The Secret Trick to Choosing the Best Airline Loyalty Program
- Loyalty programs offered by airlines provide various benefits such as discounts on checked luggage, seat upgrades, and lounge access.
Most airlines have loyalty programs that offer a wide range of benefits for their customers. With each flight that you book with that specific airline, you will earn points or miles that go towards special perks for your travels. Ranging from discounts on checked luggage, seat upgrades, lounge access and more—being loyal to an airline can definitely be worth it.
As a touring performer (I've worked on Broadway tours and cruise ships) as well as an avid solo traveler , I've experienced my fair share of airports and airlines. Up until this year, I made the mistake of joining many frequent flyer programs, however, I didn't pinpoint one particular airline to build loyalty and points with. Instead, I always went for the cheapest flights possible , and because of that, I never accumulated enough points with a specific airline to qualify for special perks.
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Once I learned why it's valuable to try to stick to one or two loyalty programs–the next step was to figure out which airline would be the best for me. With an overflow of options out there, the task seemed quite daunting. Eventually, I realized that there is one secret to choosing the best airline that made everything else fall into place perfectly.
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Choose The Airline That Has The Most Flights Out Of Your Home Airport
The Maxwells Travel , a Tiktok account run by a couple who travels often, shared a video about how to choose a loyalty program that's right for you. In the video, they share that the best way to choose an airline is to look at your home airport. Is there an airline that has a hub there? If that's the case, that means that the chances of you finding flights with that airline to wherever you want to go will be much larger than another airline that doesn't have a hub at your home airport.
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For example, I live in New York City, so I have three major airports to choose from (Newark, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy .) Both LGA and JFK have hubs for Delta Airlines and American Airlines. I personally enjoy flying Delta much more, so I chose to go with that airline. Now, I can easily commit to flying with Delta since about 9 times out of 10, I can find a flight to the destination that I am planning on traveling to. Then, I rack up my points to get those extra perks throughout the year.
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Other Things To Consider When Picking An Airline
Now, if you have a few airports that are close to you or a few different airline hubs to choose from, you can consider a few more options when choosing the airline. One major thing to consider is your travel plans or travel goals. Are you planning on traveling domestically or internationally most often? If the answer is international , you want to make sure that the airline you choose has good international partners to secure flights with.
If you mainly want to travel in comfort, and want to maximize your chance of getting upgraded to better seats, you'll want to go with an airline that prioritizes that as a travel perk when you're in the loyalty program. Each airline's program isn't made the same, and they offer different perks for different amounts of miles or points. When it comes down to the nitty gritty, comb through those perks, and see which stands out to you the most.
American Airlines loyalty program perks
Ultimately, the number one priority should be choosing an airline that will offer you the most amount of destinations and flights per day to choose from. Then, if you still have multiple airlines to choose from, get into the nitty-gritty of what each program offers.
Related: The One Thing You Should Never, Ever Do If You're Trying to Travel Cheap
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This story was originally published by Parade on Nov 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
