These are the best airline rewards programmes in Europe

Last week, we covered the basics of airline loyalty programmes, outlining which carriers offer them and the various ways you can earn and spend miles.

Our advice was that joining them all is a good idea, but you should try to pick one main airline to fly with, with the most obvious choice being a carrier with a hub near your home.

We’re not the experts – there are plenty of specialist blogs and apps dedicated to making the most out of your miles – which is why we didn’t rank them.

Luckily, one of these experts, Point.me, has done the hard work for us, evaluating more than 30 schemes against things like what your points are worth, aka the ease of earning, the redemption rates, and partner opportunities; how easy points are to use, aka award availability, redemption experience, and award holds; and what happens when your plans change, aka customer service and change fees.

Writing about why this criteria was chosen, the team at the award travel search platform said: “Most travellers have a destination in mind, dates they can’t easily change and a points balance they’ve spent years building.

“What matters is whether they can find a seat and actually book it, at a price that feels right, without having to become an expert.”

The best airline loyalty programmes in Europe

Not only was Air France-KLM Flying Blue named the best airline loyalty programme in Europe, but it also took the number one spot globally for the third year in a row.

The scheme was praised for doing well across the board as it is easy to earn miles and spend them on available seats, and Flying Blue also accepts every major transferable currency.

Next up was The British Airways Club, which placed eighth overall, down from sixth last year.

Making use of Avios, which is one of the easiest currencies to earn, is one of the programme’s strengths, as is its minimum award-seat guarantee on long-haul flights, although it was let down by its higher Avios prices and surcharges this year.

Hot on its heels was the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, placed ninth, down from fourth last year, which got the thumbs up for its low saver prices, award holds on Virgin flights and transferrable currencies.

How the European airline rewards programmes scored out of 100, according to point.me: