Every now and then people tell me they have problems redeeming their air miles. Since I normally fly Southwest…I do not seem to have that problem.
This week, I read a post by IdeaWorks. Based on 6,720 booking queries made by IdeaWorks at the websites of 24 frequent flier programs during March and early April 2011, these are their results. They checked on travel dates which spanned June through October 2011; with 20 top routes checked to assess reward seat availability.
The results, showing the percentage of successful award bookings for U.S./Canadian programs and the change from last year’s results:
<!–[if !supportLists]–>1. <!–[endif]–>Southwest – 99.3 percent (No change)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>2. <!–[endif]–>Air Canada – 82.1 percent (-11.5 points)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>3. <!–[endif]–>JetBlue – 79.3 percent (New for 2011)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>4. <!–[endif]–>United – 71.4 percent (+2.8 points)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>5. <!–[endif]–>Continental – 71.4 percent (No change)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>6. <!–[endif]–>Alaska – 64.3 percent (-10.7 points)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>7. <!–[endif]–>American – 62.9 percent (+5 points)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>8. <!–[endif]–>AirTran – 47.1 percent (-20.8 points)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>9. <!–[endif]–>Delta – 27.1 percent (+14.2 points)
<!–[if !supportLists]–>10. <!–[endif]–>US Airways – 25.7 percent (+15 points)
Maybe this will help you when you are redeeming your miles.