A+ Rewards at number three. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Member Communications [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Starwood Preferred Guest Let's not worry the top two finishers, Starwood and Marriot. And the Freddie goes to Starwood Preferred Guest. Way to go SPG, it's yours. "Thanks so much. This is a huge honor since we haven't won in a number of years and we've made a lot of enhancements. Thank you." Last year Marriott Rewards made a clean sweep in the Best Member Communications category, but this year Starwood Preferred Guest takes top honors in the Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia region. Starwood reaches out to members worldwide with specialized communications. Following Marriott's second place finish is Hilton HHonors at number three. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Member Communications [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Virgin Blue Velocity Virgin Blue Velocity takes home its second Freddie Award this evening with this win for Best Member Communications, moving up from the program’s fourth place finish last year. Accepting the award for Virgin Blue once again is Neda Nazem of V Australia. "Thank you again to all of our members and thank you Randy again for a wonderful award evening." Members we’ve spoken to have been very complimentary about the communications they receive from Velocity. Fun, inventive and effective are just some of the words used to describe the way Velocity speaks to its members. Coming in at number two, up from last year’s number three, is Kingfisher Airlines King Club, and last year’s number two program, Jet Airways JetPrivilege, sees itself at number three this year. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Member Communications [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Marriott Rewards Got your score card ready? Let's see what you should be writing down. Marriott Rewards! "Thank you to all of our members who voted for us, we appreciate it." This is the second consecutive win for Marriott Rewards in this category that is now entering its fifth year and Marriott Rewards is the first program to repeat a win. Last year’s number two program and former winner in this category, Starwood Preferred Guest, has moved down to number three and Hilton HHonors has taken its place at number two. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Member Communications [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Etihad Airways Etihad Guest This is the first win in the Best Member Communications category for Etihad Guest and with no less than a very impressive 9.45 value vote. Clearly, the program does a good job of keeping in touch with members. Accepting the second Freddie of the evening for Etihad Guest is Barry Green, Head of CRM & Loyalty. "Thank you to all our members who voted for this." Although this is Etihad Guest’s first win, the program has hovered in the top three over the last few years. Etihad keeps in touch with its members through a monthly e-statement and e-newsletter which keeps members informed of Etihad Guest news and offers such as the recent 2,500 bonus points when booking online. At number two this year is Lufthansa (and Partners) Miles & More—quite a large step up from last year’s Freddie Awards where it placed ninth in this category. And following Miles & More this year with just a .03 difference in the value vote is Delta SkyMiles. Delta really did a bang up job in this area. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Member Communications [Americas] :: Marriott Rewards In third place is InterContinental. Randy says he started reading the IHG newsletter in 1986 and still reads it. Marriott Rewards rides to the top in this category for the 11th time, coming in at number one for the second consecutive year. Marriott Rewards places a high priority on member communications and this shows up at the Freddie Awards with a very impressive 9.49 value vote. "We are just so grateful that our members appreciate how we communicated with them. We try our best. Thank you." Coming in at number two this year was Hilton while last year’s number two program, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, came in at number three. It should be noted that Choice Hotels Choice Privileges received a very close value vote to Priority Club Rewards’ value vote. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Member Communications [Americas] :: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards have traded places this year with the Freddie going to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. This is Mileage Plan’s sixth win in this category. Randy says that Alaska Mileage Plan offers simple communication that members appreciate. Accepting the third Freddie of the evening for Mileage Plan is Lisa Vigil, Manager, Partnership Marketing & Loyalty Communications, "Thank you. This is personally very exciting." Mileage Plan keeps in touch with members through a monthly e-statement with news and offers as well as detailed account information. The Alaska Airlines Insider e-newsletter also keeps members informed and engaged and Alaska is known for its close communication with its top elite members offering face-to-face meetings. The top three finishers in this category, Alaska, Southwest and Continental, all received a value vote over nine. Continental has been a winner in this category six times but has not finished as the winner in over 10 years. However, considering that the program finished in seventh place last year, gaining up to the number three spot this year is quite an accomplishment. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Bonus Promotion [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Hilton HHonors Hilton vs. Marriott in the top two positions. Let's see what members like the most in this region. Hilton HHonors! Robert Bibeault, Director of Customer Loyalty, Financial Partnerships, accepts the award. "On behalf of Hilton HHonors and our members, thank you, this is very exciting." This is the first Best Bonus Promotion win in this region for Hilton HHonors. The program won this year with its popular Hilton Extra Nights promotion where members received free nights when paying for a specified number of nights. And along with the free nights, they received bonus points and double miles per stay. Number two this year is Marriott Rewards with its MegaBonus and at number three this year is Starwood Preferred Guest and its SPG You Choose promotion. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Bonus Promotion [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Kingfisher Airlines King Club This is the first ever Freddie Award win for Kingfisher Airlines King Club. The program wins Best Bonus this year with an exceptional bonus miles offer to celebrate the launch of international service. The program came in at number two in this category last year, so the Freddie win this year comes as no surprise. Accepting the Freddie for Kingfisher Airlines is Anshu Sarin. "Thank you. It's an honor to accept this award and we thank all our members who enabled us to get it." Coming in at second place is Virgin Blue Velocity with its American Express Membership Rewards transfer promotion and at number three is Korean Air Skypass. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Bonus Promotion [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Marriott Rewards Marriott Rewards wins Best Bonus Promotion in EMEA for the third consecutive year—winning again with its ever popular MegaBonus. "MegaBonus has to be really big to beat sextuple miles. Thank you." At number two this year is Hilton HHonors. HHonors members could get up to sextuple miles with the popular promotion. In third place is InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, which was third last year, and a former winner of this category. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Bonus Promotion [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Etihad Airways Etihad Guest This is the first win in this category for Etihad Guest. Members were treated to the possibility of winning up to 600,000 miles simply for booking their flights online. Now that's a bonus! Accepting the award is Barry Green, Head of CRM & Loyalty. The promotion that brought home the Freddie was a million miles promotion -- "the way to a member's heart is through his account." At number two is Delta SkyMiles with its birthday offer. This is the highest ranking SkyMiles has received in this category. The program placed ninth last year and did not make the list the year before. Coming in at number three is Brussels Airlines Privilege with its birthday promotion. It’s interesting to note that in the five years since this category has been in existence, there has been no repeat winner—a sign of healthy competition. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Bonus Promotion [Americas] :: InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards IHG Priority Club Rewards once again finds itself at the top of the Best Bonus Promotion category. This is the program’s sixth consecutive win and this year Priority Club won with its offer of double points or double miles after a member’s second stay. Don Berg, VP Loyalty Programs, takes the stage and says a few words. "Just want to say thank you to our members and to our biggest member, Randy, who pushed us over the edge." IHG was followed once again by six-time winner in this category, Marriott Rewards, with its popular MegaBonus offer. Coming in at the number three position this year is Choice Privileges with its triple points offer. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Bonus Promotion [Americas] :: American AAdvantage The granddaddy of all frequent flyer programs and currently the largest FFP in the world takes home the Freddie this year for its double elite-qualifying miles bonus offer—the only program in this category to earn a value vote over nine. Not only did the promotion offer members a faster route to elite, but it also included special offers for current elite-level members. Randy says that American AAdvantage members know high value in promotions when they see it. Accepting the award is Robert J. Friedman, President, AAdvantage Marketing Programs, American Airlines. This is the third win for AAdvantage in this category, but the last time American AAdvantage won a Freddie Award in any category was more than a decade ago. Last year’s winner in this category, Delta SkyMiles, fell to the eighth position while eight-time winner, Southwest Rapid Rewards, is in second place with a multi-partner bonus offer. In a not too distant third place this year is AirTran Airways A+ Rewards. Best Affinity Credit Card [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Virgin Blue Velocity NAB Gold Card American Express/Visa This is where we all become frequent flyers or frequent buyers. And it's another win for Velocity, congratulations! First time winner in this category, Virgin Blue Velocity NAB Gold Card American Express/Visa wins. The card is unique in that cardholders receive an American Express and Visa card for one account. Randy says, "Good to see you again, it's a lot of fun up here." "Thanks, Velocity is only three and a half years old so thanks to our members and Sir Randy for this award." In second place is last year’s winner, Jet Airways Citibank Credit Card followed by former winner in this category, American Express Membership Rewards at number three for the third consecutive year. Best Affinity Credit Card [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Lufthansa Miles & More Credit Card Miles & More takes home its third consecutive Freddie in this category. Earning one mile for every euro spent, cardholders can also earn miles for referring friends to the card and as long as you keep the card, your miles will never expire, even if you no longer have frequent flyer status. Randy said, "Who's your tailor?" as the representative from Lufthansa makes his way to the stage. Thomas Gesing of Lufthansa accepts the Freddie for Miles & More. "I think I'm the first person from the EU on the stage. It seems our friends in this region are really competitive. Thank you very much." In second place, and a former winner is Brussels Airlines American Express, with a value vote of just .02 less than this year’s Freddie winner. The same card placed third in last year’s Freddie Awards. Coming in at number three this year is American Express Membership Rewards—last year’s fourth place finisher. Best Affinity Credit Card [Americas] :: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express The crowd cheers for Starwood Preferred Guest. Congratulations SPG! "Thanks to our cardmembers, I'm honored. Three in a row, I'm touched, thanks a lot." For the third year in a row, Starwood Preferred Guest American Express takes home the Freddie for Best Affinity Credit Card. The card wins with its favorable conversions to miles in over 30 frequent flyer programs, double points for Starwood spends and fee-free the first year. The second and third place winners from the last two years have traded places this year with Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card coming in at number two and American Express Membership Rewards finishing in the third place spot. We Interrupt the Freddies for - What's This? Prizes! Christine Aguilera (that's Christine, not Christina) of SkyMall takes the stage to present fabulous door prizes to some lucky Freddie attendees. We've got $5,000 worth of prizes to give away. We left all the products such as the doggie door bell and we have some great prizes tonight. And the first prize is a Best Buy gift card. Congratulations! Next we are giving a $250 Nordstrom gift card. And the winner is Tammi Jo Balthazar with Carlson Marketing. The next prize is a set of Bose headphones. The winner is...Iphron Hamid, Private Investments. We sell a lot of luggage in our loyalty program. Next is Tumi carryon luggage. Tracy Beverman from American Express is the winner. A great new Sony Cyber-shot a camera, which goes to Scott O'Leary at Continental Airlines. Golf is another fabulous category. We are giving away a TaylorMade golf club driver and the winner is Viktor Ziskin. The winner of the Garmin GPS is Lee at Capital One. This is a fabulous iPod dock and the winner of this is Bob Soukup at Northwest Airlines. I've got two more great prizes. This is the newest Sony Vaio Notebook PC and it only weighs a pound. And Thomas Gesing at Lufthansa is the winner of the computer. The crowd ooohs and aaaahs at the last prize - a Sony television. Mike Ball at LoyaltyMatch wins the 48" LCD HDTV. Shashank Nijam, founder and CEO of SimpliFlying, also wins a $250 Nordstrom card. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Award [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Starwood Preferred Guest Starwood Preferred Guest is a repeat winner in this category, this year with its new SPG Flights award offer. The crowd cheers. Randy polishes the award before handing it over to SPG. "Thank you to all of our members. We're very excited about this." At number two this year is Hilton HHonors with their Going Global VIP award and number three is last year’s winner, Marriott Rewards, followed extremely closely by IHG Priority Club Rewards. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Award [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Virgin Blue Velocity Virgin Blue Velocity, takes home another Freddie, this time for Best Award. Members of Velocity could claim a flight award for a 98.5 percent discount (yes, you read that right—98.5 percent) on two popular Virgin Blue routes. Randy says, "If you question why this award is up there...!" And to the Virgin Blue representative as she makes her way to the stage, "How do you stay in business?" Accepting the Velocity award once again is Neda Nazem of V Australia. "It is a 98 percent discount, but we are a profitable airline." Last year’s winner, Jet Airways JetPrivilege, came in at number two with its award offer of a free international ticket when flying select domestic sectors and at number three is Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer with its half-off award offer. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Award [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Hilton HHonors Hilton HHonors takes home the Freddie for the first time in the EMEA Best Award category. HHonors members could take advantage of six award nights with no capacity controls for reduced rates. Here he comes again, Randy welcomes Robert Bibeault, Director of Customer Loyalty, Financial Partnerships, to the stage. "I just want to thank our Hilton HHonors members for voting for us. Thank you." Marriott is number two with its popular travel packages while former winner in this category, Starwood Preferred Guest, moves down from number two last year to the number three spot this year with its SPG Flights where members could redeem Starpoints for airline tickets. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Award [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club, takes home a Freddie for Best Award by being the only program to earn a value vote over nine in this category. Flying Club members could take advantage of half-off award sales in all cabins throughout the year. This is the fifth year that this Freddie category has been awarded and this is the first time that Flying Club will be taking home a Freddie in this category. Randy says, "Let me get this [award] all cleaned up for Mr. Branson." Accepting the award for Flying Club is Amanda Miller, "This is a great pleasure. Thank you to all our members for their support." In second place is Etihad Guest with its 50 percent off award sale. This year’s third place goes to Brussels Airlines Privilege, moving up from fifth place last year with its monthly award specials. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Award [Americas] :: InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards IHG Priority Club Rewards win this year brings them to the top in the Best Award category for the third time, but they have not won this category for the two previous years. IHG PointBreaks for only 5,000 points is the winner. Amy Ceriani Nelson, Director Priority Club Rewards, steps up on stage to receive the award. "Thank you so much. We have made a concerted effort to bring a valuable award to our members across all of our brands and members appreciate the value we bring them. Thank you." Priority Club Rewards just edged out last year’s winner, Marriott Rewards, by only a .06 value vote difference. Frequent Flyer Program: Best Award [Americas] :: British Airways Executive Club This is Executive Club’s first win in this category and the program’s first ever Freddie win. And although it might come as a surprise that a British airline should win in the Americas category, it simply demonstrates the globalization of the airlines and their frequent flyer programs. And a good, straightforward deal is appreciated by all—in this instance, half off all flight awards to all British Airways destinations in all flight classes. British Airways accepts the award, "It's nice to see a new airline up here. Thank you to our members..." Coming in at number two is Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, which has two prior wins under its belt, but has not been voted into the top spot in this category in the last five Freddie Awards. Mileage Plan’s offer also demonstrates a good value and simple concept—intra-state awards for only 15,000 miles roundtrip or 7,500 miles one-way. No muss, no fuss. Following closely behind Alaska’s value vote of 8.87 is AirTran Airways A+ Rewards value vote of 8.84 for its popular any airline, any destination award for 100 A+ credits. This category has seen quite the shake up from the previous year when Southwest Airlines, Midwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines claimed the top three spots. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Award Redemption [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Starwood Preferred Guest Congratulations go to Starwood! Starwood Preferred Guest wins for the fifth consecutive time for Best Award Redemption in this region. Starwood has dominated this category with the program’s no blackout dates or availability restrictions on free award nights. "At Starwood we recognize that award redemption is an important component of our program. To all of those who earn and redeem with us we thank you for this award." Coming in at number two for a third consecutive time is Marriott Rewards and moving up from number six to three is Hilton HHonors. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Award Redemption [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Virgin Blue Velocity Virgin Blue Velocity wins its fourth consecutive Freddie in the Best Award Redemption category with a notable 9.53 value vote. Velocity members who plan in advance can get award flights at reduced point amounts, but they also have the option of using points for any available flight—including during heavy travel times like during holidays when the amount of points is based on the cost of the fare. Members can also spend their miles at the online Velocity Rewards Shop. Accepting yet another Freddie for Virgin Blue Velocity is Neda Nazem. This is the fourth Freddie Award for Velocity so far this evening. "I know that they're watching in Australia. Thanks to everyone there." At number two is Kingfisher Airlines King Club while last year’s number two, Jet Airways JetPrivilege, is at number three. