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Aviation glossary

Frequent flyer programme

Also: FFP, loyalty programme, air miles programme, frequent flier program

Airlines and business

Airline loyalty scheme that rewards customers with miles or points redeemable for flights, and with status tiers that bring benefits when travelling.

What it is

Members earn miles or points by flying with the airline and its partners, and also through co-branded credit cards, hotels and car hire. They can then redeem them for tickets, upgrades or other rewards. Depending on how much they fly in a year, members reach tiers such as silver, gold or platinum, bringing lounge access, priority boarding or extra baggage allowance.

One of the first modern programmes was AAdvantage, launched by American Airlines in 1981. Alliances now let members earn and spend miles across partner airlines, and for many carriers selling miles to banks and retailers has become a significant source of revenue.

On Vuelopedia

American Airlines

Related terms

Airline alliancePartnership of airlines that coordinate their networks, frequent flyer programmes, lounges and connections to give passengers a joined-up journey. Cabin classesService levels into which an airline divides its cabin, such as first, business, premium economy and economy, each with its own seats and service. CodeshareAgreement under which an airline sells seats, under its own code and flight number, on a flight operated by another carrier. AirlineCompany that carries passengers, cargo or mail by air for payment, holding an air operator certificate issued by its national aviation authority.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Frequent flyer programme. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme

MLA

“Frequent flyer programme.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Frequent flyer programme.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Frequent flyer programme. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_frequent_flyer_programme,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Frequent flyer programme}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/frequent-flyer-programme |title=Frequent flyer programme |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}

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