Alaska Airlines is a Seattle-based airline and Mileage Plan is their loyalty program. With the acquisition of Virgin America, Alaska Airlines now flies to more than 100 domestic and foreign destinations. Additionally, this number goes up to 900 global locations with their broad network of partners around the world.
Check out our list of the best credit card promotions here.
If you travel with Alaska Airlines quite often, consider joining their Mileage Plan for more benefits.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Quick Facts
| Personal Credit Cards | Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card |
| Business Credit Cards | Bank of America Alaska Airlines Business |
| Redemption Options | Alaska Airlines flights Partner flights Money & Miles discounts First class upgrades Hotel stays Magazines Share or gift miles |
| Average Mile Value | $0.018 |
Mileage Plan Elite Status
If you’re a frequent flyer of Alaska Airlines, or if you travel often with one of their partners, you will be able to qualify easily for their Mileage Plan elite status. Normally, the higher your status, the more perks you get.
Receive Mileage Plan elite status when you earn enough miles or if you fly with enough segments:
| MVP | MVP Gold | MVP Gold 75k | |
| Miles (Alaska only) | 20,000 | 40,000 | 75,000 |
| Miles (including partners) | 25,000 | 50,000 | 90,000 |
| Segments (including partners) | 30 | 60 | 90 |
Keep in mind the counter begins on January 1st and ends on December 31st each year. After you’ve earned elite status, you’ll get 50,000 bonus miles and keep your status until the end of the following calendar year.
Get upgrades and other benefits with your elite status like:
| Benefits | MVP | MVP Gold | MVP Gold 75k |
| Mileage Bonus | 50% | 100% | 125% |
| Welcome bonus miles | 50,000 | ||
| Preferred seating | x | x | x |
| Premium Class upgrades | x | x | x |
| First Class upgrades | x | x | x |
| Companion upgrades | x | x | |
| First Class guest upgrades | 4 | 4 | |
| Premium beverage in Main cabin | x | x | |
| Priority check-in & boarding | x | x | x |
| Express Security line | x | x | |
| 2 checked bags | x | x | x |
| Partner lounge access | x | x | |
| Alaska Lounge day passes | 4 | ||
| Waived ticket change fees | x | x | |
| Alaska Lounge membership | $50 off | $100 off | $150 off |
| Nominate someone for MVP status | x |
Gain lifetime MVP Gold status when you fly one million miles on Alaska Airlines. The total will not count towards bonus miles and partner miles. Other than all MVP Gold perks, you’ll also receive a complimentary meal or picnic pack when you travel in Main Cabin.
New parents can put their elite status on hold with proof of pregnancy or parental leave. Elite Level enables you to get an extra year of elite status, so it’s worth signing up for.
Earning Mileage Plan Miles
Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards will not transfer to Alaska Airlines. However, there are still lots of ways for you to earn Mileage Plan miles.
Flights on Alaska Airlines and other partner airlines can earn more Mileage Plan miles for every actual mile flown. For example, if you fly 1,000 miles, you’ll be able to gain 1,000 base miles. Sort flights earn at least 500 miles.
Additionally, you can earn bonus miles for holding elite status and for class of service.
| Cabin | Class of Service | Bonus Miles |
| Main (Economy) | H, Q, L, V, K, G, T, R | – |
| Main (Economy) | M, B | 25% |
| Main (Economy) | Y, S | 50% |
| First Class | F, P | 75% |
Bank of America has one Alaska Airlines personal credit card and one business credit card that earns Mileage Plan miles.
| Credit Card | Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card | Bank of America Alaska Airlines Business |
| Welcome Bonus | Companion Fare + 40,000 miles – spend: $2,000 – time: 90 days – $200 statement credit |
Companion Fare + 40,000 miles – spend: $2,000 – time: 90 days |
| Bonus Value | $720 (miles only) | $720 (miles only) |
| Ongoing Rewards | 3x on Alaska Airlines 1x on everything else |
3x on Alaska Airlines 1x on everything else |
| Companion Fare | 1x a year | 1x a year |
| Free checked bag | 1 | 1 |
| Other perks | 50% off Alaska Lounge day passes 20% back on inflight purchases |
50% off Alaska Lounge day passes 20% back on inflight purchases |
| Annual fee | $75 | $50 per company $25 per card |
Gain Mileage Plan miles for eligible stays at participating hotels. Just give them your member number when you make a reservation and check-in to the hotel. Brands that are partaking in this are:
- Alaska Airlines Hotels
- Best Western
- Choice Privileges
- Rocketmiles
- Westmark Hotels
- Coast Hotels
- IHG
- Marriott Bonvoy
Because of a special partnership with the hotel loyalty program, it’s worth earning Marriott Bonvoy points and transferring it over to your Mileage Plan account. Additionally, for every 60,000 points you convert, you’ll receive a 5,000 Mileage Plan miles bonus.
