Voting is simply opening for this 12 months’s Freddie Awards, which is the longest standing and hottest journey loyalty awards ceremony, began by Randy Petersen. The primary Freddie Awards had been held in 1989, and over time tens of tens of millions of votes have been solid to permit members to acknowledge the loyalty packages they admire most.
Freddie Awards fundamentals
With voting now opening for the 2023 Freddie Awards, I needed to speak a bit about how Freddie Awards voting works — many individuals might not be voting in a means that’s in keeping with what they’re intending.
With this publish I’m hoping to clear up some confusion, and possibly we will shake up the outcomes a bit to higher replicate our preferences.
Why do you have to care concerning the Freddie Awards?
Plain and easy, many people are keen about loyalty packages. Loyalty packages (for essentially the most half) actually care about profitable Freddie Awards. Casting your vote for deserving packages is a good way to ship a message to packages you admire, and maybe additionally to ship a message to packages you don’t admire.
I’m not in any means concerned within the Freddie Awards, however that is really a ardour mission, and I do know Randy Petersen, View from the Wing, and Pizza in Movement, put lots of work into it. They really need one of the best packages to be acknowledged, and this isn’t some ego fueled vainness mission for them.
When is Freddie Awards voting open?
Voting for the Freddie Awards is open from February 15 by means of March 31, 2023, so there’s a interval of simply over six weeks the place you’ll be able to vote.
When are Freddie Awards winners revealed?
Annually there’s an occasion held in late April the place profitable packages are offered with awards. This 12 months the awards shall be held on the Nationwide Air and House Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Heart on April 27, 2023.
What classes are there within the Freddie Awards?
The Freddie Awards are break up between three areas, and you may solid a vote for awards in every area:
- Americas
- Europe & Africa
- Center East & Asia/Oceania
Inside every area there are classes for airways, accommodations, and bank cards.
Airline classes embody:
- Program of the Yr
- Greatest Elite Program
- Greatest Promotion
- Greatest Buyer Service
- Greatest Redemption Means
Resort classes embody:
- Program of the Yr
- Greatest Elite Program
- Greatest Promotion
- Greatest Buyer Service
- Greatest Redemption Means
Then there’s a single bank card class:
- Greatest Affinity Credit score Card
How does Freddie Awards voting work?
That is the important thing cause I’m scripting this publish. Most individuals don’t perceive how Freddie Awards votes are calculated, and might not be voting in a means that displays their intentions.
There’s no good voting system
The Freddie Awards voting system has been designed in order that it’s not a pure reputation contest. That’s as a result of some loyalty packages ship emails to members asking them to vote, and clearly that may completely skew the outcomes if it had been purely primarily based on variety of votes. Moreover, not all loyalty packages are the identical measurement, so it’s vital to acknowledge smaller packages as nicely.
Meaning the Freddie Awards has a price voting system.
How “worth voting” works in apply
If you vote within the Freddie Awards in a selected class, you’re requested to rank your selections first, second, and third. You don’t need to rank all three — you can simply choose your first selection, and never choose your second or third selection.
The way in which factors are awarded:
- A program is awarded 10 factors if you choose it first
- A program is awarded 6.67 factors if you choose it second
- A program is awarded 3.33 factors if you choose it third
Then the way in which the scoring works is that:
- A program’s rating (on a scale of 1-10) is decided by the variety of factors it has earned divided by the quantity of people that ranked it, both first, second, or third
- Solely packages that get a minimum of 2% of the general vote qualify
Typically you’ll be able to count on {that a} profitable program will rating someplace round 8-9 factors on common.
How this impacts my voting
Logically you would possibly suppose that in case you like three packages, it’s best to rank them first, second, and third. Nonetheless, in actuality you’re sometimes harming a program in case you’re voting it second or third, somewhat than not voting for it in any respect. The exception is that if a second or third place vote permits a program to even qualify above the two% threshold, although that shouldn’t be an issue amongst large packages.
To simplify this as a lot as doable, and that is generalized recommendation:
- For those who like one program most, vote it first place
- For those who reasonably like a program, don’t vote it as second or third, because it’s prone to drag the typical rating down
- The worst factor you are able to do for a program is vote it in third place, since it might be getting 3.33/10, which can probably drag it down significantly
A concrete instance
Let’s say Hyatt and Marriott are competing for the “Program of the Yr” class:
- If Hyatt bought 10 first place votes, no second place votes, and no third place votes, it might rating an ideal 10
- If Marriott bought 10 first place votes, 10 second place votes, and 10 third place votes, it might rating simply 6.67 (10×10 + 10×6.67 + 10×3.33 / 30)
Backside line
I like loyalty packages (clearly), and I believe it’s vital to acknowledge the packages which can be attempting to do proper by members. That’s the place the annual Freddie Awards come into play.
I believe it’s vital to grasp how voting works. Think about your selections fastidiously — clearly vote your favourite program in first place, but additionally perceive that voting a program second or third place is doubtlessly worse than not voting for that program in any respect (or to flip that, in case you’re displeased with a program, voting this system in third place is prone to negatively impression it).
Are you voting within the 2023 Freddie Awards? In that case, which packages are you voting for?
