If you’re a loyal Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan member, buckle up. In November 2023, the carrier announced a new award chart set to take effect in March 2024. Now, the major award chart update has begun, and the new pricing will start rolling out Monday, March 11, through March 31.
While Alaska leaders touted this as a major enhancement, our preliminary research showed that it’s a mixed bag compared to previous award rates — especially if you’re looking to book Alaska partners in 2024. However, the changes do offer some notable simplicity that was previously missing, with different partners having wildly different award rates when traveling between the same regions.
“As a Mileage Plan member, our guests deserve to travel the world with ease and convenience,” Brett Catlin, vice president of loyalty, alliances and sales at Alaska Airlines, said in a press release. “That’s why we have made some changes to our award pricing and inventory, to give them more options, simplicity, and great value for their miles. Whether they want to explore a new destination, visit a loved one, or take a relaxing vacation, they can now find more award availability and flexibility for their travel plans.”
So, what changes did Alaska Airlines make to its Mileage Plan award chart?
Related: The best websites for searching Oneworld award availability
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan 2024 award chart redemption changes
Beginning on March 11, Alaska Airlines started rolling out its new award chart pricing changes. The Mileage Plan award chart now has a new distance-based structure and is divided into three region-based charts: the Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia-Pacific. The chart shows redemption rates will vary based on the distance being flown.
The Americas
The first region is the Americas — which includes North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. These prices apply to flights flown between (or within) these areas.
| Distance flown (miles) | Economy (starting at) | Premium economy (starting at) | Business (starting at) | First (starting at) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 700 | 4,500 miles | 6,000 miles | 9,000 miles | 13,500 miles |
| 701 to 1,400 | 7,500 miles | 10,000 miles | 15,000 miles | 25,000 miles |
| 1,401 to 2,000 | 12,500 miles | 17,500 miles | 25,000 miles | 40,000 miles |
| 2,001 to 4,000 | 17,500 miles | 22,500 miles | 35,000 miles | 52,500 miles |
| 4,001 to 6,000 | 25,000 miles | 32,500 miles | 50,000 miles | 75,000 miles |
| 6,001 and above | 30,00 miles | 40,000 miles | 60,000 miles | 90,000 miles |
Note that Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America are no longer included as separate regions (as they are on the current award chart). Instead, flights to or from these areas will follow the above pricing.
Europe, Middle East and Africa
The next region is Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The prices below apply to flights within these three areas and to flights from the U.S. to any of these areas.
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| Distance flown (miles) | Economy (starting at) | Premium economy (starting at) | Business (starting at) | First (starting at) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,500 | 7,500 miles | 10,000 miles | 15,000 miles | 22,500 miles |
| 1,500 to 3,000 | 22,500 miles | 30,000 miles | 45,000 miles | 67,500 miles |
| 3,001 to 5,000 | 27,500 miles | 35,000 miles | 55,000 miles | 82,500 miles |
| 5,001 to 7,000 | 35,000 miles | 45,000 miles | 70,000 miles | 105,000 miles |
| 7,001 to 10,000 | 42,500 miles | 55,000 miles | 85,000 miles | 130,000 miles |
| 10,001 and above | 55,000 miles | 72,500 miles | 110,000 miles | 165,000 miles |
Asia
The final region is Asia — which includes Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Japan, Korea and the South Pacific. These prices apply to flights within these areas, between these areas and EMEA, and between the U.S. and these areas.
| Distance flown (miles) | Economy (starting at) | Premium economy (starting at) | Business (starting at) | First (starting at) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,500 | 7,500 miles | 10,000 miles | 15,000 miles | 22,500 miles |
| 1,500 to 3,000 | 25,000 miles | 32,500 miles | 50,000 miles | 75,000 miles |
| 3,001 to 5,000 | 30,000 miles | 40,000 miles | 60,000 miles | 90,000 miles |
| 5,001 to 7,000 | 37,500 miles | 50,000 miles | 75,000 miles | 110,000 miles |
| 7,001 to 10,000 | 42,500 miles | 55,000 miles | 85,000 miles | 130,000 miles |
| 10,001 and above | 65,000 miles | 85,000 miles | 130,000 miles | 195,000 miles |
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s look closer at some of the regions.
Flights within the Americas
Under the previous award chart, most award flights within the Americas were already distance-based (excluding those to South America). For example, an economy award flight within (or between) the contiguous U.S. and Alaska or Canada that is less than 700 miles started at 5,000 Mileage Plan miles. In the new award chart (effective March 2024), flights less than 700 miles in economy will start at 4,500 miles. Meanwhile, flights that cover between 701 and 1,400 miles will retain a starting price of 7,500 miles.
However, many longer flights will see an increase:
- Economy flights within (or between) the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada covering 1,401 to 2,100 miles: Going from 10,000 miles to 12,500 miles (a 25% increase)
- Economy flights within (or between) the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada covering 2,101 to 4,000 miles: Going from 12,500 miles to 17,500 miles (a 40% increase)
- Economy flights from the U.S. to Hawaii covering 2,101 to 4,000 miles: Going from 15,000 miles to 17,500 miles (a 16.67% increase)
At the time of writing, there are still several months that feature both the previous award pricing as well as the increase. For example, in September 2024, you can book a one-way award flight in economy from Seattle to Anchorage for 10,000 miles. If you book a later flight, it will cost 12,500 miles.
