How To Redeem Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

How To Redeem Alaska Mileage Plan Miles

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Link: Apply now for the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card or Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is among my favorite mileage currencies out there. On a per-mile basis, I value Alaska miles more than any other airline miles (I consider them to be worth 1.7 cents each). In this post, I wanted to talk a bit more about Mileage Plan miles — how do you earn them, what are the rules around redeeming them, and what are the best uses of them?

How to earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles

While Alaska Mileage Plan doesn’t partner with any of the major transferrable points currencies, there are some other useful ways to earn Mileage Plan miles.

Earn Alaska miles with Alaska credit cards

Alaska Airlines has two co-branded credit cards, issued by Bank of America:

These cards offer a variety of long-term benefits, including a first checked bag free, priority boarding, savings on inflight purchases, Alaska Lounge membership discounts, the ability to earn a companion fare, and more.

It could be worth picking up an Alaska Airlines credit card

Earn Alaska miles with other credit cards

While Alaska Mileage Plan doesn’t partner with Amex, Capital One, Chase, or Citi, the program does partner with Marriott Bonvoy, so you can transfer over Marriott points. The ratio is that 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points convert into 25,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles (if you convert in different increments it’s a 3:1 ratio).

This can be a solid deal, and there are lots of credit cards that can earn you Marriott Bonvoy points, including the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card (review), Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card (review), Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (review), Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card (review), and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card (review).

However, if trying to earn Alaska miles through credit card spending, a card like the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card are the best options.

Buy Alaska miles

Alaska Mileage Plan is pretty aggressive about selling miles, and the program seems to offer promotions on purchased miles every couple of months. When we see these offers, you can expect bonuses in the range of 40-60%. This is often an opportunity to acquire Alaska miles for under two cents each.

It doesn’t cost anything to join the Alaska Mileage Plan rewards program, so I generally recommend signing up ahead of time — you have to be a member for at least 10 days in order to take advantage of one of these promotions.

Earn Alaska miles by flying

Not only are there great ways to earn Alaska miles either through credit cards or by buying them outright, but Alaska is also a good program to credit flights to.

For one, Alaska Mileage Plan is the last major US frequent flyer program to award miles based on distance flown rather than dollars spent.

Alaska also has excellent mileage earning rates on a variety of airline partners, ranging from Condor to Cathay Pacific. Alaska Mileage Plan lets you earn miles for travel on the following airline partners:

  • 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
Earn Alaska miles for travel on Condor

Basics of redeeming Alaska Mileage Plan miles

Alaska Mileage Plan has some great redemption opportunities, though there are also quite a few rules to be aware of. Let’s cover some of those basics.

Alaska miles redemption partners

Alaska Airlines belongs to the oneworld alliance, though the airline has a wide array of partners beyond oneworld. It’s possible to redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles for travel on the following airlines:

  • 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
  • Royal Air Maroc
  • Royal Jordanian
  • Singapore Airlines
  • SriLankan Airlines

All Mileage Plan award redemption partners can be booked online at alaskaair.com. If you have a complicated itinerary or are having issues with Alaska’s website, you’ll want to call Alaska’s Mileage Plan partner award desk, which can be reached at 800-252-7522.

Alaska has separate award pricing for each partner airline

Alaska Mileage Plan has different award pricing for travel on each partner airline. This is different than other programs, which may exclusively charge based on the distance you travel or the zones you’re traveling between, regardless of the airline you’re flying with.

Alaska Mileage Plan no longer publishes award charts for each partner airline, but rather has a unified award chart that shows the lowest cost you’ll pay when traveling between certain regions.

Below is the Alaska Mileage Plan award chart for North American awards.

Alaska Mileage Plan partner award chart for North America

Below is the Alaska Mileage Plan award chart for awards that include travel to the rest of the globe.