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Award Redemption [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Hilton HHonors This year's winner is Hilton HHonors. This is Hilton HHonors first Freddie Award win in this category—matching its first-ever win in the Americas region in this category—and another possible testament to Hilton’s no blackout date or capacity controls policy for award stays. Congratulations! Thank you, says Robert Bibeault as he accepts the award. The SPG program placed second followed by last year’s number two, Marriott Rewards. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Award Redemption [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Etihad Airways Etihad Guest Etihad Guest wins Best Award Redemption for the second consecutive year. Members of Etihad Guest can start spending their miles with as little as one mile—the program offers the ultimate in cash and miles flexibility for award redemption. It’s obvious that the members appreciate this option and the ease in claiming awards. Accepting the award is Barry Green, Head of CRM & Loyalty. "This is only our third year at the Freddies and we're having a great year this year. Thank you." Delta SkyMiles comes in at number two—up from eighth place last year and replacing former winner of this category, Gulf Air Frequent flyer, in second place last year. Gulf Air moves down to sixth position this year. And rounding out the top three is Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club—a vast improvement over last year’s 11th place finish. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Award Redemption [Americas] :: Hilton HHonors Look at the value votes in this category. The top five are all above 9.0. Let's see who's taking home this Freddie...Hilton HHonors! This is a first time win for Hilton HHonors in the Best Award Redemption category. This win very well could reflect the program’s decision in early 2008 to drop all blackout dates and capacity controls for award redemption. No stranger to the stage, Robert Bibeault comes up again to accept the award. Last year’s winner, IHG Priority Club Rewards, finishes in second place this year while one-time winner in this category, Marriott Rewards, is number three again this year. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Award Redemption [Americas] :: Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards This award category was introduced in 1998 and no other frequent flyer program has ever won—Rapid Rewards tops this all-important category for an 11th consecutive year. Over and over, we’ve heard from members that they like the simplicity and ease of getting a free ticket. When a member earns 16 credits (eight roundtrips), a free flight is waiting for them in their account. Accepting the award for Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards is Eric Woodson, Senior Manager Partnership Marketing, Southwest Airlines, "Thank you Randy and thank you to our Rapid Rewards members." Alaska Airlines comes in at number two for the third year in a row. Mileage Plan regularly makes an appearance at number two or three but can’t quite get the momentum up to conquer Southwest, although it’s getting closer. Alaska’s Mileage Plan trails Rapid Rewards by only .02 value vote this year. And once again Continental OnePass rounds out the top three. All top three airlines improved their value vote this year with Continental basically matching the winning value vote for Southwest last year (Southwest got a value vote of 9.035 last year, and Continental’s value vote this year is 9.04). Of note is AirTran Airways A+ Rewards making a move from number eight last year to number four this year. A+ Rewards is a program to watch. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Customer Service [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Hilton HHonors And the survey says...congratulations again to Hilton HHonors. Robert Bibeault steps up to the podium and takes the Freddie from Randy. "On behalf of Adam Burke and Hilton HHonors, thanks to all of our members for voting for us." Hilton HHonors replaces the reigning Queen of customer service, Starwood Preferred Guest, with its first win in this five-year-old category. HHonors members report that the customer service they receive makes them feel valued. Starwood Preferred Guest comes in second and Marriott Rewards, last year’s number two, is at number three this year. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Customer Service [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Kingfisher Airlines King Club Another Freddie is heading back to India on Kingfisher Airlines. This is the first win in this category for Kingfisher Airlines King Club and the second Freddie for the program this year. King Club members report being delighted with the service they have received both on and off the plane. "India vs. Australia!," says Randy. Accepting the award is Atul Kumria, Kingfisher Airline: "Thanks Randy and thanks for your awards. Being one of the youngest programs in the region, we especially thank our King Club members." Virgin Blue Velocity, is in the number two position while two-time winner in this category, Jet Airways JetPrivilege, comes in at third this year. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Customer Service [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Hilton HHonors I think Hilton is taking another one home. Whatever you've been doing globally Hilton, keep doing it. Congratulations again. "I'd like to thank our folks in Glasgow who handle our customer service there. We appreciate this very much", says Robert Bibeault when he accepts the award. This is another first Freddie win in a category for Hilton HHonors. The last two years saw Starwood Preferred Guest win but HHonors clearly won this year and members report that they can expect good service from Hilton; from the Web site, to the front desk to the quality of the rooms. Starwood Preferred Guest is second this year, followed by Marriott Rewards at number three. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Customer Service [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club First time winner in this category, Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club, wins its second Freddie this year in the EMEA region. Flying Club members report a responsive and efficient customer service experience and the love Virgin Atlantic customers feel for the entire Virgin experience—from the airport lounges to the in-flight entertainment—spells out total satisfaction for Flying Club members. Once again accepting the award for Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club is Amanda Miller. Randy says, "the microphone is yours" and Amanda says.. she waves her hand and gracefully exits the stage. In second place with a very close value vote (VERY close: 8.98 vs. Flying Club’s 8.99) is last year’s winner Etihad Guest. Just barely missing second place, Delta SkyMiles moves up from sixth place last year to place in third. Frequent Guest Program :: Best Customer Service [Americas] :: Marriott Rewards The crowd claps and cheers for Marriott Rewards. This one is for you, Bill Marriott. I know he's big on customer service. Ed French shakes Randy's hand and accepts the award. Marriott Rewards takes home the Freddie for the 12th time and the fourth consecutive year in this category. Clearly, Marriott is able to offer their members a responsive customer service experience and its members have responded with their votes. Choice Hotels Choice Privileges made an impressive move from number four last year to the number two position this year and Hilton HHonors rounds out the top three. Frequent Flyer Program :: Best Customer Service [Americas] :: Midwest Airlines Midwest Miles Midwest Miles should be proud of this fourth consecutive win in the Best Customer Service category after taking the reins from Southwest Rapid Rewards and its four-year first place winning streak. Midwest Miles has placed first in this category a total of five times. Members say that the customer service they receive is good from the moment they make the reservations until their luggage is safely in their hands after the return flight. "Steve you ready?" says Randy. Accepting the Freddie is Steve Mathwig, Director, Loyalty Marketing, Marie O'Shea and Connie Rosolek. Steve gives the award to the two ladies who represent the customer service representatives. In at number two is Alaska Mileage Plan. And Southwest Rapid Rewards once again comes in at number three for the top three to mirror last year’s top three. Frequent Guest Program :: Program of the Year [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Starwood Preferred Guest We'll wrap this up with the final category of the night, Program of the Year. Congratulations to Starwood Preferred Guest. This is a nice award to have. No other hotel program has ever won for Program of the Year in this area of the world. Starwood Preferred Guest continues to reign in this region, helped along by its no blackout date policy and high level of service SPG members receive. "First and foremost thanks to our members in Asia Pacific. We put our heart and soul into this program." Marriott Rewards comes in second for the fourth year in a row with a value vote of 8.88 and hot on Marriott’s heels is Hilton HHonors with a 8.87 value vote. Frequent Flyer Program: Program of the Year [Japan, Pacific, Asia, Australia] :: Virgin Blue Velocity Last year’s number two program in this category, Virgin Blue Velocity, made it to the top this year, upsetting two-time consecutive winner, Jet Airways JetPrivilege, which came in at number two this year. Virgin Blue Velocity is known for the ease of award redemption, and as we all know, easy award redemption goes straight to the heart of a frequent traveler. If a member has the points, he can access any available seat on the plane. The frequent flyer program also offers good value award sales and the added fun of sweepstakes where members can win points, among other program perks. Many voters commented on the friendliness of the Virgin Blue staff and the “fairness” of the loyalty program. Velocity has a solid fan base. "It's a long way to Australia but I'm sure the news will travel fast." says Randy. Accepting on behalf of the Velocity team once again is Neda Nazem, "You picked us last year as a rising star. Thank you so much to all our members." At number three, Kingfisher Airlines King Club, makes its debut in the top three for Program of