However, while other hotel programs transfer to Alaska Airlines, it’s not the best use of your hotel points.
Earn Mileage Plan miles and save with the following car rental partners:
| Partner | Miles Earned | Other Perks |
| Alamo | 50 miles/day | Save on base rates |
| Avis | 50 miles/day (up to 4 days) 500 miles (5+ days) |
Save 25% off base rates |
| Budget | 50 miles/day (up to 4 days) 500 miles (5+ days) |
Save 30% off base rates |
| Dollar | 50 miles/day (up to 2 days) 150 miles/day (3+ days)150 miles/day (3+ days) |
– |
| Hertz | 50 miles/day (up to 4 days) 500 miles (5+ days) |
Save on base rates |
| National | 50 miles/day | – |
| Thrift | 50 miles/day (up to 2 days) 150 miles/day (3+ days) |
– |
Here are some other ways to earn Mileage Plan miles:
| Option | Details |
| Mileage Plan Shopping | Earn miles for every $1 you spend at 850+ stores. |
| Mileage Plan Dining | Welcome bonus: 1,000 miles with your first meal. Earn up to 5x miles at 10,000+ restaurants, bars and clubs. |
| Referral Program | 5,000 bonus miles for each person your refer and gets approved for the Alaska Airlines Visa Card. |
| 1800Flowers | Earn 20x miles when you use promo code AKA3. |
| Carrs-Safeway | Earn 100 miles for every $300 spent in the state of Alaska. |
| Diners Club | Convert your Club Rewards points into Mileage Plan miles at a 1:1 ratio. |
| GCI | Earn 1x miles on cable TV, internet, cellular, and local and long-distance plans. |
| The Opinion Terminal | Welcome bonus: at least 400 miles with your first survey. Earn miles for every survey you complete thereafter. |
| Rover | Welcome bonus: $30 credit. Earn 1x miles on all bookings. |
| Sofi | Earn 1 mile for every $2 you refinance (up to 50,000 miles). |
| Teleflora | Earn 20x miles when you use the code BAAAL10. |
| Vinesse Wine Clubs | Welcome bonus: 2,250 miles. Earn 5x miles on wine purchases. |
Earning Miles by Transferring Marriott Bonvoy Points
Like we said before, due to a special partnership with Marriott Bonvoy, you’ll be able to transfer Bonvoy points to your Mileage Plan account. For each 60,000 points you convert, you’ll receive a 5,000 Mileage Plan miles bonus.
The best way for you to accumulate these points is by getting a Marriott co-branded credit card and being eligible for their welcome bonus.
Chase also offers two personal credit cards that earn Marriott points. Meanwhile, American Express offers one personal and one business card. However, if you want to sign up for a Marriott credit card, remember:
- The Chase 5/24 rule. If you opened 5 or more new credit cards in the past 24 months from any bank, you will not be approved.
- Amex once-in-a-lifetime welcome bonus rule. You’ll be able to qualify for the welcome bonus on each Amex personal and business card once in your life.
 The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card offers 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Card renewal year, get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide. With this card, you'll earn: • 6X Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. • 3X points at restaurants worldwide and on flights booked directly with airlines. • 2X points on all other eligible purchases. • $300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide. A Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite member will earn 50% more points on eligible purchases at participating hotels for each U.S. dollar or the currency equivalent that is incurred and paid for by the member. Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck. $100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card. Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees. This card comes with a $650 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. (See Rates & Fees) Furthermore, enjoy unlimited airport lounge visits when you enroll in Priority Pass Select membership. Terms Apply. |
 The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card offers 3 Free Night Awards up to a 150,000 Total Point Value (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • Up to 17X total points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy • 3X points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining. • 2X points for every $1 spent on all other purchase • 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend. You gain an automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year. Path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year. You'll receive 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year & an additional Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary. This card does carry a $95 fee; there are no foreign transaction fees. |
- ABC
- DEF
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 The Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers 3 Free Night Awards after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Receive a 7% discount on eligible bookings as a benefit of being both a Marriott Bonvoy member & a Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card Member when you book directly with Marriott through an eligible channel for a participating property under the Amex Business Card Rate. You can enjoy a complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card. You'll earn: • 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program. • 4x points for purchases made at restaurants worldwide, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping. • 2x points on all other eligible purchases. You'll receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees. This card does carry a $125 annual fee. (See Rates & Fees) Terms Apply. |
Redeeming Mileage Plan Miles
Alaska Airlines makes award pricing according to the length of your trip and class of service. For domestic flights in the U.S. (excluding Hawaii), award tickets begin at 5,000 miles one way.
Check out how many miles you need for a particular itinerary by using the Mileage Plan award pricing tool.