Alaska Mileage Plan partner award chart for international destinations

Fortunately as of now award pricing on partners hasn’t changed since individual award charts were eliminated, and I’ll still note the current pricing below, when I talk about the best uses of Alaska miles. Let me emphasize a few points when it comes to redeeming Alaska miles:

  • 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 saver award availability

With Alaska Airlines having joined oneworld, it’s 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. However, I suspect the value won’t be as good as some of Alaska’s better individual airline award charts.

Each Alaska partner airline has its own award pricing

Alaska allows stopovers on one-way awards

One of my favorite things about the Alaska Mileage Plan program is that you are allowed a stopover on a one-way award ticket when traveling between regions. This is possible regardless of which partner you redeem with.

So if you book a roundtrip as two one-ways, this means you can potentially get two stopovers on a roundtrip 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.

Get a free stopover when redeeming Alaska miles

Alaska award inventory discrepancies

On the surface Alaska Mileage Plan should have access to the same award availability as other partner airlines do, though in some cases Mileage Plan inexplicably doesn’t have access to the same space. Most commonly:

  • 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

This won’t be consistent, but it is something to be aware of, and it sure can be frustrating. There’s generally not any way to get around this.

Alaska sometimes doesn’t have access to all Cathay Pacific first class awards

Alaska 72-hour advance booking policy for Asia

While this has limited implications for most members, Mileage Plan has a policy for travel within Asia. Specifically, you can’t redeem miles for travel within Asia when booking within 72 hours of departure. Apparently this rule exists due to fraudulent redemptions, so it is something to be aware of.

Alaska award ticketing fees

There are a couple of fees associated with redeeming Alaska Mileage Plan miles:

  • 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 fee isn’t waived for elite members, and it’s non-refundable, so if you cancel your ticket, you won’t get that fee back
  • 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 no longer has any change or cancelation fees for award tickets, which gives you lots of flexibility to speculatively lock in awards, or even change them if a better routing opens up. The only exception is that the $12.50 partner award booking fee can’t be refunded.

Alaska award ticket fuel surcharges

Alaska Mileage Plan passes on carrier imposed surcharges (often referred to as fuel surcharges) for travel on some partner airlines. Specifically, these apply for travel on British Airways, Hainan Airlines, and Icelandair. Fortunately they don’t apply for travel on other partner airlines.

Expect to pay fuel surcharges when redeeming on British Airways

Alaska award ticket hold policy

Alaska Mileage Plan doesn’t allow award tickets to be placed on hold. To book a Mileage Plan award ticket you need to have sufficient miles in your account, though you can always cancel it for free.

Best ways to use Alaska Mileage Plan miles

We all have different travel goals, so there’s never going to be a one size fits all answer as to what the best use of miles is. Personally my favorite way to redeem miles is for aspirational redemptions in first and business class, since that’s where you’ll get the most outsized value.

The thing about Mileage Plan is that a lot of the value of the program comes from a select number of great partner redemption opportunities. Some partners have very high redemption rates, while others have very lucrative rates.

In this post I wanted to share what I consider the best uses of Alaska miles to be, roughly ranked starting with the best.

1. Redeem Alaska miles on Cathay Pacific

One of my favorite uses of Mileage Plan miles is for redemptions in Cathay Pacific first and business class. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Cathay Pacific are as follows:

  • 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

For example, you could redeem just 60,000 miles for travel in Cathay Pacific business class from the United States to Australia. This means you could fly from New York to Hong Kong, have a stopover for several days, and then continue to Australia on the same ticket. That’s a spectacular deal.

On the surface redeeming for Cathay Pacific first class is an even better value, though Cathay Pacific typically makes at most one award seat available in advance, and then it’s only within a couple of weeks of departure when more seats are opened, so this isn’t ideal for those planning in advance. Furthermore, at the moment Cathay Pacific isn’t offering first class to the United States.

Redeem Alaska miles for Cathay Pacific business class

2. Redeem Alaska miles on Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines is an incredible airline, and Alaska Mileage Plan has great redemption rates for travel on the carrier. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates 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

The huge value here comes in being able to have a stopover in Japan enroute to another destination in Asia. For example, you could fly from the United States to Tokyo, stop for several days, and then continue to Bangkok or Singapore.

Redeem Alaska miles for Japan Airlines first class

3. Redeem Alaska miles on Qantas

While Qantas isn’t great about making award seats available, you won’t find better redemption rates for travel on the airline than you’ll find 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

If you can find award availability, this is an absolutely amazing deal. For example, you could redeem just 55,000 miles to fly from Dallas to Sydney, have a stopover, and then fly from Sydney to Perth.

Redeem Alaska miles for Qantas business class

4. Redeem Alaska miles on Air Tahiti Nui

Air Tahiti Nui is one of Alaska Mileage Plan’s newer airline partners, and redemption rates are really good for anyone looking to visit Tahiti or the South Pacific. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Air Tahiti Nui are as follows:

  • Between the United States and Tahiti costs 60,000 miles in business class
  • Between the United States and New Zealand costs 80,000 miles in business class

The redemption rates between the United States and Tahiti are the lowest you’ll find through any program for travel on Air Tahiti Nui. Furthermore, the New Zealand redemption rates are great when you consider that you can have a stopover in Tahiti enroute to New Zealand, giving you access to two destinations with one ticket.

While the Fiji Airways deal I cover below might seem like the better deal on the surface (destinations aside), the difference is that Air Tahiti Nui consistently releases a good amount of business class award space, while that’s less the case with Fiji Airways.

Redeem Alaska miles for Air Tahiti Nui business class

5. Redeem Alaska miles on Fiji Airways

Fiji is absolutely gorgeous, and conveniently is right on the way if traveling from the United States to Australia or New Zealand. So flying Fiji Airways, whether with the intention of visiting Fiji, or enroute to another destination, is a great option. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Fiji Airways are as follows:

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

Being able to redeem 55,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket from the United States to Australia with a stopover in Fiji is an incredible value. The major catch here is that Fiji Airways historically doesn’t make many business class award seats available, so it’ll take some effort to find available seats. Once in a while the airline will release a significant number of award seats, so it’s always great to have a reserve of Alaska miles, so that you’re ready to book when that happens.

Redeem Alaska miles for Fiji Airways business class

6. Redeem Alaska miles on LATAM

While LATAM is no longer part of the oneworld alliance, Alaska Mileage Plan continues to have a partnership with the airline. 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

Being able to redeem just 45,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket to South America with a stopover is a spectacular value. For example, you could fly from Los Angele to Lima, have a stopover for several days, and then continue from Lima to Santiago.

Redeem Alaska miles for LATAM business class

7. Redeem Alaska miles on Aer Lingus

The Aer Lingus partnership with Alaska Mileage Plan was introduced a couple of years ago, and this is one of the best ways to get between the United States and Europe without paying fuel surcharges. 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

60,000 miles for a one-way award between the United States and Europe can be a great deal, especially when you consider that you can add a stopover in Dublin without paying extra miles.

Redeem Alaska miles for Aer Lingus business class

8. Redeem Alaska miles on Finnair

Finnair is another great option to redeem Alaska miles across the pond without paying fuel surcharges. Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on Finnair are as follows:

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

On the surface this isn’t that great, since you could redeem 57,500 American AAdvantage miles for one-way travel between the United States and Europe in business class, including on Finnair. However, the big advantage here could be the ability to have a stopover in Helsinki at no extra cost, and then continue to elsewhere.

Redeem Alaska miles for Finnair business class

9. Redeem Alaska miles on EL AL

EL AL is Alaska Mileage Plan’s newest redemption partner. This is exciting, because EL AL is otherwise lacking airline partners, so there aren’t many ways to redeem miles for travel on the airline.

Alaska Mileage Plan one-way redemption rates on EL AL are as follows:

  • Between the United States and Israel costs 65,000-80,000 miles in premium economy, 80,000-100,000 miles in business class

Unfortunately the stopover potential here is limited, but it’s still great to have an option for redeeming on EL AL.

