JetBlue's TrueBlue continues to be customers' favorite
airline loyalty program, according to J.D. Power.
Southwest Rapid Rewards jumped to second this year, besting Alaska
Mileage Plan. The three other award programs in the survey held their places
from last year. Delta SkyMiles finished fourth, American AAdvantage was fifth,
and United MileagePlus brought up the rear.
The 2018 Airline Loyalty Program Satisfaction Study, which
was based on a May-June survey of 3,025 loyalty program members, measured
satisfaction with airline loyalty programs on a 1,000-point scale. J.D. Power
considered four factors -- earning and redeeming rewards, program benefits,
account management, and member communication.
TrueBlue recorded a satisfaction ranking of 812, besting 798
for Rapid Rewards, 791 for Mileage Plan, 786 for SkyMiles, 749 for AAdvantage
and 747 for MileagePlus.
J.D. Power identified key factors and trends related to
loyalty program satisfaction in the survey. For example, satisfaction for both
general loyalty program members and those with elite status has improved over
the years, but it is improving faster among those with general membership
status.
The survey revealed that 74% of airline loyalty program
members prefer to save points for larger rewards while 13% like to use them
right away.