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U.S. News & World Report announced the winners of the 2025-2026 Best Travel Rewards Programs. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan was this year's top airline program, while Choice Privileges was crowned the best hotel travel reward program. The second and third-place winners after that might surprise you.
Here's a look at the winners and what went into U.S. News & World Report's decision.
Airline Travel Program Winner: Alaska Mileage Plan
U.S. News evaluated and ranked nine airline travel rewards programs in the United States. Alaska Mileage Plan ranked first, followed by United MileagePlus, and American Airlines AAdvantage® hot on its heels in third place. The full rankings are as follows:
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- United Airlines MileagePlus
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Delta SkyMiles
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Free Spirit
- Frontier Miles
- Allegiant Allways Rewards
Changes from last year
Comparing this year with last, Alaska reigns supreme in the number one spot, while AA has dropped one place to third this year. United has taken heed of last year's results and jumped two spots into the number two place for 2025-2026. By far the biggest improver is JetBlue, which was languishing in 9th place last year and has jumped up four spots to number five this year.
How the airline programs were ranked
Whenever rankings like these are published, transparency of methodology is critical to the credibility of the ranking. As such, U.S. News has published its evaluation methods to rank the programs. The airline programs were evaluated as follows:
- The ease of earning a free round-trip flight (40%). U.S. News took the ease of earning and redemption into account, weighing 50/50 each. In addition, U.S. News looked at 20 of the airlines' high-traffic routes in three distance segments: short, short-medium, medium-long, and long haul.
- Additional benefits received (25%). Programs were scored 1 to 5 depending on the range and availability of benefits like free checked bags, point expiration policies, affiliated credit cards to maximize earnings, and more.
- Network coverage (10%). Airlines were scored from 1 to 5 depending on the extent of their coverage to major regions and the passenger weighted average within those regions. And its broader alliance partners.
- The number of daily flights (10%). The airlines were scored from 1 to 5 depending on the number of daily domestic flights they operated. Airlines operating over 2,000 daily flights received a score of 5, while those operating 1 to 499 flights received a score of 1.
- Airline quality rating (5%). Airlines were awarded a score of 1 to 5 depending on how they fared in the statistics for on-time scheduled flights in 2024, according to the Bureau of Transportation statistics.
- Award flight availability (10%). The Award flight availability represented the number and availability of award flights that could be purchased at a reasonably low cost.
Hotel Travel Reward Program Winner: Choice Privileges
Fourteen hotel travel reward programs were evaluated and ranked by U.S. News. Choice Privileges came out on top, followed by Wyndham Rewards and World of Hyatt. The complete ranking list of hotel programs is as follows:
- Choice Privileges
- Wyndham Rewards
- World of Hyatt
- Marriott Bonvoy
- IHG One Rewards
- Sonesta Travel Pass
- Best Western Rewards
- SLH Club
- Leaders Club
- I Prefer Hotel Rewards
- Hilton Honors
- ALL – Accor Live Limitless
- Omni Select Guest
- Stash Hotel Rewards
Changes from last year
Choice Privileges must have been paying attention last year and has put in the work to jump from fourth place to top the ranking for 2025-2026., This pushed Wyndham Rewards into second place this year. Similarly, Hyatt has upped its game this year and rose above Marriott to finish in third place for 2025-2026, pushing Marriott back down into fourth place.
How the hotel programs were ranked
U.S. News ranked the hotel programs according to the following criteria:
- How easy it is to earn a free night (45%). Programs were scored from 1 to 5 depending on how easy it was to earn a free night at 20 destinations selected in geographic coverage scoring criteria.
- Additional benefits (25% weight). Programs were scored depending on the benefits offered, including points expiration, more ways to use and earn points, room upgrades, late checkout, complimentary breakfasts, and more. Programs received higher scores for having more co-branded credit cards and options to use points on things other than hotel stays.
- Geographic coverage (15%). Programs were scored based on the number of locations with availability within 15 miles of 20 major leisure and business destinations in the U.S. and overseas.
- The number of hotels in a network (10%). Programs with over 8,000 properties received a score of 5, while those under 100 earned a score of 1.
- Property diversity (5%). Programs were scored from 1 to 5 depending on the diversity of the types of properties in the program. This included location (beach vs. city vs. mountain) and price ranges. Programs could earn up to 8 diversity points, and those scoring the maximum amount were awarded a score of 5.
Our Take
It is no surprise that U.S. News & World Report chose Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan as the top airline program. Alaska has long been a favorite at AwardWallet and is a consistent performer. Our fondness is largely due to the value of Alaska Airlines miles and its expanded connectivity after joining the Oneworld alliance.
That said, Alaska Mileage Plan has made several negative changes and award devaluations in the last few years. So, it will be interesting to see if Alaska can maintain its run in the top spot year after year.
Wyndham fans will be disappointed to see that the program was unable to retain its top spot. However, Choice Privileges has been going from strength to strength since it absorbed Radisson Americas, constantly adds interesting Choice Privileges Experiences, and even added new airline transfer partners. It's no surprise, then, to see the program leap into first place.
Do you agree with the U.S News rankings? Let us know what your favorite programs are in the comments below.
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