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Note: This is archived information from past events. To view this year's news and contact info, click here. 20th Annual Freddie Awards Press Release PageBEST FREQUENT FLYER AND FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAMS CHOSEN IN THE 20TH ANNUAL FREDDIE AWARDS COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (April 24, 2008) - Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan was named frequent flyer Program of the Year and Marriott Rewards took top honors among hotel programs at the 20th Annual Freddie Awards on Thursday, April 24th. Internationally, Etihad Airways Etihad Guest frequent flyer program was voted Program of the Year in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region and India's Jet Airways JetPrivilege received the Program of the Year Freddie Award in the Asia/Pacific region for the second consecutive year. More than 600,000 frequent travelers worldwide cast online ballots to determine the winners. 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, Best Member Communications, Best Award Redemption and Best Customer Service. The Best Affinity Credit Card was also chosen. Voters were permitted to vote for programs in one of three global regions: Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific. Starwood Preferred Guest won Hotel Program of the Year in the Asia/Pacific region this year for the fourth consecutive year as well as in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region for the second consecutive year. Marriott Rewards placed first in the Americas region. This is Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan's fourth time as the Program of the Year award winner. The Seattle-based program also won first place in the Best Web Site and Best Elite-Level Program categories this year. Starwood Preferred Guest American Express was named top credit card for the second consecutive year in the Americas region. Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards took home the award for Best Award, Best Member Communications and Best Award Redemption, all in the Americas region. Starwood Preferred Guest and Marriott Rewards tied for the most Freddie Awards overall with 10 while Jet Airways JetPrivilege took home the most for an airline program with seven. The awards were announced today by InsideFlyer Editor Randy Petersen during a ceremony at the Wyndham Phoenix in Phoenix, Ariz. Over 300 airline, hotel and credit card representatives attended the ceremony, along with several members of the voting public. "For this 20th annual event, we are delighted to once again allow frequent flyers throughout the world to voice their opinions about the frequent travel programs that truly rise up in excellence," Petersen commented. "This is not an elitist view of these programs but rather the 'best' are determined by the votes of those who spend a great deal of their life on the road." The Freddie Awards honor quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the overall merits of each program as reflected in a "Value Vote." Value Voting asks the voter to assign a number between one and 10 to the program for which he or she votes. To be eligible to win a Freddie Award, however, a program must receive at least two percent of the popular vote. Petersen also presented Industry Impact Awards to Northwest WorldPerks, SAS EuroBonus, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Lufthansa Miles & More, Continental OnePass and Virgin Blue Velocity (a "Rising Star"). Introduced in 1992, the Industry Impact Awards are determined by editorial decision rather than by ballot. These awards honor the programs or individuals that have had, or will have, the biggest impact on the industry in coming years. The Freddie Awards are named after the late Sir Freddie Laker, who attracted fame (and a knighthood in the United Kingdom) for pioneering low-cost air travel across the Atlantic in the 1970s. This year, InsideFlyer magazine partnered with Points.com, Awards For Mortgage And Real Estate, Priority Pass, Executive Travel SkyGuide from American Express, ICLP and Loylogic to present the event for the 20th consecutive year. Attendees to the Award Ceremony were invited to dinner through a sponsorship with Visa and wine for the diners was sponsored by Synapse. The event was Webcast live and a recap of the event may be viewed online at www.freddieawards.com. THIS YEAR'S WINNERS ARE: Program of the Year
Best Award
Best Bonus Promotion
Best Member Communications
Best Web Site
Best Affinity Credit Card
Best Award Redemption
Best Customer Service
Best Elite Level
Industry Impact Award
Rising Star Award |
20th Annual Freddie Awards Press Release Page20th Annual Freddie Awards Offer Frequent Flyers an Opportunity to Speak Their Minds Freddie Awards Allow Travelers to Cast Votes For Best Frequent Travel Programs COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 15, 2008) -- Frequent travelers from around the world are invited to cast a vote in the 20th Annual Freddie Awards, which are designed to award excellence among frequent travel programs in the airline, hotel and credit card industries. Since 1989, InsideFlyer magazine has served as the primary sponsor of the Freddie Awards, and has partnered this year with Points.com, Award for Mortgages and Real Estate, Priority Pass, Executive Travel SkyGuide, ICLP and Loylogic to present the event for the 20th consecutive year. This year's winners will be revealed on April 24, 2008 during the Freddie Award ceremony at the Wyndham Phoenix in Arizona. For the first time, the Freddie Awards will be held in conjunction with the Annual Frequent Travel Marketing Association's (FTMA) Spring conference. "The FTMA Spring conference serves as the perfect complement to the Freddies, " said InsideFlyer Editor and Publisher Randy Petersen. "The Freddies are the most recognized awards for frequent travel programs and the FTMA is the leading trade organization for those who manage these programs. Last year, a record 439,000 frequent flyers cast ballots. This year, we expect that record will be broken." 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 Member Communications, Best Award Redemption, Best Elite-Level Program, Best Customer Service and Best Web Site. The Freddie Awards are determined by value voting, a system in which voters rate the value of their program choices on a scale of one to 10. Programs with the highest average score and at least one percent of the popular vote in each category are awarded Freddies. In essence, Freddies are awarded for quality, not quantity. The awards are named after the late Sir Freddie Laker (1922-2006) who attracted fame, and a knighthood in the United Kingdom, for his pioneering marketing ideas within the travel industry in the 1970s. Freddie Award balloting is conducted entirely online at www.freddieawards.com. Voting concludes on February 29, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. MT. The Freddie winners will also be announced in the May issue of InsideFlyer magazine and online at freddieawards.com. |