The best airline loyalty programs worldwide

When you’re busy traveling, you might not have the time to scour the internet for the best frequent flyer program. The truth is, there isn’t one best program for everyone. There are several great programs, and we’ve put together all of the finer details so you can easily review them and sign up for the one that works for you.

Want the quick answer to which one you should pick? Skim the "partner airlines" section for each program and see if the airlines you often fly with are included. If there’s some overlap with your top-trusted airlines, you can just take a look at the benefits of each and make your choice.

And remember, using Perk’s business travel management software, you can easily save loyalty program membership numbers for business travelers. This way, no matter who’s booking—your internal travel manager, administrative assistant, or the traveler themselves—the business travelers will automatically collect their miles.

Here’s our airline rewards program comparison with all the top worldwide programs for US-based business travelers.

Airline Loyalty Programs Comparison

JetBlue TrueBlue

With no blackout dates, eight partner airlines, and sweet bonuses in the upper tier, this rewards program from JetBlue is a fan favorite. Besides flights, hotel stays, and car rentals, you can also earn points on purchases with retail partners like Apple and Gap through the TrueBlue Shopping Portal. 

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

You’ll be collecting three points for every dollar spent with JetBlue and their partners (except on Blue Basic fares, where you’ll earn one point). If you travel often, the four-level Mosaic program will give you priority boarding, free same-day flight changes, checked bags, priority security, extra legroom, and free booze!

Learn more about signing up for TrueBlue

Southwest Rapid Rewards

The Rapid Rewards program from Southwest Airlines won’t allow you to collect points from airlines other than Southwest. However, the airline does have partnerships with over 800 retailers in the US (including heavyweights like Macy’s, Home Depot, and Sephora), as well as several popular hotel chains and rental car companies.

Partner Airlines:

• Southwest Airlines

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

When you ascend the tiers, you get even more points for dollars spent, bringing you that much closer to the famed Companion Pass.

Companion Pass

We can’t talk about Rapid Rewards without mentioning the Companion Pass. If you qualify (fly 100 one-way flights or earn 125,000 points in a calendar year) then you get a Companion Pass for the remainder of that calendar year plus the entirety of the next calendar year. The Companion Pass allows you to bring another passenger with you on any flight and only pay the applicable taxes and fees (not the airline charges for the ticket). Pretty sweet deal for the business traveler who’s also a weekend warrior. You can earn qualifying points from flights, shopping, dining, and spending on your Rapid Rewards credit card. If you fly Southwest with a “companion” a lot, it’s certainly worth looking into!

Learn more about signing up for Rapid Rewards

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Mileage Plan

Alaska Airlines’ rewards program, the Mileage Plan, has partnerships with global airlines, including many in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. If your travel takes you out of the States often, then choosing a program with a lot of global partnerships is a smart move.

Partner Airlines:

Tiers & Benefits

With First Class and Premium upgrades on lots of fares, you’ll be sitting pretty if you earn MVP status.

Learn more about signing up for Mileage Plan

SkyMiles

This is the best fit for the traveler who flies in Europe and Asia just as often as the States! If your national carrier is likely to be Delta but you want global partners, then consider SkyMiles for your top-choice rewards program.

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

As of January 1, 2024, Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) will be the only determinant of benefits. Every dollar spent on Delta, its partner airlines (except basic economy fares), and Delta retail partners earns you one MQD. If value matters more to you than racking up miles, this is the program for you.

Another interesting element of this program is that in the two higher tiers, you choose 1-3 benefits.

Are you curious about the program but already have elite status with another airline? Delta’s new Medallion Status Match Challenge lets you swap your elite status for a free three-month trial of SkyMiles Medallion perks.

Learn more about signing up for SkyMiles

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AAdvantage

With a long list of partner airlines, the AAdvantage program from American Airlines is a great option for the global traveler. Note that there are fewerEuropean airlines here than the SkyMiles program. With the highest number of participating retailers (over 1,000), this card lets shoppers rack up miles.

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

To move up the tiers, you only need Loyalty Points, which can be earned when you fly, use an AAdvantage credit card, or shop at an AAdvantage partner. AAdvantage status members can also take advantage of oneworld^® benefits as passengers on scheduled flights that are marketed and operated by oneworld^® member airlines.

Learn more about signing up for AAdvantage

United MileagePlus

As part of the Star Alliance, United Airlines offers MileagePlus members the ability to collect miles from over 35 other airlines. With domestic hubs in eight US cities and territories and daily flights to cities across five continents, MileagePlus is a great option for the States-based traveler who also flies internationally. There are also 900+ partnering retailers that can help you earn 1 mile per dollar spent.

