This is not my own explanation, but is taken from a post on the englishforums website. I think it explains the difference as well if not better than I am able to. http://www.englishforums.com/English/AwardVsReward/qpcq/post.htm "Well, both can be either nouns or verbs. A reward is something that directly benefits the recipient in exchange for something good they have done, often, but not always, financially. For example: a child is rewarded for tidying their room with a bag of sweets, someone who catches a bank robber is rewarded with £30,000 by the bank, someone offers a £10 reward to whoever finds their lost dog. An award (noun) is something that recognises something that someone has done. People are awarded medals for courage, the Oscar figurine is an award for excellence in film making etc. It need not have any financial value. To award (verb) means to present, to give. It has a slightly wider meaning than that of just relating to an award (noun). It is also used when someone has achieved or won something, even if there is not an actual award (noun) involved. For example, you might award a business contract. There is still a suggestion of competition involved though."

These two words are sometimes interchangeable, but there are differences in their usage. A reward is most often offered by someone for anyone successfully completing a given task. The task is often associated with the return of something or information that will assist in solving something. Examples are a reward for information leading to the arrest of someone, a reward for the return of a lost item like a wallet or pet, a reward for anyone that can identify a missing person. In these cases, the reward is being offered to anyone which means the person offering the reward does not know who, if anyone, will receive it until the task is completed. By contrast, an award is usually given to a specific person for a specific accomplishment or set of accomplishments. The person giving the award knows who they are giving it to because they have evaluated that person's accomplishments and deemed them worthy of the award. Examples might be an award for valor in combat, an award for scientific discoveries, an Academy Award for best performance in film. Unfortunately, in common usage, people often do not make ant distinction between award and reward so in all of the above cases people may use either word and will not be corrected. So you can be awarded for past deeds with a reward. Or you can be rewarded for returning a lost pet with an award. SORRY, English, especially in common usage, sometimes mkes no sense!