By Marnie Hunter, CNN
(CNN) — Having trouble navigating the complicated, often frustrating, world of airline loyalty programs?
This might help: Point.me, a points and travel reward search platform, has ranked 62 global airline rewards programs using nine criteria, with ease of earning miles, redemption rates, availability on partner airlines and ease of booking as the most important factors.
Flying Blue, a loyalty program attached to Air France and KLM, is the world’s No. 1 airline rewards program, according to the rankings. Air Canada’s program, Aeroplan, ranks No. 2, with United Mileage Plus coming in at No. 3 on the global list.
This year’s rankings are the first edition of what’s slated to be an annual list from Point.me, a platform aimed at helping customers get the best value from their points.
“We want to provide that transparency and confidence in earning and redeeming points and help people not feel like this is a Wild West where they don’t understand how to use points. They don’t know what programs are good. We want to bring that clarity,” said Tiffany Funk, the company’s president and co-founder, on a call previewing the rankings.
On a 100-point scale, Flying Blue bested its closest competitor by more than 15 points, with a score of 93.06. Point.me cited the program’s “ease of earning points through its extensive partnerships and great redemption values” as its core strengths. Air Canada’s Aeroplan earned high marks for “reward seat availability on partner airlines with the most extensive network globally and generous routing.”
United Airlines has received some negative attention in recent years as it has reevaluated the airline experience for its most frequent flyers, Funk acknowledged, “but they’re actually very competitive in many metrics and they are excellent for those less frequent flyers.”
British carriers Virgin Atlantic and British Airways rounded out the top 5 on the global list with a tie. US carriers American (No. 6), Alaska (No. 7) and JetBlue (No. 9) also made the top 10 on the global list.
Delta Air Lines did not appear in the global top 10. The platform also ranked airlines by region, where Delta ranked No. 8 among North American carriers. Funk suggested that Delta has intentionally deprioritized SkyMiles in recent years, putting more of an emphasis on areas such as operations, airport lounges and crew to build loyalty.
Air Canada’s program led the North American rankings, with Avianca LifeMiles No. 1 in Latin America, Qatar Airways Privilege Club taking the top spot in the Middle East and Africa region and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and ANA Mileage Club tying for the top spot in the Asia-Pacific region.
In an increasingly confusing landscape, many frequent flyers complain that their airline points aren’t worth as much as they used to be. Last week, the US Department of Transportation announced a consumer protection probe into US airlines’ loyalty programs.
“Our goal with this inquiry is to ensure that customer rewards are protected from any practices that would diminish their value, benefit, or availability,” says a DOT letter to the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
Funk said generally such an investigation should help. “I think it does speak to this overall confusion and stress that people have over loyalty programs and not being sure if they’re actually getting a good value.”
One rule of thumb for travelers: “If people aren’t getting at least a penny a point when they’re using their miles, they would most likely be better off using a cash back card,” Funk said, rather than trying to earn points directly through an airline’s loyalty program.
“The best way to give yourself access to all of these programs and the high value opportunities out there is to shift your spending to a credit card that offers flexible or transferable points,” she said.
World’s top 10 airline rewards programs
Here are the top 10 programs globally and their scores on a 100-point scale, according to Point.me’s analysis:
1. Flying Blue (Air France and KLM): 93.06
2. Air Canada Aeroplan: 77.43
3. United MileagePlus: 72.22
4. British Airways Executive Club: 69.10 (tie)
4. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 69.10 (tie)
6. American Airlines AAdvantage: 68.06
7. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: 65.97
8. Qatar Airways Privilege Club: 62.85
9. JetBlue TrueBlue: 61.81
10. Avianca LifeMiles: 59.72
North America’s top 10 airline rewards programs
Here are the top 10 programs in North America and their scores on a 100-point scale, according to Point.me’s analysis:
1. Air Canada Aeroplan: 77.43
2. United MileagePlus: 72.22
3. American Airlines AAdvantage: 68.06
4. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: 65.97
5. JetBlue TrueBlue: 61.81
6. Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards: 57.64
7. Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles: 52.43
8. Delta SkyMiles: 49.31
9. Allegiant myAllegiant: 33.33
10. Spirit Airlines Free Spirit: 22.22
Regional leaders
No. 1 in North America: Air Canada Aeroplan
No. 1 in Europe: Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
No. 1 in Latin America: Avianca LifeMiles
No. 1 in Middle East/Africa: Qatar Airways Privilege Club
No. 1 in Asia/Oceania: 3-way tie – Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and ANA Mileage Club
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