Redeem Alaska miles for EL AL business class

10. Redeem Alaska miles on Singapore Airlines

Even though Alaska Airlines is part of oneworld and Singapore Airlines is part of Star Alliance, the two airlines still have a partnership. While Singapore Airlines has historically blocked premium cabin long haul award space for partner programs, interestingly Alaska Mileage Plan has access to quite a bit of that space.

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

I wouldn’t say the redemption rates between the US and Southeast Asia are that spectacular, though there are still some great opportunities.

For example, you could fly from the United States to Singapore to Japan (with a stopover in Singapore) for 80,000 miles one-way in business class. Perhaps the best value is a first or business class award within Southeast Asia for 25,000 to 35,000 miles. You could have a stopover in Singapore, and could fly quite a distance.

Redeem Alaska miles for Singapore Airlines business class

Bottom line

On a per-mile basis, I value Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles more than any other airline currency thanks to 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.

Despite some of the frustrating rules associated with redeeming Alaska Mileage Plan miles, there’s a ton of value to be had as well if you use your Alaska rewards on the right partners. With so much of the world having now reopened (including Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, etc.), it’s once again much easier to maximize Alaska Mileage Plan miles.

If you’re looking to acquire Alaska Mileage Plan miles, don’t forget about the huge potential to earn miles with the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.

What’s your favorite use of Alaska Mileage Plan miles?

Conversations (15)
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  1. Chris Guest

    I couldn't find any availabilities of SQ with Alaska recently, however, if I looked for with Aeroplan on the same dates, there were some available seats there. Does SQ specifically block Alaska redemption or probably the Alaska agent can see the seats at the back? Not sure if others encountered the same issue.

  2. Fletch New Member

    Other redemption issues:

    1. Korean Airlines Business availability on alaskaair.com is erroneous. I have confirmed this myself and also conformed with an Alaska representative.
    2. Cathay Pacific redemption also appears to fail, with every attempt at checkout resulting in "We're sorry, we aren't able to confirm space on these partner flights. Please try again and choose different flights, dates or cities."

    There are major issues with trying to redeem my 350,000 Alaska miles for...

    Other redemption issues:

    1. Korean Airlines Business availability on alaskaair.com is erroneous. I have confirmed this myself and also conformed with an Alaska representative.
    2. Cathay Pacific redemption also appears to fail, with every attempt at checkout resulting in "We're sorry, we aren't able to confirm space on these partner flights. Please try again and choose different flights, dates or cities."

    There are major issues with trying to redeem my 350,000 Alaska miles for travel in Asia. For whatever, reason, I have no problems with European carrier redemption.

  3. Dirk Guest

    Has anybody else noticed that miles redemptions via Alaska on Singapore airlines appear to no longer be available?

    I'm planning a trip to Singapore next June (2024) and have been tracking Singapore availability via Alaska... 2 weeks ago there was a ton of options all the way out until the second week of May. Looking today there appears to be no availability on Singapore at all, anywhere in their schedule.

    Any insight? Did they drop the partnership with Singapore?

  4. Amy Guest

    I remember years ago that AS removed JAL premium economy from their award chart, but later it was reported that was a mistake. Despite seeing tons of availability on BA's website, I never see the PE availability from either AS or AA. Would you expect these flights to be bookable with a phone agent?

  5. Peter Lee Guest

    Glenn T is right as cross region redemption depends on airline partner. He could have used Cathay Pacific for U.S./Australia or Europe/Pacific routes instead of Singapore as stated. Stopover in Hong Kong is free !

  6. Thomas Guest

    Ben, can I use AS miles and fly SQ from JFK to SIN with a stopover in FRA?
    How many miles would that be? Or how about just JFK to FRA flying SQ?
    That would interest me and others as SQ is a fantastic airline.
    Thank you for advise,

  7. Greg Guest

    I used to find Alaska miles valuable because of their ability to redeem in J or F on partners like Emirates, Cathay, and AA. Emirates is gone, AA has stopped releasing international awards to partners and I have not seen two seats on Cathay Pacific J or F for years. Unfortunately my miles have had 0 value since 2020. Unless that changes and some partners release awards I can't give any value to the points.

  8. glenn t Diamond

    There are major flaws embedded in the MP redemption system which severly disadvantage any Member outside the USA. (If this does not apply to you, or you are otherwise disinterested, feel free to read no further).
    In outlining available redemption examples you will note that most start off "From the United States to........." wherever. Alaska Mileage Plan is firmly tethered to the US, showing a multiplicity of awards beginning, ending or passing through the...

    There are major flaws embedded in the MP redemption system which severly disadvantage any Member outside the USA. (If this does not apply to you, or you are otherwise disinterested, feel free to read no further).
    In outlining available redemption examples you will note that most start off "From the United States to........." wherever. Alaska Mileage Plan is firmly tethered to the US, showing a multiplicity of awards beginning, ending or passing through the US. Travelling from point to point without somehow touching the US is largely impossible.
    When it is possible (varies fron airline to airline) it may involve 2 separate awards.
    An example is Singapore Airlines. A route say, Melboure to London involves 2 awards MEL-SIN (65000 miles in Biz) plus SIN-LHR (110000 miles); a grand total of 175,000 miles plus taxes and fees.
    By comparison you can book (and I have) a single award for the same route on a comparable airline like Etihad for 110,000 miles with Aeroplan, or something with AA for 85,000 miles.
    On the other hand I can zip around Australia for 20000 miles with MP points pretty readily. Such anomolies do exist.
    Ben sums it up when he says "You can only redeem for travel in select regions, so there are some markets where you can’t redeem on partners".
    Not such a glossy program after all.

    repeat

  9. Mick Guest

    Very nice summary thanks. I’ve booked to Australia and back a few times on Alaska. Cathay first and biz with a stopover in HK for three of us in 2018. At that time there were often three seats available in first bw ord and HK. Where does Cathay fly with the first class cabin these days?

    Also have done Qantas first and Fiji airways biz.

    Incidentally AS doesn’t allow a hold but will search...

    Very nice summary thanks. I’ve booked to Australia and back a few times on Alaska. Cathay first and biz with a stopover in HK for three of us in 2018. At that time there were often three seats available in first bw ord and HK. Where does Cathay fly with the first class cabin these days?

    Also have done Qantas first and Fiji airways biz.

    Incidentally AS doesn’t allow a hold but will search up an itinerary on the phone and wait as you purchase miles which is usually instant in my experience.

  10. AL Guest

    I'm another flyer from the west coast, and I agree with Sang. Alaska domestic redemption has really gone downhill ever since it introduced dynamic pricing for award seats. I used to get good value from Alaska miles, but having done a lot of award searching in recent years (oftentimes just for fun), I don't recommend that anyone pay for Alaska miles (whether by way of a credit card or purchase) if the intended use is...

    I'm another flyer from the west coast, and I agree with Sang. Alaska domestic redemption has really gone downhill ever since it introduced dynamic pricing for award seats. I used to get good value from Alaska miles, but having done a lot of award searching in recent years (oftentimes just for fun), I don't recommend that anyone pay for Alaska miles (whether by way of a credit card or purchase) if the intended use is for domestic award redemption. For international flights from the west coast to Europe on partner airlines--a lot of those partner redemption values (plus surcharges) are ridiculous.

  11. Jim Guest

    You painted a very rosy picture . The reality of you can almost never ever find any cathy pacific awards with Alaska mile seven on phone . They never release not only that they release British airways flights online almost all the time on any international awards that has $500 fuel surcharge fee . You can almost never book Qatar J flights and they don’t make it available while American airline does . The mileage...

    You painted a very rosy picture . The reality of you can almost never ever find any cathy pacific awards with Alaska mile seven on phone . They never release not only that they release British airways flights online almost all the time on any international awards that has $500 fuel surcharge fee . You can almost never book Qatar J flights and they don’t make it available while American airline does . The mileage redemption rates afe far higher than AA or United too . I would rather apply 40k as miles card then this card

    1. DCH Guest

      Qatar J space is limited, but I've found space from at least one US gateway every day or so close in - e.g. last week I was able to (somewhat speculatively) book IAH-DOH-BLR mid-March for 85k AS miles in Qsuites.

