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Note: This is archived information from past events. To view this year's news and contact info, click here. 13th Annual Freddie Awards Press Release BEST FREQUENT FLYER AND FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAMS CHOSEN IN THE 13TH ANNUAL FREDDIE AWARDS - AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 26) -- Continental OnePass and SAS EuroBonus take the top awards in the 13th Annual Freddie Awards for American and International frequent flyer programs. Starwood Preferred Guest takes the top awards for American and International frequent guest programs. Diners Club Club Rewards was named top credit card for the American awards for the fourth consecutive year, while Qantas Telstra Visa Card captured top International honors for the first time. The awards were announced today by InsideFlyer Editor and Publisher Randy Petersen during a ceremony at the Hilton New York. This year, InsideFlyer magazine has partnered with MCI WorldCom, Biztravel.com, Netcentives, USATODAY.com and MilePoint.com to bring travelers the 13th Annual Freddie Awards. The event was also webcast live via the Internet using some of the latest digital technology. A recap of the event may be viewed online at www.freddieawards.com. A total of 164,891 ballots were cast this year by frequent travelers from around the world. The awards represent excellence in frequent travel programs and rate the best frequent flyer and frequent guest programs in eight different categories: Program of the Year, Best Award, Best Bonus Promotion, Best Web Site, Best Elite-Level Program, Best Newsletter, Best Award Redemption and Best Customer Service. The Best Affinity Credit Card was also chosen. Ninety-one percent of the Freddie ballots were cast via the Internet this year, compared to 10 percent cast online in 1995. Nine percent were received via fax and mail, proving traditional methods of communication are becoming less important to frequent flyers. To ensure accuracy, votes were subject to three audits using a variety of technologies. Freddie Awards focus on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the overall merits of each program as reflected in "Value Voting," rather than how many votes a program receives. Value Voting asks the voter to assign a number between one and 10 to the program he or she votes for. The popular vote is still important, however. To be eligible to win a Freddie Award, a program must receive at least 1 percent of the popular vote to qualify. This year's winners are: Program of the Year Best Award Best Bonus Promotion Best Web Site Best Elite Level Program Best Newsletter Best Award Redemption Best Customer Service Best Affinity Credit Card INSIDEFLYER / MCI WORLDCOM/ BIZTRAVEL.COM / NETCENTIVES/USATODAY.COM/MILEPOINT.COM - ONCE AGAIN ASK FREQUENT TRAVELERS TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS Freddie Awards Allow Travelers to Cast Votes For Best Frequent Travel Programs COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 23) -- For the 13th consecutive year, travelers have the opportunity to express their opinions about the best frequent travel programs in the airline, hotel and credit card industries. This year, Netcentives, USATODAY.com and MilePoint.com to bring travelers the 13th Annual Freddie Awards. "The Freddies are the most recognized awards for frequent travel programs because they give frequent travelers a chance to pick the best programs out there," said InsideFlyer publisher and editor Randy Petersen. "The Freddies continue to grow in popularity. Last year, over 103,000 frequent flyers cast ballots. Seventy-three percent of the Freddie ballots were cast via the Internet. And we expect both the total ballot count and percentage of online ballots to increase substantially this year." The Freddie Awards are named after Sir Freddie Laker who attracted fame (and a knighthood in the United Kingdom) for his pioneering marketing ideas within the travel industry in the 1970s. "Only those companies that listen to the needs and preferences of their top customers are those who are going to succeed in today's competitive environment," said Justin Shaw, vice president and general manager, Biztravel.com. "Biztravel.com designs its new services around the suggestions and requests from its business traveler members. Similarly, the Freddie Awards give business travelers a strong voice in selecting industry standouts, by letting them decide which frequency programs are the best." Travelers all over the world now can cast a vote in the Freddie Awards, which are designed to award excellence among frequent travel programs. Voters rate hotel, airline and credit card programs in nine categories: Program of the Year, Best Award, Best Bonus Promotion, Best Affinity Credit Card, Best Newsletter, Best Award Redemption, Best Elite-Level Program, Best Customer Service and Best Web Site. "Corresponding with the growth of the travel industry, the landscape of frequent flyer programs has undergone a dramatic change," said Tony Radka, vice president, travel solutions for Netcentives. "The Freddie Awards offer frequent travelers a valuable resource to help recognize the leading programs in the industry. These programs are more dynamic and constantly evolve to offer unique earning opportunities and Netcentives continues its focus to deliver the technology to meet that demand." The Freddie Awards are determined by value voting, a system in which voters rate their program choices from one to 10. Programs with the highest average score and at least 10 percent of the popular votes in each category are awarded Freddies. In essence, Freddie Awards are