Despite being smaller than the Big Three legacy carriers, Alaska Airlines has gained popularity among American travelers thanks to its loyalty program, Mileage Plan.
As a member of Oneworld, the program offers numerous high-value partnerships with airlines like American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific. Additionally, it has non-alliance partnerships with airlines such as Icelandair, Singapore Airlines and LATAM, providing a wide range of options to earn and use miles.
Moreover, Alaska Airlines is one of the few airlines that still awards miles based on physical miles flown. This means you can still earn a reasonable amount of miles on cheap tickets, which is great for budget flyers. This is the case for both Alaska flights and flights operated by partner carriers.
This guide will discuss the ins and outs of redeeming Alaska miles. We’ll also cover its elite status program and airline partners.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan overview
Mileage Plan is Alaska Airlines’ frequent flyer program. You earn Alaska miles by flying with Alaska or its partners. The program also offers additional earning partners, such as a shopping portal, dining program and cobranded credit cards. Once you accumulate miles, you can redeem them for travel on Alaska or its partners.
Mileage Plan includes an elite status program with four tiers: MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K and MVP Gold 100K. Each tier includes upgrades, preferred seating and bonus mileage earned on Alaska flights. Elite members also enjoy limited benefits on American Airlines and other Oneworld partners.
Related: 6 great benefits I received as an American Airlines elite flying Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines partners
Alaska Airlines is known for its huge suite of airline partners, which includes airlines in Oneworld and other alliances. Here’s a quick overview of all of the airline’s partnerships.
Oneworld alliance partners
As a refresher, Alaska joined Oneworld in late March 2021. This means that the airline is now a partner with these airlines:
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- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Fiji Airways (Oneworld Connect)
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
Non-alliance airline partners
Alaska has partnered with airlines outside Oneworld for years now. We’re hopeful these non-alliance partnerships will remain long-term now that Alaska is a Oneworld airline, but only time will tell. Here’s the full list of Alaska’s other airline partners:
| Airline | Alliance |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | None |
| Air Tahiti Nui | None |
| Condor | None |
| El Al | None |
| Hainan Airlines | None |
| Icelandair | None |
| Korean Air | SkyTeam |
| LATAM | None |
| Ravn Alaska | None |
| Singapore Airlines | Star Alliance |
| Starlux Airlines | None |
Related: 6 things to know about the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program
Alaska Airlines elite status
Alaska Airlines has four elite status tiers. To qualify, you can either meet a specific number of flight segments or earn a set number of elite qualifying miles. Additionally, a minimum number of segments on Alaska flights is required. Unlike with other major U.S. airlines, there is no spending requirement for earning elite status with Alaska Airlines. Status is solely based on flight activity.
Here’s a quick overview of each Alaska status tier.
MVP
MVP is Alaska’s entry-level status tier. It offers limited benefits but is relatively easy to obtain for most semifrequent travelers.
You can earn MVP status by doing the following:
- Earn 20,000 elite qualifying miles on Alaska or its partners, or fly 30 qualifying segments with Alaska or its partners.
- Must fly a minimum of two segments with Alaska Airlines.
Some of the most notable MVP status benefits include:
- 50% bonus mileage earning on Alaska and partner flights
- Complimentary upgrades to first or Premium class starting 48 hours before departure
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Two free checked bags
- Preferred seat selection
- $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge membership
- Dedicated phone support line
- Oneworld Ruby status
MVP Gold
Things get a little more interesting with MVP Gold status. The requirements are double that of MVP status.
Here’s how much you’ll need to fly to earn MVP Gold status:
- Earn 40,000 elite qualifying miles on Alaska or its partners, or fly 60 qualifying segments with Alaska or its partners.
- Must fly a minimum of six segments with Alaska Airlines.
MVP Gold benefits include:
- 100% bonus mileage earning on Alaska and partner flights
- Complimentary upgrades to first or Premium class starting 72 hours before departure
- Companion upgrades to first or Premium class
- Four one-way guest upgrades
- Complimentary premium beverage in the main cabin
- Free same-day flight changes
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Two free checked bags
- Preferred seat selection
- Express security at select airports
- $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge membership
- Dedicated phone support line
- Oneworld Sapphire status
MVP Gold 75K
Alaska’s next tier of status is MVP Gold 75K. The benefits can massively improve the frequent traveler’s onboard experience.
Here’s a look at the requirements:
- Earn 75,000 elite qualifying miles on Alaska or its partners, or fly 90 qualifying segments with Alaska or its partners.
- Must fly a minimum of 12 segments with Alaska Airlines.
