A rating is a composite of five weighted pillars — Value 35%, Stability 25%, Liquidity 20%, Consistency 10%, Drag 10% — computed from disclosed inputs. Prose on this site explains the numbers; it can never contradict them. Every published rating shows its own arithmetic and its own audit trail. 27 of 27 programs currently carry a rating.
It is not financial advice, not a solicitation, and not a prediction. Award pricing, availability and transfer ratios change without notice — frequently with none. Points transfers are, in almost all cases, irreversible. Confirm award space before you transfer.
A program is rated in a sub-index only where it has at least five researched award routes in that segment. Below that floor it is published as NR with the reason stated, and it carries no score and no median. We do not estimate a median from one or two observations, and we do not carry a master-index number sideways into a sub-index where the routes were never priced. An NR is a statement about our coverage, not about the program.
Each rating publishes the number of priced corridors and distinct chart cells behind its median. Where a median rests on two or fewer chart cells the program is marked Thin, its rating is capped at AA, and it is flagged Under Review: a median built on two observations is one observation, not a distribution. Currently marked Thin: Iberia Plus, Korean SKYPASS, Aer Lingus AerClub, Qantas FF, EVA Infinity MileageLands, Flying Blue, SAS EuroBonus, Lufthansa Miles & More, JetBlue TrueBlue, Aeromexico Rewards.
The International floor is 3.0¢ net. The Domestic USA floor is 2.0¢ — the cash-back parity line: below it, a flat 2% cash-back card would have beaten the redemption outright. Programs below their floor are flagged in the Matrix regardless of rating: a good grade on a bad floor is still a bad redemption.
The award chart is only half the price. Where a program is reliably bonused, each rating publishes its bonus-funded and, where applicable, stacked effective cost beside the headline median. Where a co-brand card discounts award pricing, the program is rated on effective value for cardholders and flagged as such.
Medians derive from the Redeem benchmark set: 1,000 international routes and 112 researched domestic awards (published charts, saver baselines, revenue-based rates), priced net of taxes and carrier surcharges. Benchmarks are not live quotes. Cash comparison fares are point-in-time and will not match what you see today.
Redeem does not accept payment from any loyalty program, airline, or card issuer in exchange for coverage, placement, or a rating. No rating on this site has been shown to an issuer before publication.