Use your Mileage Plan miles towards discounts of no more than 50% on most Alaska Airlines couch and First Class fares.
| Award Type | One Way | Round Trip |
| 50% discount Up to $100 |
10,000 | 10,000 |
| 50% discount Up to $200 |
20,000 | 20,000 |
Request and upgrade in 24 hours of departure, or at check-in. Then, pay in cash or miles. With rewards, upgrades cost a flat rate of 15,000 miles. However, the cost of cash will vary depending on the distance you’re traveling.
| Distance One Way | Cost |
| 0 – 450 | $29 |
| 451 – 700 | $49 |
| 701 – 1,400 | $99 |
| 1,401 – 2,100 | $149 |
| 2,101+ | $199 |
Upgrades that use miles come with a better value for longer flights compared to using cash.
Alaska Airlines isn’t apart of any major airline alliance (Oneworld, Star Alliance, or SkyTeam). However, you’ll be able to book flights all around the world thanks to their large network of partners. Keep in mind, each partner has their own award chart, so it will take a bit more work for you to find the best deals.
Their partners are:
- Aer Lingus
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Condor
- EL AL Israel
- Emirates
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Hainan Airlines
- Icelandair
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
- LATAM
- PenAir
- Qantas
- Ravn Alaska
- Singapore Airlines
Other options for you are:
- Hotel stays. Use your miles to book hotel stays with Alaska Airlines Hotels (powered by Rocketmiles). Then, opt to pay with miles or a combination of miles and cash at more than 400,000 properties around the world. Alaska Airlines credit card members will be able to redeem with less miles.
- Magazine subscriptions. Redeem your miles for subscriptions to popular magazines and newspapers.
- Transfer miles. Transfer your miles to another member account for $10 per 1,000 miles.
- Charitable donations. Give your miles to a number of partner charities such as: Dream Foundations, Make-a-Wish Foundation, National Forest Foundation, Seattle Children’s Hospital, etc.
Mileage Plan Tips & Tricks
Mileage Plan runs great bonuses throughout the year. Now, and through the end of 2020, members earn twice the miles for nonstop travel between specific California and East Coast destinations. Since the Alaska Airlines rewards program is on a mile-for-mile system, this double-mile gets you closer to an award night at a quicker pace.
There are several airline loyalty programs that enable you to make a stopover on one-way awards, and the Mileage Plan is one of these. This gives you a better chance to go to 2 destinations for the price of 1.
For example:
| Itinerary | Miles | Airline & Class |
| Dallas Sydney (stopover) Perth |
55,000 | Qantas Business class |
| New York Hong Kong (stopover) Manila |
50,000 | Cathay Pacific Business class |
| Los Angeles Dubai (stopover) Delhi |
82,000 | Emirates Business class |
Remember these things:
- You will not be able to combine multiple partners on a one-way Alaska Airlines award ticket. However, you will be able to combine an Alaska-operated flight with a partner airline.
- You will only be able to complete the free stopover in partner airline’s hub city.
- Don’t book one-way awards in Korean Air. They cost the same amount of miles as the round trip tickets.
American Airlines. This domestic airline flies all over the world and gives great value for your miles. Especially, if you fly business or first class with them. There are redemptions where each point is worth more than $0.05 per point.
Cathay Pacific. Flying first class on this Hong Kong-based airline is a very luxurious experience. It offers spacious seats and menus made from Michelin-star chefs. A round trip from Boston to Beijing in first class would cost you $19,800. However, it’s only 140,000 miles. Your points would be worth $0.14 each in this situation.
Hawaiian Airlines. Go to Hawaii for just 35,000 miles round trip even during the peak travel times. The trick is to look for a less known route to Hawaii, and avoid Los Angeles and San Francisco routes.
Qantas. This is an amazing option if you’re going to Australia or New Zealand. Especially, if you fly in their business class. You’ll be able to enjoy lounge access, tasty dining options, and seats that recline into beds. This is definitely getting your miles’ worth. There are award tickets that will get you more than $0.09 per mile.
Stay clear of booking award travel with British Airways. Even though it comes at a decent price, it tacks on large fuel surcharges for certain routes. These will all effectively decrease the value of your miles. However, if you have to redeem with British Airways, be sure to be aware of the extra charges.
When you book award tickets, be sure to look at the cabin you’ve picked. Lots of people don’t check this and they end up booking mixed cabin tickets. These award tickets are priced at the higher cabin’s mileage rate and will show up in the premium cabin column of your search results.
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Conclusion
Using Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is great for all of the perks and benefits you get out of it. Their earning potential with the Alaska airlines Visa card comes with a good flexibility thanks to several of their partner airlines. Additionally, you’ll receive amazing values for your miles if you look into the different factors before booking your tickets.