You’ll get the following benefits with MVP Gold 75K status:
- 125% bonus mileage earning on Alaska and partner flights
- Complimentary upgrades to first class starting 120 hours before departure
- Space-available upgrade to Premium class on all Main Cabin tickets at the time of booking, excluding Saver fares
- Companion upgrades to first or Premium class
- Four one-way guest upgrades
- Complimentary premium beverage in the main cabin
- Free same-day flight changes
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Three free checked bags
- Preferred seat selection
- One international upgrade certificate on American Airlines
- Express security at select airports
- Four Alaska Lounge passes
- $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge membership
- Dedicated phone support line
- Oneworld Emerald status
- Gift MVP status to another member
- 50,000 Alaska miles upon qualification
MVP Gold 100K
MVP Gold 100K is Alaska’s top-tier elite status level. It launched in 2022 and gives members a broader range of benefits and better upgrade priority.
Here’s a look at the requirements:
- Earn 100,000 elite qualifying miles on Alaska or its partners, or fly 140 qualifying segments with Alaska or its partners.
- Must fly a minimum of 24 segments with Alaska Airlines.
You’ll get the following benefits with MVP Gold 100K status:
- 150% bonus mileage earning on Alaska and partner flights
- Complimentary upgrades to first class starting 120 hours before departure with the highest upgrade priority
- Space-available upgrade to Premium class on all Main Cabin tickets at the time of booking, excluding Saver fares
- Companion upgrades to first or Premium class
- Complimentary premium beverage and snack in the main cabin
- Free same-day flight changes
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Three free checked bags
- Preferred seat selection
- Two international upgrade certificates on American Airlines
- Express security at select airports
- $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge membership
- Dedicated phone support line
- Oneworld Emerald status
Related: All American and Alaska elites now eligible for reciprocal complimentary upgrades
How to earn Alaska miles
Earning Alaska miles can be challenging since the airline is not associated with major credit card programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. However, you can still earn miles by flying with various airline partners. Alaska Airlines also offers a cobranded credit card, a shopping portal and a dining rewards program to help you accumulate more miles. For a detailed understanding of how to earn Alaska miles, refer to our comprehensive guide.
Earn miles when flying with Alaska Airlines
Mileage Plan is an airline loyalty program, so naturally, you can earn when you fly with Alaska Airlines.
Unlike other major U.S. airlines, Alaska continues to award miles based on the actual length of a flight. You’ll earn 1 mile per 1 physical mile flown in standard economy. Saver tickets earn 30% of the miles flown. This means that a one-way flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) earns 2,586 miles in standard economy, as that’s how long the flight is.
First-class tickets receive a minimum 50% mileage bonus, resulting in higher mileage earnings. For example, a flight from SFO to JFK would earn 3,879 redeemable miles. Note that this bonus applies only to paid first-class tickets, not upgrades. Elite members also earn bonus miles on all Alaska flights. For instance, an MVP Gold 75K member flying from SFO to JFK in first class would earn 6,789 miles with their 125% bonus.
Bonus miles can accumulate quickly for frequent travelers. Additionally, higher-fare economy classes offer bonus miles, although they may be more expensive than standard economy tickets. You can refer to Alaska’s website for more information about earning Alaska miles on Alaska flights.
Related: The airline miles that are hardest to earn — and why you want them anyway
Credit partner flights to Mileage Plan
You can credit partner flights to Mileage Plan, allowing you to earn both redeemable and elite qualifying miles. The miles earned depend on the airline, flight length and fare class. To determine the earning levels, visit Alaska’s partner page and locate the earning chart for the specific partner and fare class. Multiply your flight’s distance by the percentage in the “Miles earned (total)” column.
For instance, a British Airways I-fare business-class flight from JFK to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is 3,451 miles, earns 8,627 Alaska miles (250% mileage flown). Elite members receive bonus miles on partner flights as well. An Alaska MVP elite member would earn 12,940 miles on this flight with their 50% bonus. The “Elite-qualifying miles” column indicates the number of status-qualifying miles earned.
In this example, 5,176 elite qualifying miles would be earned with British Airways’ I fare class (150% elite qualifying miles). Due to these generous earning rates, many credit partner flights to Alaska Airlines. Additionally, Alaska miles are highly valuable compared to other airline miles, as you’ll discover in the redemption section of this article.
Spend on an Alaska Airlines credit card
Alaska Airlines has two cobranded credit cards with Bank of America: a personal card and a business card.
These let you earn Alaska miles on your everyday spending and offer solid sign-up bonuses. The cards include other inflight benefits, including an annual Companion Fare that helps offset their annual fees.
