| Up to a 60% bonus on purchased miles | January 26, 2022 | February 20, 2022 |
| Up to a 50% bonus on purchased miles | November 15, 2021 | December 23, 2021 |
| Up to a 60% bonus on purchased miles | October 4, 2021 | October 30, 2021 |
| Up to a 60% bonus on purchased miles | July 19, 2021 | August 23, 2021 |
| Up to a 50% bonus on purchased miles | June 14, 2021 | June 25, 2021 |
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is one of my favorite programs to buy miles from, because of the frequent sale of miles, and because of the good deal award redemptions can be.
The Alaska Mileage Plan has just launched its first promotion of 2022, and it is valid for the next several weeks.
The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program is offering a bonus on purchased miles. You have to log into your account to see what you are eligible for when different Mileage Plan members are targeted for different bonuses. It would appear that the best bonus is between 50% and 60%, based on the accounts I manage.
- Buy 3,000-19,000 miles, get a 40% bonus
- Buy 20,000-39,000 miles, get a 50% bonus
- Buy 40,000-100,000 miles, get a 60% bonus
How much does it cost to buy Alaska Mileage Plan miles?
You can buy Alaska Mileage Plan miles at a pre-tax price. If you purchased 100,000 Mileage Plan miles pre-bonus, you will receive a total of 160,000 miles at a cost of $2,956.25, which is a rate of 1.85 cents per mile.
How many Mileage Plan miles can you purchase?
The number of Alaska miles you can buy depends on your status.
- Alaska Mileage Plan elite members (MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K) can purchase an unlimited number of miles
- Alaska Mileage Plan non-elite members can purchase up to 150,000 miles per calendar year; that limit doesn’t include the bonus miles
You can always make multiple transactions if you purchase 100,000 Mileage Plan miles per transaction. If you have been a member of the Mileage Plan for at least 10 days, you can purchase miles.
Alaska Mileage Plan mileage purchases are not counted as airfare purchases for purposes of credit card spending.
If you are trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, I recommend using a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending, like the Chase Freedom unlimited.
For more on which credit cards are best for buying points, see this post.
Is buying Alaska Mileage Plan miles worth it?
There are a lot of things to love about Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
- Alaska Mileage Plan has among the most reasonable premium cabin redemption rates you’ll find out there for travel on partner airlines
- Alaska Mileage Plan has a unique array of airline partners — the airline belongs to the oneworld alliance so has lots of partners within the alliance, but also has several non-oneworld partners, ranging from Condor, to Fiji Airways, to Icelandair, to LATAM, to Singapore Airlines
- Alaska Mileage Plan allows stopovers on award tickets, which most programs don’t allow nowadays; this can stretch your miles a lot further
- Miles are sold at a reasonable price and can be bought in large quantities, making this a great program for “starting from scratch” and saving money on a premium international ticket
If you find premium cabin award space on airlines like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, or Qantas, there is a huge value in buying Mileage Plan miles.
On what airlines can you redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles?
Alaska Mileage Plan miles can be redeemed on partner airlines.
- Aer Lingus
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Condor
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Hainan Airlines
- Iberia
- Icelandair
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
- LATAM
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Singapore Airlines
What are good uses of Alaska Mileage Plan miles?
There are so many amazing uses of Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
- Between the United States and Asia, you can fly Cathay Pacific first class for 70,000 miles, or Cathay Pacific business class for 50,000 miles
- Between the United States and Southeast Asia, you can fly Japan Airlines first class for 75,000 miles, or Japan Airlines business class for 65,000 miles
- Between the United States and Australia or New Zealand, you can fly Fiji Airways business class for 55,000 miles
- Between the United States and Australia, you can fly Qantas first class for 70,000 miles, or Qantas business class for 55,000 miles
- Between the United States and Europe, you can fly Icelandair business class for 55,000 miles
- Between the United States and Europe, you can fly Aer Lingus business class for 60,000 miles
- Between the United States and Europe, you can fly Finnair business class for 70,000 miles
- Between the United States and South America, you can fly LATAM business class for 45,000 miles
Those are just some of the great ways to redeem miles, and as I will explain below, it doesn't fully do justice to how much value you can potentially get with these miles.
Tip: Take advantage of Alaska’s generous stopover policy
One of my favorite things about Alaska Mileage Plan miles is that you can stop on a partner award ticket without paying additional miles. Since you are allowed a stop even on a one-way, you could have two on a roundtrip award.
Nowadays most airline loyalty programs have eliminated free stopovers on award tickets, so this is something that really sets the program apart. If your award is only for travel within Asia, you can't have stopovers.
This is an awesome benefit. Current travel restrictions make it difficult to maximize, but the long-term potential is huge.
- Flying from New York to Bali via Hong Kong? You can stop in Hong Kong for a few days!
- Flying from Chicago to Singapore via Tokyo? You can stop in Japan for a few days!
- Flying from Los Angeles to Sydney via Nadi? You can stop in Fiji for a few days!
- Flying from Seattle to Frankfurt via Keflavik? You can stop in Iceland for a few days!
- Flying from Miami to Santiago via Lima? You can stop in Peru for a few days!
Are there fuel surcharges on Alaska Mileage Plan awards?
The practice of airlines adding carrier imposed surcharges to award tickets is frustrating many consumers. Most partners don't have these surcharges. There are surcharges for travel on British Airways and other airlines.
How much are Alaska Mileage Plan miles worth?
I value Alaska Mileage Plan miles at 1.8 cents each, which is the highest I value any single airline mileage currency. I value points conservatively, and there are many ways to get more value from mileage plan miles.
Do Alaska Mileage Plan miles expire?
If you have at least some account activity once every 24 months, Alaska Mileage Plan miles don't expire. Account activity can include earning or redeeming miles.
What other ways can you earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles?
Alaska Mileage Plan miles can be earned through flying and non-flying means. The easiest way to earn Alaska miles is with one of the co- branded credit cards.
After completing a moderate spending amount, both offer great welcome bonuses. There are a lot of perks to these cards.
Alaska Mileage Plan is one of the most lucrative loyalty programs to buy miles from, due to the excellent redemption rates, stopovers on one-way awards, and variety of partners.
There is an opportunity to pick up miles for around 1.85 cents each if you purchase a Mileage Plan membership. If you are being strategic, this offer has lots of value. The mileage plan miles are not as useful as usual because of the fact that much of Asia and the South Pacific are still closed.
Do you plan on purchasing Alaska Mileage Plan miles?
