SmarterTravel Editors’ Choice Awards 2011

Getting ready for summer vacation and overwhelmed with choices? We can help. Finding great values for our fellow budget globetrotters is what gets the SmarterTravel editors excited. This month, we’re unveiling our picks for the best of the best in 10 travel categories.

The Awards

• Best Coach-Class Experience: JetBlue
• Best Free Airline Perk: Two Free Checked Bags on Southwest
• Best Paid Airline Perk: Day-of-Flight Upgrades on Virgin America
• Best New Frequent Flyer Development: Southwest Relaunches Rapid Rewards
• Best Travel Rewards Card: Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express
• Best Hotel Loyalty Program: InterContinental Hotels Priority Club Rewards
• Best Car Rental Loyalty Program: National’s Emerald Club
• Most Customer-Friendly Airline: JetBlue
• Best Value Airline—International: US Airways
• Best Value Airline—Domestic: JetBlue

About SmarterTravel

SmarterTravel is the largest online travel resource for unbiased travel news, deals, and timely expert advice. We have been providing award-winning consumer journalism content since 1998, and have received top recognition from the North American Travel Journalists Association, Travel + Leisure magazine, PC Magazine, and dozens of others. Our expert editors spend hundreds of hours each week researching the latest and best travel deals and offering money-saving tips for travelers.

The second annual SmarterTravel Editors’ Choice Awards highlight the best values in travel, giving travelers a one-stop resource for expert picks to assist in vacation planning. Complementary to SmarterTravel’s Readers’ Choice Awards, which is published each fall, the Editors’ Choice Awards deliver expert judgments on the current top providers in the travel industry, determined by a team of editors who collectively have more than 100 years of industry experience.