It’s a similar story for flights from the U.S. to South America (which are operated by partners LATAM and American Airlines). Previously, economy awards from the U.S. to any South American destination started at 20,000 miles, but as of March 11, these will be even lower:
- Less than 1,401 miles: Starting at 7,500 Alaska miles
- 1,401 to 2,100 miles: Starting at 12,500 Alaska miles
- 2,101 to 4,000 miles: Starting at 17,500 Alaska miles
Unfortunately, the award rates for one of Alaska’s top sweet spots are increasing. Starting in March, long-haul flights on LATAM covering between 4,001 and 6,000 miles, which currently start at just 45,000 miles each way, will climb to 50,000 miles — an increase of 11.1%.
International flights
It’s a similar story on the EMEA and Asia award charts, as some prices are dropping while others will see some notable increases — especially for premium-cabin redemptions.
Here’s a snapshot of some popular routes that are changing.
Fiji Airways
Under the current award chart, you can fly from the U.S. to Fiji’s Nadi International Airport (NAN) for just 55,000 miles in business class. Amazingly enough, that price also applies if you connect through Fiji to Australia or New Zealand.
The new award chart will price these business-class awards as follows:
- U.S. to Fiji: 75,000 miles
- U.S. to Australia via Fiji: 85,000 miles
However, the starting price of nonstop economy tickets from the U.S. to Fiji will drop slightly — to 37,500 miles.
Japan Airlines
The award rates for nonstop flights from the U.S. to Asia on Japan Airlines fall at 35,000 miles for economy, 50,000 miles for premium economy and 60,000 miles for business-class award tickets.
For the new chart, only certain flights to Tokyo — from either Seattle-Tacoma International Aiport (SEA) or Vancouver International Airport (YVR) will be priced the same or lower (30,000/40,000/60,000). However, flights from other U.S. gateways to Tokyo will start at the following rates:
- Economy: 37,500 miles (up 7.14%)
- Premium economy: 50,000 miles (no change)
- Business: 75,000 miles (up 25%)
Note that if you add a connecting flight and your total distance exceeds 7,000 miles, you’ll get bumped into the next pricing band.
Starlux Airlines
In 2023, Alaska added Starlux Airlines as a redemption partner, with some amazing redemption rates (that only lasted about 24 hours). However, you can still find some Starlux awards at 85,000 miles in business class, like this routing from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Singapore Changi International Airport (SIN).
Under the new award chart, this flight would price out at the same 85,000 miles.
Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has long been an incredible sweet spot with Alaska miles, with one-way award rates from the U.S. to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) starting at 30,000 miles in economy, 50,000 miles in business class and 70,000 miles in first class. While availability in the carrier’s premium cabins remains very scant, almost every Cathay gateway in the U.S. (aside from SFO) will see increased award rates under the new chart:
- Economy: 42,500 miles (up 41.67%)
- Business: 85,000 miles (up 70%)
- First: 130,000 miles (up 85.7%)
Related: Best Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan sweet spot redemptions
Other updates
Beyond the new 2024 award charts, Alaska is also teasing a number of additional updates to the Mileage Plan program:
- Increased partner award inventory: Alaska has long allowed you to use additional miles to book some partner award tickets (though these can be quite pricey). The carrier has committed to opening up “increased award inventory on 10% of partner routes” to further expand this feature.
- New partner award sales: Starting in April 2024, Alaska will launch limited-time promotions and special pricing for specific routes, partners and/or destinations.
- Upcoming flexibility with partners: As of now, you can only combine Alaska-operated flights with partner-operated flights on one-way award tickets. However, the carrier is working on offering “mileage redemption when combining two partner airlines in a single itinerary on a one-way trip.”
- No change to stopover policy: Alaska’s award ticket stopover policy is one of the most generous out there, allowing you to add a stop of up to 14 days on one-way, international award tickets. This is not changing with the new award chart.
Our take on the Alaska changes
The new award chart is a mixed bag for Alaska travelers. Generally speaking, a distance-based award chart tends to benefit those who book shorter, nonstop itineraries — since adding a connecting flight increases the distance you fly and thus has the potential to push you into a higher pricing band. This logic appears to hold with Alaska’s new award chart.
However, it’s great to see unified pricing, and for those outside the U.S., it will be a nice enhancement to be able to book awards between two international destinations across all of Alaska’s partners.
Of course, it’s also worth noting that using “starting from” in a published award chart continues to add some notable uncertainty to booking award tickets with Alaska miles. While searching for award availability, we’ve seen fluctuating prices. After all, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to find an award ticket at that price on the date you want to travel.
For example, checking Alaska’s award calendar for flights from Seattle to Anchorage in July, there are one-way flights between 12,500 miles and 30,000 miles. Therefore, if you’re flexible with your travel days, we recommend searching Alaska’s award chart calendar, as you may find a cheaper redemption.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan overhauled its award chart, shifting to a distance-based model covering three regions: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. This has led to some decreases in award prices, but some of the carrier’s sweet spots will now require more miles.
However, this is not a fixed award chart and only shows introductory mileage rates. Therefore, we recommend checking Alaska’s award chart calendar to find the cheapest redemption.
