WalletHub Unveils The Best Frequent Flyer Programs of 2017

Picking your next frequent flyer program can be a dizzying endeavor. Thankfully, one website has helped sift through the trove of options for the year at hand.

Personal finance website WalletHub has unveiled a wonderful page that not only breaks down the key programs available to consumers but features an intuitive calculator to suggest what program might be best for how much you travel.

If you are in the market to turn your miles into savings, visit WalletHub’s 2017 Best Frequent Flyer Programs page.  

Before we delve into the methodology, we will save you some time and anoint Delta SkyMiles as the program considered to be the cream of the crop by WalletHub’s study.

As the website explains, researchers delved into various airlines and offerings that affected various levels of travel spending: “This report compared the frequent flyer programs operated by the 11 largest airlines in the U.S., based on number of passengers, using publicly available information and company policies posted online. We did so for three different consumer profiles, designed to illustrate how programs compare across spending levels.”

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In this case, the levels were broken into light flyer (up to $467 spent), average flyer (up to $3,105 spent) and frequent flyer levels (up to $5,743).

The programs were then judged across five criteria: airline coverage, partner coverage, value earned for every $100 spent on the program, various pertinent restrictions, and any additional features and loyalty policies.

It’s an in-depth dig that comes back with glaring results. Delta may be the best option overall, but there is a lot to like about other programs.

As for specific value: “Hawaiian Airlines offers the most rewards value ($21 per $100 spent), with Alaska Airlines coming in a close second ($20 per $100 spent).”

If you are the type to let your miles linger for long periods of time, WalletHub reminds, “Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways are the only two major airlines whose miles do not expire because of inactivity.”

We had a bit of fun exploring the various spending levels. According to the custom calculator, those who spend about $500 a year on their respective program would do well to look toward Delta and Virgin America solutions, respectively.

That seems to be the case for $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000 values.

With its volume of daily flights, number of countries served and overall value earned its loyal members, Delta wins the day in what may be the most important program for prolific business and pleasure travelers.

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