Here’s a look at both cards:
Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card
The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature credit card is Alaska’s personal credit card. It earns 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible Alaska purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent everywhere else. Plus, you’ll enjoy an annual Companion Fare to bring a friend or family member with you on a trip starting at $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23). You also get a free checked bag on all Alaska flights and 20% back on inflight purchases.
Related: Unlock access to valuable miles: A review of the Alaska Airlines Visa card
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card
The Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card is simply the business version of the personal Alaska card. The card earns the same 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases, and includes a Companion Fare and a free checked bag on all Alaska flights.
Related: Credit card showdown: Alaska Airlines Visa vs. Alaska Airlines Business Visa
Other ways to earn Alaska miles
There are many other great ways to earn Alaska miles on everyday purchases. Two of the best options are using the Mileage Plan Shopping portal when shopping online and the Mileage Plan Dining program when dining out. Here’s a quick overview of both programs.
On the shopping side, Mileage Plan Shopping awards bonus miles whenever you click through the Alaska portal before making an online purchase. It offers bonus miles with hundreds of different merchants, including Apple and Saks Fifth Avenue. Each merchant awards a different number of miles per dollar spent, and rates can fluctuate frequently.
Watch out for shopping portal deals offered by Mileage Plan Shopping. It occasionally runs limited-time bonuses where you can earn extra miles by spending a specific amount of money. These offers are a great way to boost your mileage balance while making planned purchases.
Mileage Plan Dining is another opportunity to earn bonus miles. Create an account on the Mileage Plan Dining website and link your credit cards. You’ll earn Alaska miles and points from your credit card by dining at participating restaurants. Use a card that offers bonus points on dining for maximum benefits.
Visit Alaska’s website to find restaurants participating in the Mileage Plan Dining program. They even have a tool to help you locate restaurants near your chosen location.
The miles you earn depend on your Mileage Plan Dining membership tier. These include:
- Basic members: 1 mile per 2 dollars spent
- Select members: 3 miles per dollar spent, earned after you enroll in email communications from Mileage Plan Dining
- VIP members: 5 miles per dollar spent, earned after you enroll in email communications and dine at participating restaurants 11 times
You can earn 500 bonus Alaska miles after your first purchase. To qualify, spend $30 at a participating restaurant and review it on the Mileage Plan Dining website.
There are other ways to earn Alaska miles, such as booking rental cars and hotel stays with Alaska partners. You can learn more about these earning opportunities in our full guide to earning Alaska miles.
Related: Your guide to maximizing shopping portals for your online purchases
How to redeem Alaska miles
Here’s a brief overview of how to redeem Alaska miles. For more information, check out our comprehensive guide to redeeming Alaska miles.
You can use your Alaska miles for flights on Alaska Airlines and its partner airlines. The best value is often found when redeeming on partner airlines, especially for international first- or business-class flights. I will highlight some of the top deals later in the article.
Things to know about Alaska Airlines awards
Before we dive into award pricing, you should know a few things about Mileage Plan award tickets.
The first is that awards offered by Alaska Airlines are dynamically priced. Your price for a specific award ticket varies by route and day.
You’ll generally find the lowest-priced awards on short flights — think Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Portland International Airport (PDX) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco.
That said, it’s also possible to find reasonably priced award tickets on longer routes. Check out this flight from Seattle to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
Interestingly, using your Alaska miles for an Alaska award ticket is often not the most optimal way to redeem them. The next section on award tickets will explain why. However, if you have a surplus of Alaska miles and need to fly with Alaska, compare the cash price of the ticket and evaluate if it’s worthwhile to use your hard-earned miles for the booking.
Things to know about partner awards
Things get interesting when booking partner award tickets.
On the airline’s website, you’ll see award pricing for all of Alaska’s partners.
This gives you an idea of what to expect when you enter your award search on the Alaska Airlines website.
In some cases, the price differences can be quite significant from one partner to the next. For instance, Alaska’s newest redemption partners, like Iberia, Royal Air Maroc and Royal Jordanian, charge much higher rates than Alaska’s original partners.
Also, note that some partner awards are dynamically priced. For instance, American Airlines award flights in the U.S. and Canada now only have starting prices and then “vary depending on demand.” Alaska also introduced dynamic pricing for certain awards booked on Aer Lingus, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.
Related: Alaska Airlines raises the cost of some British Airways awards
You can add stopovers to one-way award tickets
One of the great advantages of booking partner tickets with Alaska Airlines is the ability to add stopovers to one-way award tickets. Booking a ticket with a stopover costs the same as a nonstop flight to your final destination.
You can have a stopover operated by Alaska Airlines or a single partner in its hub city.
For example, you can book a ticket from JFK to London on British Airways, spend a few days in London, and then continue to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) on British Airways. Theoretically, this should cost the same miles as a flight from JFK to FCO.
