U.S. News & World Report has released its 2026\u20132027 Best Travel Rewards Programs rankings, and this year's results bring a rare shake-up.<\/p>\n
American Airlines AAdvantage took the top spot among airline loyalty programs, ending Alaska's 11-year winning streak. Meanwhile, Wyndham Rewards climbed to first place among hotel programs. U.S. News also debuted two new rankings specifically for business travelers.<\/p>\n
Here's a look at the winners and what went into U.S. News & World Report's decision.<\/p>\n
U.S. News evaluated eight U.S. airline loyalty programs for its 2026\u20132027 rankings. American Airlines AAdvantage<\/a> finished first for the first time, followed by Atmos Rewards<\/a> and United MileagePlus<\/a>.<\/p>\n The complete ranking is:<\/p>\n AAdvantage climbed two places to take the top spot, unseating Alaska's loyalty program after 11 consecutive years at #1. Atmos Rewards dropped to second place following the combination of the Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines loyalty programs<\/a> this past year.<\/p>\n United MileagePlus slipped from second to third, while JetBlue TrueBlue and Delta SkyMiles traded places. Southwest remained sixth, and FRONTIER Miles and Allegiant Allways Rewards each moved up one spot solely due to Free Spirit shutting down this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. News considers six factors when ranking airline loyalty programs:<\/p>\n For the 2026\u20132027 rankings, U.S. News expanded how it scores additional member benefits and increased the frequency of its airline and hotel data collection.<\/p>\n AAdvantage taking the top spot isn't unreasonable. American offers a massive route network, an extensive collection of AAdvantage airline partners<\/a>, and plenty of ways to earn miles and Loyalty Points toward elite status<\/a>. And while American uses dynamic award pricing on its own flights, its award rates are still reasonable, and the airline still publishes award charts<\/a> for partner-operated awards.<\/p>\n Despite falling to second place, Atmos points remain particularly valuable for premium-cabin partner awards, and members can redeem points across the Oneworld alliance and a broad collection of other airline partners. But after\u00a0the transition from Mileage Plan to Atmos Rewards, its 11-year run at the top has now ended.<\/p>\n U.S. News evaluated 13 hotel loyalty programs this year. Wyndham Rewards<\/a> climbed to first place, followed by Marriott Bonvoy<\/a> and World of Hyatt<\/a>.<\/p>\n The complete ranking is:<\/p>\n Wyndham rose one place to reclaim the top spot, while Marriott made the biggest move near the top by jumping from fourth to second. World of Hyatt remained third.<\/p>\n Last year's winner, Choice Privileges, fell three places to fourth. Sonesta moved up to fifth, trading places with IHG. Leaders Club overtook SLH Club, while Hilton moved ahead of I Prefer Hotel Rewards.<\/p>\n U.S. News scored hotel programs using the following criteria:<\/p>\n Wyndham's rise makes sense within U.S. News' methodology. The program combines a massive global footprint with relatively straightforward award pricing, making free nights attainable even for travelers who don't regularly stay at upscale hotels.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Marriott's jump from fourth to second reflects the strength of its enormous portfolio, extensive credit card lineup<\/a>, and numerous ways to earn and redeem Bonvoy points<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the first time, U.S. News also ranked hotel companies and U.S. airlines specifically for business travelers. These rankings consider factors including network strength, availability, reliability, loyalty benefits, overall value, and the travel experience.<\/p>\n Marriott International took the top spot among hotel companies, which U.S. News attributed to its extensive network, business-friendly benefits, and strong credit card portfolio. The top five hotel companies were:<\/p>\n United Airlines ranked first among U.S. airlines for business travelers, standing out for its flight availability, elite benefits, and overall traveler experience. The complete airline ranking was:<\/p>\n U.S. News' rankings provide a useful starting point, but no overall score can identify the best program for every traveler. Which airlines serve your home airport, where you travel, the hotels you prefer, and how you earn and redeem rewards matter far more than a #1 ranking.<\/p>\n AAdvantage and Wyndham may be this year's winners, but that doesn't automatically make them the right programs for you. Use these rankings as one data point and focus your loyalty where it offers the most value for your own travel patterns.<\/p>\n Do you agree with the U.S. News rankings? Let us know your favorite airline and hotel programs in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n Page Contents<\/p> The 2025\u20132026 U.S. News Best Travel Rewards Programs winners have been announced. This year, American Airlines AAdvantage ended Atmos Rewards\u2019 11-year run atop U.S. News\u2019 airline loyalty rankings, while Wyndham Rewards reclaimed the hotel crown. Here\u2019s how all 21 programs ranked for 2026\u20132027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":174808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12069],"tags":[],"coauthors":[36383,36387],"class_list":["post-82803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82803"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272060,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82803\/revisions\/272060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82803"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=82803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Changes from last year<\/span><\/h3>\n
How the airline programs were ranked<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Our take<\/span><\/h3>\n
Best Hotel Rewards Program: Wyndham Rewards<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Changes from last year<\/span><\/h3>\n
How the hotel programs were ranked<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Our take<\/span><\/h3>\n
U.S. News Debuts Business Traveler Rankings<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Bottom Line<\/span><\/h2>\n