The Freddie Awards are considered the premier awards for travel loyalty programs. It’s like the Oscars for frequent travelers. To my shame, I’ve paid very little attention to the Freddies in past years, and I’ve never voted (until now!). That is still more attention than I’ve ever given the Oscars, however.
Named for Sir Freddie Laker, a giant of the British aviation industry, the Freddie Awards recognize frequent traveler loyalty programs in a variety of categories. Voting is open to anyone. You can vote in the following categories:
- Program of the Year
- Best Promotion
- Best Redemption Ability
- Best Customer Service
- Best Loyalty Credit Card
- Best Elite Program
Each of the categories are separated into either airline or hotel, except for the ‘Best Loyalty Credit Card’.
Programs are scored based on a ‘ranked voting system’. People may vote for up to 3 programs in each category, and picks are ranked in order of preference. The votes are weighted (not quite sure how based on the ranking) and totaled.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City!
Last year the event was emceed by Gary Leff of View from the Wing. Last year for the Americas, Southwest and Avianca won the bulk of the airline awards, and Marriott and MGM took home the most hotel awards.
How to vote in the 2017 Freddie Awards
It’s really simple. Head to the Freddie Awards site and click the big red banner that says ‘Vote Now’. After selecting your language, you can go through a 3-step primer on how to vote, but it really isn’t necessary.
You’ll first select your region. The Freddie Awards are broken up into 3 regions: the Americas, Europe & Africa, and Asia & Oceania. You can only vote for programs in the region you select.
Then work through the categories one by one. Make three program (or credit card) picks in each, and then finally submit your ballot.
Final notes
Personally, I wish the Freddie Awards had a ‘Worst Redemption Ability’ category, at least for airlines. I would heartily vote for American. Maybe it would wake the “winners” up to people’s unhappiness with their programs.
Voting is open through March 31.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Man, couldn’t have picked a worse pic of gary if you tried! 😉
Who am I voting for? Is there a “None of the above” option? That would be my choice for the categories you list, with the possible exception of best loyalty credit card.
Well, it won’t be Hyatt this year. And I won’t be voting for American in any categories at all either of course.