Best travel rewards programs, as ranked by US 草莓传媒

The main thing people want from an airline or hotel rewards program is to actually be able to use the rewards. And that鈥檚 what U.S. 草莓传媒 & World Report kept in mind when it compiled this year鈥檚 list of .

U.S. 草莓传媒 travel editor Christine Smith said the rankings were made with a focus on the kind of perks everyday travelers want most.

For the airline rewards, key factors included 鈥渉ow easy it is to earn a free flight, how many daily domestic flights are available, and whether certain benefits like priority boarding and free seat upgrades are available,鈥� she said.

For the hotels, U.S. 草莓传媒 most heavily weighted factors such as 鈥渉ow easy it is to earn a free night, how many properties participate in the program, and what kinds of benefits free and elite members get, like free Wi-Fi and late checkout.鈥�

For the third year in a row, Maryland-based Marriott Bonvoy topped the hotel-rewards list. Smith said the sheer number of hotels in the network had a lot to do with that. 鈥淭here are more than 7,000 across the globe. So wherever you鈥檙e traveling, odds are there鈥檚 a Marriott you can use points at, or earn points at.鈥� It also doesn鈥檛 take a lot to start seeing the benefits, either: 鈥淎 free night at a Marriott, at some properties, can be booked for as few as 7,500 points. So it really is one of the programs that makes it easy to earn that free night.鈥�

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan won for the fifth year in a row thanks also to the size of the network, but to the structure of the program as well. 鈥淵ou earn your miles based on how many miles you actually fly, rather than how much your ticket costs.鈥�

The airline rewards fliers with 500 miles per flight, or 1 mile for every mile flown, whichever is more. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a program that鈥檚 super-easy to rack up those miles鈥� with, Smith said, and your miles can be used, or earned, with lots of Alaska Airlines partners, including American Airlines.

A lot of chains are offering new perks in the past few years, tied to what Smith called 鈥渆xperiences and tourism activities.鈥� Such experiences can include sightseeing tours of the D.C. monuments, or even Nationals games. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to necessarily use your points or miles for that specific flight or hotel stay,鈥� Smith said; 鈥測ou can kind of add on to your trip with these earnings.鈥�

Programs are also expanding the ways members can earn points or miles: 鈥淪ome of the programs will let you earn miles or points just on Lyft rides 鈥� which is a great option for members who don鈥檛 travel frequently.鈥�

Overall, Smith said, signing up for rewards programs is just about always worth it 鈥� virtually all of them are free, and many programs feature rewards that never expire.

鈥淓ven if you don鈥檛 fly a ton, or stay a ton with a particular brand,鈥� Smith said, 鈥渃hances are it can鈥檛 hurt to sign up.鈥�

The Best Hotel Rewards Programs