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Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is one my favourite programs to purchase miles from. This is due to both the frequency with which they sell miles and the great deal redemptions. Alaska Mileage Plan just announced its latest promotion for purchased miles. This mystery bonus could be one of the best we've seen from Alaska Mileage Plan.
Alaska Airlines joined the oneworld alliance in January. You can still earn Mileage Plan points for travel on any oneworld airline, but the airline will not fully roll out oneworld award redemptions before the end of the year (at the earliest).
What is the best price for Alaska Miles?
Alaska Airlines offers a bonus on all purchased miles through Saturday, October 30, 2021. This bonus is being offered as a mystery bonus. To see what you are eligible for, log in to your account. It appears that you could receive a tiered bonus up to 60% for purchasing miles.
Get a 40% bonus when you buy 3,000-19,000 miles
Get a 50% bonus when you buy 20,000 to 39,000 miles
Get a 60% bonus when you buy between 40,000 and 100,000 miles
How much does it cost to purchase miles through this promo?
You could purchase 160,000 miles for $2.956.25, or 1.85 cents per mile with a 60% bonus
You can only purchase 100,000 miles per transaction, but you can buy up to 150,000 miles each calendar year. Alaska elite members have unlimited mileage.
The Historically Alaska Mileage Plan offers anywhere from 35% to 60% bonus miles on purchases, so this is the best offer, assuming you are eligible.
Alaska Miles with a Bonus: Who should buy them?
You should always think about how these miles will be used and what the value of converting cash to points is before making any purchases.
Alaska Miles: Why it's a good deal
Mileage Plan has many unique features that make it a great deal. Most domestic flights are not worth the miles, so I would not recommend purchasing them. For more information and examples of amazing value, see my guide on Alaska Airlines Miles.
Stopovers On One-Way Awards
Mileage Plan is unique in that Alaska allows for stopovers on all one-way award tickets. This is a less valuable option right now due to travel restrictions. But, it will hopefully become more useful in the near future.
The program has placed restrictions on this. Alaska now allows no stopovers for awards in Asia. Mileage Plan, however, does allow for stopovers between Asia and other regions.
How do you fly from New York to Singapore via Hong Kong For no extra miles, you can make a stop in Hong Kong to spend a few days.
Take a stopover in Hong Kong with a Mileage Plan award
Fiji to Los Angeles: Fly from Los Angeles to Auckland. Stop in Fiji to enjoy two vacations in one.
This also means that you can do two stopsovers if you book roundtrip. The above assumes that you are allowed to travel to those destinations. Unfortunately, Hong Kong and Fiji are currently closed to travelers.
There are no limits on how many miles you can buy
Many people take advantage of these offers regularly. One thing that has made Alaska Mileage Plan so unique over the years is that there has never been a limit to how many miles you could purchase. There was a limit to how many miles you could purchase per transaction but you could do as many transactions as your heart desired.
Alaska Mileage Plan restricts non-elite members from buying more than 150,000 miles per year. Elite Mileage Plan members (MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, MVP Gold 75K) have no limit on the number of miles they can purchase.
Here's how Alaska describes the terms of buying miles:
You can credit your Mileage Plan account up to 150,000 miles if you purchase Points.com points in a calendar year. MVP, MVP Gold, and MVP Gold 75K
Why would Mileage Plan limit the number of miles you can purchase? The program was likely making money on the vast majority of transactions. Alaska, for example, is only paying a fraction for first and business class tickets.
I believe this was due to the large number of mileage brokers who were buying and selling miles. These people are stopped by airlines for many reasons. Mileage Plan discovered that most people who bought large quantities of miles were doing this. This won't work as a foolproof solution because those who are able to get status can also buy miles.
It would be interesting to see how this affects the number of Alaskans who buy, but it shouldn't have any impact on most regular buyers.
Unique Airline Partners
Alaska Airlines is now part of the oneworld alliance. However, the airline partners with other airlines who belong to SkyTeam or Star Alliance as well as unique non-alliance carriers.
Alaska is a partner with Fiji Airways and Icelandair, to name just a few.
How many Alaska Miles do I need to fly one of these fancy flights?
Here are some examples of Mileage Plan Miles (all of which allow for stopovers on one way awards):
Alaska miles are the best method to redeem Cathay Pacific's first class tickets
Alaska may not have access to certain partner award seats in some cases.
This is very common on Qantas and Cathay Pacific. This is something you should be aware of before purchasing any miles.
Alaska Miles for Sale: Who Can?
You can buy miles during this promotion as long as you have been a member for at least 10 consecutive days.
Redeem Alaska miles for Japan Airlines first class
You can also earn Alaska Mileage Plan Miles in other ways
You don't have to purchase miles to benefit from these deals. Alaska also offers two credit card options that will help you quickly accumulate points.
After completing a modest minimum spend, both offer fantastic welcome bonuses. These cards offer many other great perks.
Which credit card should you use?
Alaska mileage purchases processed by points.com do not count towards airfare purchases for credit card purposes.
So I recommend that you use a card with a minimum spending requirement. If youre not able to meet this, you should consider a credit card that will maximize your return on your everyday spending. For more information on the best credit cards to buy points, see this post.
Alaska miles can be redeemed for LATAM business class
Bottom line
Alaska Mileage Plan just launched a new promotion on purchased miles. This could be worth your while. The mystery bonus is available on purchased miles and the maximum bonus seems to be a 60% bonus. You are eligible for a 60% bonus if you purchase Mileage Plan miles.
It is hard to overstate the value of stopovers on one-way awards. Not to mention the unique airline partners Alaska has. You can read more about all this in my guide to best Alaska Airlines miles. The big question now is how Alaska Mileage Plan redemptions with oneworld partners will look.
Are you planning to purchase Alaska Mileage Plan Miles with this offer?
