Like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards is a transfer program. It’s not intrinsically tied to any one hotel or airline, so accruing points with it allows you to redeem for a wide variety of travel options.
Long a favorite among frequent flyers, American Airlines AAdvantage has garnered the Freddie Awards (the top honor for frequent flyer programs) for the Program of the Year and the Best Elite Program for three years straight. But it’s in a really interesting position these days for two reasons: its merger with US Airways and the huge changes going on with the United and Delta programs.
Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) is much more than it seems. On the surface, it looks like a simple hotel program, not much different than the reward program run by other industry heavyweights like Hyatt, Hilton or Marriott. But Starwood’s currency, Starpoints, actually unlocks a world of travel far beyond hotels.
The newest travel award program on the scene, Barclaycard Arrival, takes a very different approach than Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards. There are no transfer partners. No bonuses when you redeem for travel with airlines or hotels. Just use your miles to pay for travel directly.
Delta has been taking flak from frequent flyers for years, for a variety of valid reasons: Their awards are much harder to come by than those of most major domestic airlines; you cant book one-way awards without a huge penalty; and its often a huge time suck to find the award you want to book on their website.
If you take a lot of flights around America (North, Central or South), Avios may be the best program for you. Because of its close partnership with American Airlines, you can use Avios to book pretty much any American flight for a fraction of the miles, since the Executive Club uses distance-based awards rather than zone-based awards.
Unlike many airline programs that have been around for decades, the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is very new on the scene just five years old this month which may explain part of why it is such an attractive offering.
United Airlines has good domestic coverage, with several hubs in the middle of the U.S. for varied domestic and international routing options, and a very wide network of international air and hotel partners through Star Alliance and individual partnerships.
Airline and hotel programs are designed to get you to fly on their planes and to stay in their hotels. But we all know its not an exclusive relationship for many. While these programs are great for collecting miles and points for your low-cost travel, they are not the only programs you should be considering if you trade in your rewards for travel.
