The leisure airline Allegiant has repeated wins in two USA Today Choice Awards categories.
About Allegiant Airlines’ USA Today Honors:
Allegiant Airlines is celebrating after taking top honors in two USA Today 10 Best 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards categories: Best Airline Credit Card and Best Frequent Flyer Program. This marks the third year in a row that the airline has finished first in both categories — and is the eighth consecutive year that the carrier’s credit card has come out on top.
Starting with the Best Frequent Flyer Program victory, readers pointed to Allways Rewards’ flexibility and ease of use. Customers can create a free Allways Rewards account and earn 1 point per dollar spent on Allegiant purchases or 2 points per dollar when the total is more than $500. Then, points can be redeemed at a value of 1¢ each toward future Allegiant purchases. There’s also no minimum redemption amount.
As for the Allways Rewards Visa card, USA Today highlighted the card’s key perks, including complimentary priority check-in, priority boarding, one free premium beverage on board, and more. The card also earns 3x Allways Rewards points on Allegiant purchases, 2x on dining, and 1x on all other purchases. Currently, the Allway Rewards Visa card carries an annual fee of $59.
Following Allegiant in the Best Frequent Flyer Program category were Cathay, Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus, and American Airlines AAdvantage. Meanwhile, the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard, United Explorer Card, JetBlue Plus Mastercard, and Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card made up the top five in the Best Airline Credit Card category.
In the Background:
These honors come at a pivotal time for Allegiant Airlines, as it recently completed its acquisition of Sun Country Airlines. Moreover, the carrier just announced plans to introduce a First Class product next year and is now offering complimentary beverage service on its flights. In turn, the Allegiant Allward Rewards Visa received a minor update as cardholders can now claim a complimentary premium beverage (up to $16) while on board.
What They’re Saying:
Commenting on the awards, Allegiant’s chief commercial officer Drew Wells remarked, “We’re honored to be recognized again by USA TODAY readers for our credit card and frequent flyer programs as it reflects our commitment to providing meaningful value for our passengers. We know loyalty is earned and we are proud to provide rewards that help our customers get more from every trip and every dollar spent.”
My Thoughts:
Once again, looking at what the Allegiant credit card offers to even semi-frequent flyers, it’s easy to see why it would come out on top here. As someone who flies Allegiant at least once a year or so, I can easily see getting more than $59 in value from it thanks to the priority boarding and free beverage perks alone. Elsewhere, the Allways Rewards is also a unique and worthwhile program as it makes it easy to both earn and redeem rewards regardless of how frequently (or infrequently) you fly.
Congrats to Allegiant on both of these honors — and we’ll see if they can pull out the dual win again next year.
