Less than two weeks left to vote for this year's TPG Awards Readers' Choice winners
VOTING IS NOW CLOSED
Over the previous two years, the TPG Awards have honored the best credit cards, loyalty programs and travel providers out there. And even though the travel industry has been hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, that doesn't mean there's no room for celebration in 2020.
This year, however, we're taking an entirely different approach to the awards, one that will allow all of our readers to be a part of it. We're calling it the "2020 TPG Awards: Travel's Path Forward" — looking ahead at the future of travel and what companies are doing to get us there.
Intrigued? Read on for more information, including how to cast your vote for this year's Readers Choice awards — which closes in less than two weeks.
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The 2020 TPG Awards
As noted above, 2020 has been far from normal, so we've completely reimagined what the TPG Awards will look like this year. We'll still honor the best of the travel and loyalty industries — but instead of a single, live event with a very limited guest list, we're expanding our coverage across four weeks, one devoted to each of the following segments:
During each week — which will begin rolling out in November — we'll launch a variety of exciting and engaging content across all of our channels here at TPG. You'll see our top-notch editorial staff publishing high-quality content on our site, and our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds will include numerous opportunities to engage with us. We'll hand out select "Editors' Choice" awards — and may even have surprise giveaways and special guests throughout each week.
You can read more about this new approach at our TPG Awards home page, and we'll have many more details in the weeks to come, but right now, we need your help ...
Vote now for the Readers' Choice awards
We officially launched voting for the 12 Readers' Choice honors we'll be handing out in 2020 back on Oct. 1, allowing you to determine which companies have done the best job at creating value for their customers — be it through benefits, flexibility or just good old customer service.
VOTING IS NOW CLOSED
However, you only have a limited window of time to cast your votes, as the survey closes on Friday Oct. 30 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Like last year, you can only vote once.
Each week, we'll also be randomly selecting five voters to each receive a $200 discount code to the TPG store, so casting your vote won't only help determine the winners. It could score you some nice TPG gear. The earlier you vote, the most chances you have to win.
Here's a full breakdown of the awards on the ballot this year:
| Category | Readers' Choice awards |
|---|---|
Airlines | Best U.S. Airline Loyalty Program Best Airline Cobranded Credit Card |
Hotels | Best Hotel Loyalty Program Best Hotel Cobranded Credit Card |
Credit cards | Best Premium Travel Credit Card (annual fee of $300+) Best Travel Rewards Credit Card (annual fee of $1-$300) Best No-Annual-Fee Credit Card Best Business Credit Card |
Cruises (new this year) | Best Big-Ship Cruise Line (~3,000+ passengers) Best Mid-Size-Ship Cruise Line (~1,000-3,000 passengers) Best Small-Ship Cruise Line (less than 1,000 passengers) Best Cruise Loyalty Program |
You can view a complete list of nominees on the survey, and be sure to review our guides to how airlines and hotel chains have adjusted their programs in light of the pandemic as you vote.
Note that each question required a response, but you'll see a "Not applicable" option for all of them. If you don't feel knowledgeable enough to answer a question — if you don't have a small-business credit card or aren't a cruiser, as examples — simply select N/A.
VOTE NOW
Traveler sentiment survey
But that's not all. After you select the award winners, the next portion of the survey includes general questions about your travel habits. How are you approaching travel as we near the end of 2020? What are your plans for 2021? And are there things that could speed up your return to the roads and skies?
We'll use the aggregated data during each themed week, so your responses are entirely anonymous. Please help us capture your overall thoughts on the future of travel.
Bottom line
The 2020 TPG Awards will be very different than years past — but your voice still matters! Take a few minutes to weigh in on which loyalty programs, credit cards and cruise lines are worth of taking home Readers' Choice honors today. Voting closes on Oct. 30 (less than two weeks away), so be sure to lock in your votes before it's too late.
And stay tuned for more exciting announcements about the four weeks of content to come.
VOTING IS NOW CLOSED
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