    2. Chris Member

      Qsuite is theoretical, be realistic.

  12. Sang Guest

    Ben,

    I agree with you 100% I have used Alaska miles to travel all over the world. However, using them for domestic flights has been a challenge. I live in Seattle so naturally I fly Alaska quite a bit. Over the last number of years, the cost of miles tickets have been going up. And I think this is specially true if you look for domestic flights in and out of SEA. My family of...

    Ben,

    I agree with you 100% I have used Alaska miles to travel all over the world. However, using them for domestic flights has been a challenge. I live in Seattle so naturally I fly Alaska quite a bit. Over the last number of years, the cost of miles tickets have been going up. And I think this is specially true if you look for domestic flights in and out of SEA. My family of 4 have 5 different AK credit cards and combine AK miles of over 2 million. I enjoy flying AS but bit frustrated with their domestic policy. BTW, recently visited Rancho Pescadero near Cabo San Lucas. Very unique experience and deserves your review :)

    1. Beachfan Guest

      Nice discussion but you focus on the best ways snd assign a value based on that.
      Alaska is being very usurious with awards on their own metal. Flights to Costa Rica in J start at 85k. Their transcontinental non stop start at 65k one way in J without a lie flat vs 32.5-50k for a lie flat on AA (Jan 24).yo domestic flights?

      Shouldn’t the value be based on how your readers would use...

      Nice discussion but you focus on the best ways snd assign a value based on that.
      Alaska is being very usurious with awards on their own metal. Flights to Costa Rica in J start at 85k. Their transcontinental non stop start at 65k one way in J without a lie flat vs 32.5-50k for a lie flat on AA (Jan 24).yo domestic flights?

      Shouldn’t the value be based on how your readers would use it vs you? Give some weight to domestic. AA is better on their own metal (bad as that is) vs AS (domestic awards).

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glenn t Diamond

There are major flaws embedded in the MP redemption system which severly disadvantage any Member outside the USA. (If this does not apply to you, or you are otherwise disinterested, feel free to read no further). In outlining available redemption examples you will note that most start off "From the United States to........." wherever. Alaska Mileage Plan is firmly tethered to the US, showing a multiplicity of awards beginning, ending or passing through the US. Travelling from point to point without somehow touching the US is largely impossible. When it is possible (varies fron airline to airline) it may involve 2 separate awards. An example is Singapore Airlines. A route say, Melboure to London involves 2 awards MEL-SIN (65000 miles in Biz) plus SIN-LHR (110000 miles); a grand total of 175,000 miles plus taxes and fees. By comparison you can book (and I have) a single award for the same route on a comparable airline like Etihad for 110,000 miles with Aeroplan, or something with AA for 85,000 miles. On the other hand I can zip around Australia for 20000 miles with MP points pretty readily. Such anomolies do exist. Ben sums it up when he says "You can only redeem for travel in select regions, so there are some markets where you can’t redeem on partners". Not such a glossy program after all. repeat

1
Chris Guest

I couldn't find any availabilities of SQ with Alaska recently, however, if I looked for with Aeroplan on the same dates, there were some available seats there. Does SQ specifically block Alaska redemption or probably the Alaska agent can see the seats at the back? Not sure if others encountered the same issue.

0
Fletch New Member

Other redemption issues: 1. Korean Airlines Business availability on alaskaair.com is erroneous. I have confirmed this myself and also conformed with an Alaska representative. 2. Cathay Pacific redemption also appears to fail, with every attempt at checkout resulting in "We're sorry, we aren't able to confirm space on these partner flights. Please try again and choose different flights, dates or cities." There are major issues with trying to redeem my 350,000 Alaska miles for travel in Asia. For whatever, reason, I have no problems with European carrier redemption.

0
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