About This Ranking
U.S. News & World Report has published its rankings of the best hotel and airline frequent traveler programs for 2022, and the results are fairly surprising. The publication has been doing these rankings for ten straight years, so they should carry at least some reference value.
Hotel Programs
The top five are Hyatt, Wyndham, Marriott, Choice, and IHG. I have no issue with Hyatt taking the top spot. Hilton, Marriott, and IHG all use dynamic award pricing, and their points have been devalued heavily. Hyatt is basically the only one that still has something like an award chart or category system, so its value has held up relatively well. Hyatt also has a smaller footprint, but the quality is generally quite consistent. Wyndham coming in at No. 2 is still pretty surprising, though it may offer the best value among roadside hotels in the U.S.
Here is the overall ranking. Hilton came in at No. 11, which is pretty laughable.
- World of Hyatt
- Wyndham Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Choice Privileges
- IHG One Rewards
- Best Western Rewards
- Radisson Rewards Americas
- Sonesta Travel Pass
- INVITED
- Leaders Club
- Hilton Honors
- ALL – Accor Live Limitless
- Stash Hotel Rewards
- Omni Select Guest
- I Prefer Hotel Rewards
The ranking methodology is as follows:
- Ability to earn one free night: 45%
- Additional benefits: 25%
- Nationwide coverage: 15%
- Number of hotels: 10%
- Hotel variety: 5%
Airline Programs
For airlines, the top five are Alaska, Delta, UA, Hawaii, and Southwest. Alaska is also one of the few programs whose miles have not been devalued too badly, and after joining one world, its usefulness has improved significantly. Its elite benefits are also quite generous, especially when it comes to upgrades. Delta ranking second is somewhat surprising, since SkyMiles are infamous for acting like "SkyPesos," but for domestic U.S. travel it may not be that different from the other programs. It is also surprising that AA did not make the top five; my guess is that frequent flight cancellations may be part of the reason.
Here is the overall ranking.
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Delta SkyMiles
- United MileagePlus
- HawaiianMiles
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Free Spirit
- FRONTIER Miles
The ranking methodology is as follows:
- Score for earning one free round-trip ticket: 47%
- Additional member benefits: 25%
- Route network: 10%
- Number of daily flights operated: 10%
- Airline service: 8%
- Award ticket availability: 0%, due to insufficient data after the pandemic
My Take
This ranking is mainly geared toward travel within the U.S. If international airlines were factored in, the major hotel chains and airline loyalty programs would almost certainly rank higher. In addition, this ranking does not appear to consider the impact of credit cards on loyalty programs, probably because people who play the points-and-miles game are still a minority. If you factor in credit cards, the larger airline and hotel programs would definitely move up, since their points and miles are much easier to earn, and you can also transfer bank points into several of these programs, making free nights and award tickets much easier to obtain.
If I were doing the ranking,
- For airlines: UA, AA, Delta, Alaska
- For hotels: Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Hilton
What do you think of this ranking?