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

Tiers are based on either a combination of Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) and Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) or by meeting a higher PQP goal.

Learn more about signing up for MileagePlus

HawaiianMiles

This program is great for Pacific Coast or Hawaii-located travelers who fly often from the islands to the mainland, or from either place to Asia. With their signature motto “a mile flown is a mile earned,” we’ll leave it to you to guess how you earn miles.

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

The higher tiers are some of the easier ones to access versus other plans. Fly round-trip between SFO and HNL four times in one year and you’ll almost reach Pualani Gold. A few partner hotel stays should get you to the 20,000 mile requirement.

Learn more about signing up for HawaiianMiles

British Airways Executive Club

There are many reasons why frequent business travelers would want to join the British Airways Executive Club. With its distinct reward currency, Avios, cardholders have countless ways to redeem miles for flights, hotels, airport lounges, and even travel experiences. The program’s Balance Booster even allows you to double or triple your Avios. You can use miles for a number of exciting perks that fall under the One World umbrella.

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

There are 4 tiers of membership that you can join—Blue, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Your award miles and the way you redeem them will differ depending on which membership tier you are part of. You automatically become a Blue Member as soon as you join the British Airways Executive Club.

Flying Blue

This union between AirFrance, KLM, and Transavia is considered one of the most popular loyalty programs in the world. Earning miles on air travel with them is easy, as is finding desirable airfare options with their Promo Rewards. Discounts can often reach up to 50% off on trips to specific cities around the world!

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

• Bose

• Apple

• Tumi

• Fitbit

• Rituals

Tiers & Benefits

You can actually start claiming award tickets with a relatively low number of miles thanks to the Promo Rewards feature offered. Flying Blue provides a great tool for finding seats and issues interesting new award programs and deals every month.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Gather frequent flyer miles with the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and redeem them particularly well with Delta, specifically. You can collect award seats for very reasonable sums, and can even put them on hold for free for 24 hours before transferring points.

Partner Airlines:

Top Partner Companies:

Tiers & Benefits

If there's one thing Virgin Atlantic does well, it's giving you perks. From giving you the opportunity to earn points on every flight to clubhouse guest passes, this program's got it all! It's especially good for frequent flyers traveling to London often. If you connect your Flying Club account to a free Virgin Red rewards club account, you’ll rack up points even faster.

Factors to consider when choosing the best frequent flyer program

Whether elite status is the goal or whether you’re simply trying to save money on business travel expenses, there are certain factors to take into account before committing to a frequent flyer program. This will help you determine how beneficial the airline miles program is for your organization, and optimize your business travel program in general.

Here are 4 factors to consider before choosing the best airline rewards program.

1. Where you travel and how often

This is probably the most important factor to consider when choosing your frequent flyer program. In short, there’s little point in choosing a frequent flier program with all the bells and whistles if you’re not actually going to benefit from it.

The most influential factor here is whether you fly more domestically or internationally, or whether there’s a mix of both. Not only will you have a bigger and more suitable flight inventory to choose from, but you’ll have more chances to earn miles and book reward air travel in the future.

Plus, choosing a frequent flyer program solely based on its points policy is a big no-no. Although you might earn more points with a certain program, you may end up making more or multiple connections if you choose an airline that doesn’t align with your base location and destinations, resulting in a huge waste of travel time for frequent travelers.

2. Whether points are accrued based on miles traveled or money spent

Frequent flyer loyalty programs and airline loyalty schemes have, traditionally, rewarded customers based on the number of miles they fly. However, it’s now also common to reward the customers that spend more money with them, resulting in reward programs that combine both the number of miles flown and the amount of money spent.

Which type of points accrual is best will depend on your business and the balance of long and short-haul journeys made and the type of airfare you regularly choose.

3. Which partners the program offers

Many airlines have both partner airlines and partner hotels, travel companies, and credit card providers, which makes earning miles much easier. Choosing a frequent flyer loyalty program with relevant partners for your needs can greatly expand the range of available destinations, as well as the chance to earn and redeem more frequent flyer miles for free flights.

Not only does this increase the flexibility you have with your travel plans, but you can also benefit from credit card reward programs, hotel partnerships, and many other perks.

4. What exactly is redeemable

Frequent flyer miles are regularly used for reward flights, but check to see what else is on offer with each airline rewards program, and how exactly you can spend your points. For example, some airlines might only offer certain flights when you redeem your points, while others may not allow you to redeem 100% of the flight cost.

If you’re looking for a program that will allow you to redeem miles for more than just free flights, check whether each program offers perks such as upgrading to extra legroom, having access to airport lounges, or putting your points towards hotel stays and car hires.

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