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Note: This is archived information from past events. To view this year's news and contact info, click here. 21st Annual Freddie Awards Press Release PageBEST FREQUENT FLYER AND FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAMS CHOSEN IN THE 21st ANNUAL FREDDIE AWARDS COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (April 23, 2009) - Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan was named frequent flyer Program of the Year and Marriott Rewards took top honors among hotel programs at the 21st Annual Freddie Awards on Thursday, April 23rd. Internationally, Virgin Atlantic Airways Flying Club frequent flyer program was voted Program of the Year in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region and Australia's Virgin Blue Velocity received the Program of the Year Freddie Award in the Japan/Pacific/Asia/Australia region. More than 700,000 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 Member Communications, Best Web Site, Best Award Redemption, Best Customer Service and Best Elite-Level Program. 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 Japan/Pacific/Asia/Australia. Starwood Preferred Guest won Frequent Guest Program of the Year in the Japan/Pacific/Asia/Australia region for the fifth consecutive year as well as in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region for the third consecutive year. Marriott Rewards placed first in the Americas region. This is Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan's fifth time as the Program of the Year award winner in the Americas. The Seattle-based program also won first place in the Best Member Communications, Best Web Site and Best Elite-Level Program categories this year. This is the third consecutive year for the program to win Best Web Site and the fourth consecutive year for the program to win Best Elite-Level Program. Starwood Preferred Guest American Express was named top credit card for the third consecutive year in the Americas region. In a testament to the globalization of these loyalty programs, British Airways Executive Club won for Best Award in the Americas and Delta Air Lines SkyMiles won for Best Elite-Level Program in Europe/Middle East/Africa. Marriott Rewards won the most Freddie Awards overall with nine while Virgin Blue Velocity took home the most for an airline program with six. In the Americas region, the airline program that took home the most Freddie Awards was Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan with four. The awards were announced today by InsideFlyer Editor Randy Petersen during a ceremony at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Over 250 airline, hotel and credit card representatives attended the ceremony, along with several members of the voting public. "For this 21st 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 (10 being the best) 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 total vote for the category. Petersen also presented Industry Impact Awards to Continental OnePass and United Mileage Plus. 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, Priority Pass, ICLP, Loylogic, Executive Travel Magazine and EzRez to present the event for the 21st 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 Award Redemption Best Customer Service Best Elite-Level Program Best Affinity Credit Card Industry Impact Award |
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21st 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, 2009) Frequent travelers from around the world are invited to cast a vote in the 21st 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, Priority Pass, ICLP, Loylogic and Executive Travel SkyGuide to present the event for the 21st consecutive year. This year's winners will be revealed on April 23, 2009 during the Freddie Award ceremony at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport in Florida. Once again, 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 setting 629,000 frequent flyers cast ballots. This year, we expect to attract a similar number of voters, if not more." 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 28, 2009 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.
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