El Al and Virgin Australia Dominate Among Airlines, Starwood Hotels SPG’s Blowout Night

El Al’s Matmid program and Virgin Australia’s Velocity program managed to win all but one Freddie Award in the airline category this year.  Though El Al serves just a handful of destinations and lacks any true premium product, their Matmid program appears to make up for what the airline lacks.  However, El Al’s Matmid did not win in a landslide with multiple programs trailing the Matmid program close behind.  Starwood’s SPG program, however, did have a landslide night winning all but one hotel related award.


27th Annual Freddie Award Winners in The Middle East/Asia/Oceania

El Al and Virgin Australia continue to dominate the Freddie Awards in the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.  Though Middle Eastern carriers feature fantastic onboard products, they lack valuable frequent flyer programs.  Starwood Hotels also continued its reign in the region taking all but one award.

Hotels

Highlights: SPG continues reign in Asia, Middle East, and Oceania/Trident Hotels receives 210 Award

AwardWinner
Program of the YearStarwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest
Best Elite BenefitsStarwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest
Best PromotionStarwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest
Best Customer ServiceStarwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest
Best Award Redemption AvailabilityStarwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest
210 AwardTrident Hotels, Trident Privilege
(Image: Starwood Preferred Guest)

(Image: Starwood Preferred Guest)

Airlines

Highlights: With El Al and Virgin Australia taking home all of this year’s awards, it was a near repeat of last year’s Freddie Awards/ANA’s Mileage Club manages to snag 210 Award, an award that went to Jet Airways last year

AwardWinner
Program of the YearEl Al, Matmid Club
Best Elite BenefitsVirgin Australia, Velocity
Best PromotionEl Al, Matmid Club
Best Customer ServiceEl Al, Matmid Club
Best Award Redemption AvailabilityVirgin Australia, Velocity
210 AwardANA, ANA Mileage Club
(Image: Virgin Australia)

(Image: Virgin Australia)

Credit Card

AwardWinner
Best Affinity Credit CardAmerican Express Membership Rewards

Overall

The 27th Freddie Awards for the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania were nearly a repeat of the last few years.  El Al, Virgin Australia, and Starwood Hotels continued to dominate.

What did you think about this year’s Freddie Award winners?