the Year JPAA. Frequent Guest Program :: Program of the Year [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Starwood Preferred Guest The crowd cheers for Starwood. Starwood Preferred Guest comes in at number one again this year for the fourth time in this five-year-old category. Voters commented that Starwood keeps them well informed and entices them to stay with innovative promotions. "Thank you again to all of our members in Europe, Middle East and Africa and thanks to our associates for delivering great experiences to them. Thank you." Coming in at number two this year is Hilton HHonors and last year’s number two program, Marriott Rewards, is in third place this year. Frequent Flyer Program :: Program of the Year [Europe, Middle East, Africa] :: Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club This is Virgin Atlantic’s first win for Program of the Year. And a remarkable win it is when you consider Flying Club’s placement in last year’s Freddies—ninth place—and 10th place the year before. Virgin Atlantic has a sterling reputation for comfort and a bit of whimsy in flight and those qualities spill into the airline’s frequent flyer program. When members use their miles to upgrade at Virgin Atlantic, they will certainly feel valued. And along with cash and miles awards and occasional very good award sales, members have inventive and valuable ways to spend their miles. Virgin Atlantic just edges out last year’s winner, Etihad Guest, by .04 in their respective value votes. "She's got a little spring in her step," says Randy about Amanda. Accepting the coveted Program of the Year Award for Virgin Atlantic Airways is Amanda Miller. "This is a great honor. We appreciate all our members and thanks to everyone who put on this event tonight." At third place for the second consecutive year is Lufthansa (and Partners) Miles & More with a respectable 8.98 value vote and an equally respectable 27.99 percent of the votes. Frequent Guest Program :: Program of the Year [Americas] :: Marriott Rewards Marriott and Hilton are in the top two positions. Beverly Hills vs. D.C., soon to be D.C. vs. D.C. And the Freddie goes to...Marriott Rewards. Marriott Rewards is on top for the second consecutive year with a 9.52 value vote, the highest value vote of any category in the Americas ballot. Ed French, SVP, Marriott Rewards/CRM, "I just want to thank again all of our members and commend all of our competitors - we work in a great industry. Thank you." This is Marriott’s 10th win in this category and with 47.62 percent of the vote, it’s clear that Marriott Rewards members are the most vocal. At number two with a value vote of 9.42 is Hilton HHonors, edging out last year’s number two IHG Priority Club Rewards with its 9.39 value vote. Frequent Flyer Program :: Program of the Year [Americas] :: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan They did it again. Freddie favorite, and now five-time Program of the Year winner, Alaska Airlines resides at the top for the second year in a row! Mileage Plan received an impressive 9.34 value vote—upping its value vote as winner last year from 9.099. Mileage Plan pleases members with an excellent partner list, substantial award choices, good bonus promotions, an easy-to-use Web site and some of the best customer care representatives in the industry. "Everyone in this room should want this," says Randy. "You still out there Rick?" Randy asks Janet Libert of Executive Travel Magazine to come on stage to push the button to reveal the winner. Accepting the award for Mileage Plan is a very happy Rick Rasmussen, Director-Customer Loyalty, Lisa Vigil, Manager, Partnership Marketing & Loyalty Communications and Jean Whiteley, FlyerTalk Liaison. Rick says, "Thank you Randy and a special thank you to our 11,000 employees and 3 million members... and thanks to our front line employees. We dedicate this award to them." But before the folks at Mileage Plan get too cocky, we’ll be the first to point out that Southwest Rapid Rewards was a mere .03 value vote percentage away from a tie with them. Rapid Rewards members gave their program an equally impressive 9.31 average value vote. And we must also point out that following very, very closely to Rapid Rewards is none other than Freddie darling, Continental Airlines, with a close-to-winning 9.30 value vote. That, my friends, is very close for a program that used to own this category with its previous 10 Program of the Year wins. However, the night belongs to Alaska Mileage Plan and let us be the first say: Congratulations Mileage Plan! Goodbye from Fort Lauderdale I want to thank everyone in our audience and to all of those watching online. Thank you very much. As Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville drifts through the ballroom, everyone makes their way to the exits for the after party. We'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners and give a special thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. After all, you're the road warriors and the true experts about all things miles and points. This evening wouldn't have been possible without our sponsors. Thanks go to Points.com, Priority Pass, ICLP, Loylogic, Executive Travel Magazine and EzRez. And thanks also go to Visa for sponsoring the dinner and Synapse for providing the wine for dinner. Congratulations again to all of the winners!