awarded for quality that a program delivers, and not the quantity of votes that it receives. "USA TODAY offers the traveling public a constant source for breaking news and information, whether its through USA TODAY the newspaper, USATODAY.com the website, or through various mobile and wireless devices," said Jeff Webber, senior vice president and publisher for USATODAY.com. USA TODAY is pleased to be a sponsor of the Freddie Awards. Travelers who wish to speak their minds have three ways to access the ballot and cast their votes. Those with access to the Internet may access the ballot at http://www.freddieawards.com. The ballot for programs operating in the Americas is also available in the January issue of InsideFlyer magazine. The ballot for international programs can be found in the January/February edition of InsideFlyer International. Both magazines are available by calling 800/767-8896. Travelers can also call that number to request a ballot be faxed. "As perhaps the latest innovation in frequent flyer related programs, it's perfect for MilePoint.com to be a sponsor of the Freddie Awards. Our program allows frequent travelers to convert their miles and points into a currency that can be used to buy goods and services from more than 200 select retailers on the Internet," said Mark Lacek, co-founder and CEO of MilePoint.com. "We share the spirit of innovation that Freddie Laker had." All ballots must be received by Mar. 17, 2001, 5pm MT via fax at 719/597-6855 or by mail at 13th Annual Freddie Awards, 1930 Frequent Flyer Point, Colorado Springs, CO 80915. Winners will be announced in the May issue of InsideFlyer magazine and online at http://www.freddieawards.com. SPONSOR INFORMATION: InsideFlyer, a monthly magazine dedicated to the coverage of frequent travel programs around the world, helps its more than 80,000 readers optimize their mileage and point earning potential through in-depth news on the programs, their partners and special bonuses and promotions. A one-year subscription is available for $36 by calling 800/767-8896. For more information go to http://www.insideflyer.com. San Francisco-based Netcentives Inc. (Nasdaq: NCNT), a leading provider of loyalty and direct marketing solutions, delivers a broad suite of relationship marketing technology and services including business, consumer and employee loyalty programs, customized email marketing and consulting services. With a global customer base approaching 300 companies, Netcentives' patented business processes and scalable technology infrastructure provide clients with the power and flexibility to drive enduring customer relationships both online and offline. Netcentives powers several leading loyalty networks including AOL AAdvantage Rewards, American Express Blue Loot, ClickRewards*, CoolSavings Rewards, Lycos Rewards, and ICQ ClickRewards. Biztravel.com is the foremost full service travel Web site for business travelers, recognized for its world-class customer service, the revolutionary Biztravel Guarantee, and cutting-edge technological applications. These include FareGuard, a patented technology that searches the airlines' systems for lower fares up until the date of departure-allowing Biztravel customers to benefit from a price reduction announced by the airlines after they have planned or purchased a trip. Other innovative features on the site include calendar synchronization, automatic upgrading, personalized frequent traveler point tracking, and real time wireless messaging alerts-informing the traveler of timely flight information one hour prior to take-off. Biztravel.com and its personalized reservation process has been lauded by such prestigious publications as PC Computing, PC Magazine and The Peppers & Rogers Group, and also received the Webby Award for the Best Travel Site of the Year. Most recently, Biztravel.com was named one of the top 100 best sites for 2000 by Yahoo! Internet Life, was featured in Forbes Magazine "Best of the Web 2000" sites, and received a CIO 100 award for customer service excellence. Based in Minneapolis, MilePoint.com was co-founded in October 1999 by Mark Lacek, Bill Jansen and Bruce Samuel. Lacek is a respected loyalty marketing industry veteran who helped establish the very successful Northwest Airlines WorldPerks program. He left in 1991 to start The Lacek Group, a Minneapolis-based loyalty marketing firm that grew to over $40 million in billings. The company was recently acquired by advertising holding company WPP and its Ogilvy One division. Other industry leaders in executive or senior advisory roles at MilePoint include A.B. "Sky" Magary, former president of the Shuttle by United, Bob Coggin, former executive vice president of marketing at Delta Air Lines, Bob Briggs, former president of National Car Rental, Randy Petersen, renowned loyalty expert and publisher and editor of industry trade publication InsideFlyer, Bill Jansen, MilePoint's chief technology officer and architect of the Cambio Technology, Bruce Samuel, MilePoint's chief financial officer and previously chief financial officer of the Lacek Group and Peter Brennan, MilePoint's chief marketing officer and co-founder of The Lacek Group. USATODAY.com is the No. 1 newspaper site and a leading general interest news site on the Internet. More than 25 million monthly visitors experience comprehensive, convenient USA TODAY news and information through interactive features, info graphics, and multi-media functions including audio, video and live Webcasts. USATODAY.com has more than 200,000 pages of breaking news, sports, money, life and weather-all updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, please visit http://www.usatoday.com. |