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14th Annual Freddie Awards Press Release

BEST FREQUENT FLYER AND FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAMS CHOSEN IN THE 14TH ANNUAL FREDDIE AWARDS - AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO - Southwest Rapid Rewards and SAS EuroBonus took the top awards in the 14th Annual Freddie Awards for American and International frequent flyer programs. Starwood Preferred Guest took 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 fifth consecutive year, while Qantas Telstra Visa Card captured top International honors for the second year in a row. The awards were announced yesterday by InsideFlyer Editor and Publisher Randy Petersen during a ceremony in New York City at the Holiday Inn Martinique. Over 200 airline and hotel representatives attended the ceremony, along with several members of the voting public.

This year, InsideFlyer magazine partnered with MCI WorldCom, USATODAY.com, MilePoint.com and SkyGuide from American Express to bring travelers the 14th Annual Freddie Awards. Guests were also treated to a spectacular pre-ceremony dinner and cocktail hour, which was provided by Six Continents Hotels. The event was webcast live using the latest digital technology. A recap of the event may be viewed online at www.freddieawards.com.

Mr. Petersen also presented a special "Industry Impact Award" to the executives of the Delta SkyMiles program for their decision to reduce domestic awards to an unprecedented 15,000 miles after the events of 9/11. With this action, Delta became the first in the industry to leverage its frequent flyer program in an effort to convince the world to fly again and proved once again just how valuable frequent flyer programs are to the industry and to the traveling public.

A total of 221,884 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.

One hundred percent of the Freddie ballots were cast via the Internet this year, compared to 10 percent cast online in 1995. To ensure accuracy, votes were subject to four audits using a variety of technologies.

The Freddie Awards honor quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the overall merits of each program as reflected in "Value Voting," rather than on 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. To be eligible to win a Freddie Award, however, a program must receive at least one percent of the popular vote.

This year's winners are: