How To Redeem Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

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If you spend a minimum of $3,000 in the first 90 days, you can earn 60,000 Mileage Plan bonus miles and a companion fare of $121 on the Alaska Airlines Visa business card.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is one of my favorite mileage currencies. Alaska miles are worth 1.7 cents per mile, which is more than any other airline miles. In this post, I want to talk about how to earn and redeem miles, what the rules are for redeeming them, and what the best uses of them are.

How to earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles

Alaska Mileage Plan doesn't partner with any of the major transferrable points currencies, but there are other ways to earn miles.

The Alaska Airlines Visa business card and the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card are excellent options for earning Alaska miles. Alaska frequent flyers can get a number of perks, like a first checked bag free, discounted access to Alaska Lounges, and more.

Alaska doesn't partner with Amex, Capital One, Chase, or Citi, but it does partner with Marriott Bonvoy, so you can transfer over Marriott points. 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points convert into 25,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles.

There are lots of credit cards that can earn you Marriott Bonvoy points, including the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card. If you want to earn Alaska miles through credit card spend, a card like the Alaska Airlines Visa is the best option.

Buy Alaska miles

The Alaska Mileage Plan is aggressive about selling miles and offers promotions on purchased miles every couple of months. You can expect bonuses in the range of 40% to 60% when we see these offers.

You have to be a member for at least 10 days in order to take advantage of the promotions, but it doesn't cost anything to join the Alaska Mileage Plan rewards program.

Earn Alaska miles by flying

Alaska is a good program to credit flights to and there are many ways to earn Alaska miles.

Alaska Mileage Plan is the last major US frequent flyer program to award miles based on distance traveled.

Alaska has excellent mileage earning rates on a variety of airline partners. Alaska Mileage Plan allows you to earn miles for travel.

• Aer Lingus
• Air Tahiti Nui
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Condor
• EL AL
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• Hainan Airlines
• Iberia
• Icelandair
• Japan Airlines
• Korean Air
• LATAM
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Ravn Alaska
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• Singapore Airlines
• SriLankan Airlines

Basics of redeeming Alaska Mileage Plan miles

There are a lot of rules to be aware of when using the Alaska Mileage Plan. Let's cover some of the basics.

Alaska miles redemption partners

Alaska Airlines has many partners beyond oneworld. Alaska Mileage Plan miles can be redeemed for travel on the following airlines.

• Aer Lingus
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Condor
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• Hainan Airlines
• Iberia
• Icelandair
• Japan Airlines
• Korean Air
• LATAM
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• Singapore Airlines
• SriLankan Airlines

Alaska Mileage Plan has partnerships with two airlines, but redemptions on those airlines are not yet possible. They should be here soon. All other Mileage Plan partner awards can be booked online at alaskaair.com.

Alaska's Mileage Plan partner award desk can be reached at 800-252-7522.

Alaska has separate award charts for each partner airline

Pricing is the same regardless of which airline you fly, because many airline loyalty programs have a single global award chart. There is a separate award chart for each partner airline in the Alaska Mileage Plan.

• Award pricing is different for each partner airline
• You can only redeem for travel in select regions, so there are some markets where you can’t redeem on partners
• You can’t mix and match partners on an award ticket, but rather you can only travel with one partner; however, you can always fly Alaska Airlines to the gateway on the same award ticket to start an award reservation, assuming there’s award availability

With Alaska Airlines having joined oneworld, it is expected that Mileage Plan will eventually introduce a multi-airline award chart, allowing you to book a single ticket that includes travel on multiple airlines. I think the value won't be as good as Alaska's individual airline award charts.

Alaska allows stopovers on one-way awards

When traveling between regions, you can stop on a one-way award ticket in the Alaska Mileage Plan program. You can redeem with any partner.

If you book a two-way ticket, you can potentially get two stops on a single ticket. To book a ticket online with a stopover, just use the multi-city function, and you can search each portion of the ticket individually.

Alaska award inventory discrepancies

Alaska Mileage Plan should have access to the same award availability as other partner airlines, but in some cases it doesn't have access to the same space. Most often:

• Mileage Plan often has access to one less first and/or business class award seat on Cathay Pacific than other programs do
• Qantas awards sometimes don’t show up, though there’s not much rhyme or reason to that
• Mileage Plan often has access to one less business class award seat on Aer Lingus than other programs do

It will not be consistent, but it is something to be aware of, and it can be frustrating. There isn't any way to get around this.

Alaska 72-hour advance booking policy for Asia

Most members of the Mileage Plan have limited implications for travel within Asia. When booking within 72 hours of departure, you can redeem miles for travel within Asia. Apparently this rule exists due to fraudulent redemptions, so it is something to be aware of.

Alaska award ticketing fees

There are fees associated with Alaska Mileage Plan miles redeemed.

• There’s a $12.50 partner award booking fee, which is charged each way per passenger, and applies for all new partner award bookings (this isn’t waived for elite members)
• If you book by phone, there’s a $15 service fee, which is waived for MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K members

Alaska award ticket change & cancelation fees

Alaska Mileage Plan charges $125 per person to change or cancel any award tickets. The fee is not charged for members of the gold club. Passengers can cancel their tickets within 24 hours of booking if they are booking for travel more than 24 hours before departure.

Alaska's policy is not particularly customer friendly since programs like American AAdvantage no longer have change or cancelation fees.

Alaska award ticket fuel surcharges

Fuel surcharges are imposed on travel on some partner airlines by the carrier. These apply for travel on British Airways. They don't apply for travel on other airlines.

Alaska award ticket hold policy

Alaska Mileage Plan does not allow award tickets to be placed on hold. You can cancel a Mileage Plan award ticket for free if you have enough miles in your account.

Best ways to use Alaska Mileage Plan miles

We all have different travel goals, so there is never going to be a one size fits all answer as to what the best use of miles is. I like to redeem my miles in first and business class, since they have the most outsized value.

A lot of the value of the program comes from a few great partner redemption opportunities. Some partners have high redemption rates, while others have low redemption rates.

In this post, I want to share what I consider the best uses of Alaska miles to be. With current travel restrictions, some redemptions are less valuable than in the past.

1. Redeem Alaska miles on Cathay Pacific

redemptions in Cathay Pacific first and business class are one of my favorite uses of Mileage Plan miles. One-way redemption rates on the Alaska Mileage Plan are listed below.

• Between the United States and Asia costs 50,000 miles in business class, 70,000 miles in first class
• Between the United States and Africa, India, South Asia, and the Middle East, costs 62,500 miles in business class, 70,000 miles in first class
• Between the United States and Australia and New Zealand costs 60,000 miles in business class, 80,000 miles in first class

You could redeem just 60,000 miles for travel from the United States to Australia. You could fly from New York to Hong Kong, have a stop in Hong Kong for a few days, and then go to Australia on the same ticket. That is a great deal.

On the surface, this is an even better value, but it is only available within a couple of weeks of departure, so it is not an award seat.

2. Redeem Alaska miles on Japan Airlines

Alaska Mileage Plan has great redemption rates for travel on Japan Airlines. One-way redemption rates for the Alaska Mileage Plan on Japan Airlines are as follows.

• Between the United States and Japan costs 60,000 miles in business class, 70,000 miles in first class
• Between the United States and Southeast Asia costs 65,000 miles in business class, 75,000 miles in first class

Being able to have a stop in Japan will give you a huge value. You could fly from the United States to Tokyo, stop for a few days, and then continue on to Singapore. Japan remains closed to most tourists for the time being.

3. Redeem Alaska miles on Qantas

Qantas isn't great about making award seats available, but you can find better redemption rates through Alaska Mileage Plan. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Qantas are as follows.

• Between the United States and the South Pacific costs 55,000 miles in business class, 70,000 miles in first class

This is an amazing deal if you can find award availability. You could redeem just 55,000 miles to fly from Dallas to Sydney and then from there to Perth.

4. Redeem Alaska miles on Fiji Airways

If you want to travel from the United States to Australia or New Zealand, you should take a look at the beautiful country of Fiji. It's a great option to fly to another destination with the intention of visiting Fiji. One-way redemption rates on the Alaska Mileage Plan are as follows.

• Between the United States and South Pacific costs 55,000 miles in business class

It's an incredible value to be able to redeem 55,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket from the United States to Australia. It will take some effort to find available seats because Fiji Airways doesn't make many business class award seats available.

5. Redeem Alaska miles on LATAM

Alaska Mileage Plan still has a partnership with the airline even though LATAM is no longer part of the oneworld alliance. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on LATAM are as follows:

• Between the United States and South America costs 45,000 miles in business class

A one-way business class ticket to South America with a stopover is a great value. You could fly from Los Angele to Lima, have a stop for a few days, and then go on to Santiago.

6. Redeem Alaska miles on Aer Lingus

One of the best ways to get between the United States and Europe without paying fuel surcharges is through the Aer Lingus partnership with Alaska Mileage Plan. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Aer Lingus are as follows.

• Between the United States and Europe costs 60,000 miles in business class

You can add a stop in Dublin without paying extra miles if you choose to go for a one-way award between the United States and Europe.

7. Redeem Alaska miles on Finnair

Alaska can redeem miles across the pond without paying fuel surcharges. One-way redemption rates for the Alaska Mileage Plan on Finnair are as follows.

• Between the United States and Europe costs 70,000 miles in business class

You could redeem 57,500 American AAdvantage miles for one-way travel between the United States and Europe in business class. The ability to have a stop in Helsinki at no extra cost could be a big advantage.

8. Redeem Alaska miles on Singapore Airlines

Alaska Airlines is part of oneworld and Singapore Airlines is part of Star Alliance, but they still have a partnership. Alaska Mileage Plan has access to a lot of the premium cabin long haul award space that Singapore Airlines has historically blocked.

Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Singapore Airlines are as follows.

• Between the United States and North Asia costs 80,000 miles in business class, 110,000 miles in first class
• Between the United States and Southeast Asia costs 100,000 miles in business class, 130,000 miles in first class
• Within Southeast Asia costs 25,000 miles in business class, 35,000 miles in first class
• Between Southeast Asia and North Asia costs 60,000 miles in business class, 75,000 miles in first class

There are still some great opportunities between the US and Southeast Asia.

You can fly from the United States to Singapore for 80,000 miles in business class. For 25,000 to 35,000 miles, a first or business class award is the best value. You could fly a long way if you had a stop in Singapore.

I value Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles more than any other airline currency because of the program's unique airline partners and the ability to do stopovers on one-way award tickets, which is something that very few programs allow nowadays.

If you use your Alaska rewards on the right partners, there is a lot of value to be had. Hong Kong and Japan are closed to tourists since they are the most useful partners for the carrier.

What is your favorite use of Alaska Mileage Plan miles?