InsideFlyer, USATODAY.com, Nextel, Points.com, Smarter Living and Executive Travel SkyGuide ask Frequent Travelers to Speak their Minds

Freddie Awards Allow Travelers to Cast Votes For Best Frequent Travel Programs

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (PRWEB) February 23, 2004 -- Frequent travelers from around the world are invited to cast a vote in the 16th Annual Freddie Awards, which are designed to award excellence among frequent travel programs in the airline, hotel and credit card industries.
Since 1989, InsideFlyer magazine has served as the primary sponsor of the Freddie Awards, and has partnered this year with USATODAY.com, Nextel, Points.com, Smarter Living and Executive Travel SkyGuide to present the event for the 16th consecutive year.

"The Freddies are the most recognized awards for frequent travel programs because they give frequent travelers a chance to pick the best programs," said InsideFlyer Editor and Publisher Randy Petersen. "The Freddies continue to grow in popularity. Last year, over 232,000 frequent flyers cast ballots. This year, we expect over a quarter of a million frequent travelers will vote."

Voters rate hotel, airline and credit card programs in nine categories: Program of the Year, Best Award, Best Bonus Promotion, Best Affinity Credit Card, Best Newsletter, Best Award Redemption, Best Elite-Level Program, Best Customer Service and Best Web Site.

The Freddie Awards are determined by value voting, a system in which voters rate the value of their program choices on a scale of one to 10. Programs with the highest average score and at least one percent of the popular vote in each category are awarded Freddies. In essence, Freddies are awarded for quality, not quantity.

The awards are named after Sir Freddie Laker who attracted fame (and a knighthood in the United Kingdom) for his pioneering marketing ideas within the travel industry in the 1970s.

Freddie Award balloting is conducted entirely online at www.freddieawards.com. Voting concludes on March 15, 2004 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Winners will be announced in the May issue of InsideFlyer magazine and online at www.freddieawards.com.

SPONSOR INFORMATION:

InsideFlyer, a monthly magazine dedicated to the coverage of frequent travel programs around the world, helps its readers optimize their mileage and point earning potential by providing in-depth news on the programs, their partners and special bonuses and promotions. A one-year subscription is available for $45 by calling (800) 767-8896. For more information go to InsideFlyer.com.

USATODAY.com is an award-winning news and information site on the Internet. More than 35 million monthly visitors experience comprehensive, convenient USA TODAY news and information through interactive features, information graphics and multimedia functions including audio, video and live Webcasts. USATODAY.com has more than 200,000 pages of breaking stories in News, Money, Sports, Life, Travel, Technology and Weather - updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Nextel Communications, a FORTUNE 300 company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services and has built the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the country covering thousands of communities across the United States. Today 95 percent of FORTUNE 500(R) companies are Nextel customers. Nextel and Nextel Partners, Inc. currently serve 293 of the top 300 U.S. markets where approximately 248 million people live or work.

Points International Ltd. (TSXV: PTS), operates The Points Exchange, the only independent loyalty program currency exchange -- at www.points.com. The online exchange allows customers to instantly combine points and miles from their favorite loyalty programs. Points.com has partnered with industry leaders like The AAdvantage Program®, eBay Anything Points, Aeroplan and Priority Club Rewards to bring consumers over 3,600 Exchange Options.

Smarter Living is an online travel publisher that serves more than 1 million subscribers each week, through SmarterLiving.com and its free e-mail newsletters, with objective information on travel deals. Its sister sites are BookingBuddy.com, a free service that helps consumers compare fares and rates with fewer clicks, and SmarterLivingTravelClassifieds.com, an online marketplace for travel deals.

Executive Travel SkyGuide, from American Express Publishing, is the only resource of its kind - making business travel more productive, more efficient and more rewarding for the affluent executive traveler. Executive Travel SkyGuide products are available in several formats: SkyGuide monthly flight schedule directory, Executive Travel quarterly lifestyle magazine, and ExecutiveTravelOnline.com including PDA downloadable flight schedules. For more information call 1-800-295-5527.

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