Related: How to book free stopovers with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
How to book Alaska Airlines award tickets
You can book most award tickets on alaskaair.com. Log in to your account and enter your search criteria on the home page, ensuring you select the “Use miles” option for award flights. Click “Find Flights” to search and view available options in the center of the screen. If you find a suitable ticket, select it and click “Add to cart” to proceed with booking.
For booking stopovers, click the “All search options” link on the homepage and select “Multi-city” under the flight type header. Enter your flights and search for connecting tickets. All available options will be displayed in the center of the screen. If you find a desirable itinerary, book your ticket as usual.
For example, I found a ticket from New York to London with a stopover at Helsinki Airport (HEL) on Finnair. This ticket costs 30,000 miles in economy, the same price as flying the same route without a stopover on Finnair.
Beware of mixed-class award tickets
Look for the chair icon next to the premium-cabin award price, indicating a mixed-cabin itinerary. This occurs when one leg of your connecting ticket doesn’t have the requested class of service. Click on the icon to identify the leg that is downgraded to a lower class.
In this case, the first leg is in economy class.
Always double-check this information before booking an award ticket with Alaska Airlines. Sometimes, the shorter leg of your flight may have business-class availability, while the longer leg only offers economy award space. Unfortunately, Alaska charges the same business-class price regardless of which leg is in business or economy class.
Related: Here’s why Alaska Airlines miles are the most valuable
Mileage Plan redemption sweet spots
Now that you know about Mileage Plan, let’s explore some top ways to use your Alaska miles. Remember that this list isn’t exhaustive, so refer to our comprehensive article on Alaska award chart sweet spots for more ideas.
Cathay Pacific first and business class to Australia
Cathay Pacific, based in Hong Kong, is renowned for its exceptional first- and business-class products. With top-notch onboard service, lie-flat seats and superb catering, it is considered one of Asia’s best airlines.
Alaska Airlines offers fantastic deals on flights to Australia, with business-class one-way tickets costing 60,000 miles and first-class tickets just 80,000 miles. This award offers incredible value because round-trip Cathay Pacific first-class tickets from the U.S. to Asia can exceed $30,000. Additionally, you can include a stopover in Hong Kong at no extra mileage cost, allowing you to explore two amazing countries in one trip.
Related: Now live: Cathay Pacific awards bookable on the Alaska Airlines website
Fiji Airways to Fiji, Australia and New Zealand
Looking for a Pacific adventure? Consider using your Alaska miles to book a flight on Fiji Airways.
Fiji Airways operates from Nadi International Airport (NAN), the largest airport in Fiji, connecting to destinations in Asia, North America and the South Pacific. The airline offers a reliable business-class experience on flights from the U.S. to Fiji, ensuring a comfortable journey.
You can redeem just 55,000 miles for a one-way business-class flight from the U.S. to Fiji, which is a great deal. What’s more, you can add a stopover to explore other countries in the South Pacific, such as New Zealand and Australia, at no additional mileage cost. Even if Fiji Airways only flies from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), you can connect to these gateways from other U.S. cities using Alaska Airlines flights.
LATAM to Peru, Brazil and the rest of South America
Even after leaving the Oneworld alliance, LATAM maintains partnerships, including one with Alaska Airlines.
LATAM operates major hubs in cities like Lima, Peru; Sao Paulo; and Santiago, Chile, making it a convenient option for travel within South America. According to Alaska, South America is defined as anything south of Panama, so numerous opportunities exist for great deals.
LATAM award tickets start at 25,000 miles for economy and 45,000 miles for business class on a one-way basis. By taking advantage of the included stopover, you can book flights like Miami to Lima to Santiago, allowing you to experience two vibrant South American cities in one trip.
Aer Lingus flights to Europe (with a stop in Dublin)
Based in Dublin, Aer Lingus is an Irish carrier with an extensive U.S. route network, serving major cities and smaller gateways like Bradley International Airport (BDL), Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). This provides convenient connections to both Ireland and other European destinations.
Aer Lingus has semidynamic pricing, meaning its flights have a range of prices. Saver award space is available at the lower end of the spectrum, while other flights may have higher prices.
You can find fantastic deals at the lower end, such as booking business-class flights from the U.S. to Europe for just 60,000 miles, an incredible value.
Aer Lingus’ broad route network allows you to reach various parts of Europe. However, note that most Europe routes do not offer business class, so your award booking may include a mix of classes.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a top airline loyalty program, thanks to its wide range of partners and reliable award chart. However, the program has been devalued as it has introduced dynamic award pricing and high rates for new redemption partners. Despite this, it is still worth considering earning miles with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan when flying with its partner airlines.