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Does This Budget Airline Really Have “The Best” Frequent Flyer Program Around?

Noted for low fares, passenger-friendly policies and domestic redemption options, Southwest has been named the best frequent flyer program in an online poll by Airfarewatchdog.

When it comes to the best frequent flyer program, a budget airline from deep in the heart of Texas is feeling the love from travelers. In a recent poll from Airfarewatchdog, Southwest Airlines was named the best frequent flyer program by poll respondents.

Airfarewatchdog collected responses from over 1,500 frequent flyers in an unscientific poll, asking participant which domestic carrier they believed had the best loyalty program. With 32 percent of the vote, Southwest was by far the most popular choice among travelers. The low-cost carrier cinched nearly twice as many votes as the runner-up, Delta Air Lines.

While not often a favorite of luxury flyers due to it’s lack of first class and points redemption options, Southwest still seems to have found a soft spot with domestic travelers. Those behind the poll say the airline’s typically lower fares, passenger-friendly policies and easy to understand points system is what earned it the top spot.

“Although Southwest can’t fly you to Paris and it’s not as popular with the OneWorld/SkyTeam/Star Alliance fanatics, it has many advantages for the typical consumer,” Airfarewatchdog President George Hobica said in a press release. “Their frequent flier fees … are lower or non-existent. The majors charge $200 to change an award ticket unless you have status in the program.”

The full percentage rankings can be found below:

  1. Southwest Airlines — 32%
  2. Delta Air Lines — 17%
  3. American Airlines — 14%
  4. Alaska — 11%
  5. United — 11%
  6. JetBlue — 8%
  7. Hawaiian — 4%
  8. Allegiant — 1%
  9. Frontier — 1%
  10. Spirit — 1%

[Photo: Southwest Airlines]

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4 Comments
I
IflyfromABE April 24, 2015

"over 1,500 frequent flyers in an unscientific poll" Ballot stuffing :)

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vishalgupta22 April 20, 2015

WN FF being #1 makes perfect sense for anyone who doesn't understand words like: Lie-Flat Transatlantic/Transpacific J/F F terminals Real lounges (not our NA lounges) Redemption on all the above For most people, WN FF program is straight forward, 60 miles per $ of airfare, no searching for awards etc. You can also get more than 2 RTs for 50k points if you fly cheap fares. As others also mentioned, what I can't understand is Delta FF being #2

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pstravels April 20, 2015

LOL. Im total newbie, but this is a fail. Can we have some other "experts" chim in here. lol.

T
tkrad April 20, 2015

Delta at number 2????????????????? I get Southwest at number 1 but really, Delta? I must be missing something. I could see second to last in front of United.