Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews.
The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card, Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is one of the most useful frequent flyer programs, and you don’t have to fly Alaska to earn and redeem miles. Even if you live outside of the airline’s route network, Alaska miles are still worth collecting largely because of partnerships with several international airlines. With Alaska miles, you can book both domestic and international flights to just about anywhere.
Alaska is now part of the Oneworld alliance, which means you can earn and redeem miles on any other member airline. For example, you can use Alaska miles for award flights on American Airlines, which services many more domestic airports. Plus, Alaska is one of the few airlines with a generous stopover policy, meaning you can parlay one vacation into multiple.
Here’s everything to know about earning, redeeming, and maximizing your Alaska Airlines miles.
How to earn Alaska Airlines miles
There are two types of Alaska miles: Elite-qualifying miles and redeemable miles.
You’ll earn elite-qualifying miles when you fly Alaska or an elite-qualifying partner. And redeemable miles are what you’ll earn as a bonus when you have elite status with Alaska, and for all other qualifying activities. Redeemable miles are what you’ll need to book award flights and are the type of miles we’ll talk about.
Alaska Airlines credit cards
One of the best and easiest ways to earn Alaska miles is with the airline’s co-branded Bank of America cards. There’s both a personal and small business version. The personal version of this card was named one of Business Insider’s picks for the best Bank of America credit cards.
Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
Insider’s Rating
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
3.45/5
Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp
It indicates a confirmed selection.
Perks
Regular APR
20.24% – 28.24% variable
Earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™
Recommended Credit
Good to Excellent
Pros
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
Annual companion fare benefit
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
Free first checked bag and priority boarding on Alaska flights
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
10% bonus on earned miles if you have an eligible Bank of America or Merrill account
Cons
con icon
Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’.
Must use the card to pay for your flight to get free checked bag and priority boarding
With the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
, you can earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you spend $3,000 or more on purchases within the first 90 days of your account opening. You’ll also earn 3 Alaska miles per dollar spent on Alaska purchases, 2 miles per dollar on gas, local transit (including rideshare), and cable/eligible streaming services, and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases. The annual fee is $95.
One of the best benefits of this card is the annual Companion Fare which allows you to purchase an additional ticket for a companion from $121 ($99 base fare plus taxes and fees starting at $22) on Alaska flights after spending $6,000 or more within an anniversary year. Depending on the route you fly, you can easily recover the annual fee. One of the most popular ways to use this benefit is for a trip to Alaska, Hawaii, or another destination that typically has pricey fares. There are no blackout dates for this benefit.
In addition, you’ll get the first checked bag free and priority boarding on Alaska flights for you and up to six companions flying on the same itinerary (you’ll need to use the card to pay for your ticket to receive these benefits). You’ll also get 20% back as a statement credit for inflight purchases like snacks and drinks, and $100 off an Alaska Lounge+ membership. There are also no foreign transaction fees.
One new benefit of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card is a 10% relationship bonus when you have an eligible personal Bank of America checking/savings account or Merrill investment account. If you qualify, you’ll earn 10% more miles — so, for example, a purchase that would normally earn 1,000 miles would actually get you 1,100 miles with the bonus.
It’s easy to get value from the annual fee if you make use of the benefits
Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Business Credit Card
Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card
Insider’s Rating
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
3.45/5
Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp
It indicates a confirmed selection.
Perks
Annual Fee
$70 per company and $25 per card
Regular APR
21.24% – 29.24% Variable
50,000 bonus miles and Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™
Recommended Credit
Excellent
Pros
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
Annual companion fare
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
Free first checked bag and priority boarding on Alaska flights for primary cardholder/authorized users and up to six companions on the same reservation
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
10% bonus on miles earned with the card if you have a qualifying Bank of America business account
Cons
con icon
Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’.
Must use card to pay for ticket to receive free checked bag and priority boarding on Alaska flights
con icon
Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’.
Additional authorized user cards have an annual fee of $25 per year
con icon
Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’.
Annual companion fare requires spending $6,000 on purchases in a card anniversary year
When you open the Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card
, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus miles and Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
The card’s benefits are nearly identical to the personal version of this card. For spending, you’ll earn 3 Alaska miles per dollar spent on Alaska purchases and 1 mile per dollar for everything else. The annual fee is $70 per company and $25 per card. If you only have one card, you’ll pay $75.
You’ll get the same checked bag benefit as the personal version, and Alaska Airlines Lounge benefits are also the same.
Fly on Alaska Airlines
You’ll earn Alaska miles when you fly on an Alaska Airlines flight. With Alaska, a mile flown is a mile earned. It’s one of the rare airlines that still award miles in this way, instead of based on fare price like most others have adopted.
Earn bonus Alaska Airlines miles with elite status
The miles you earn when you fly with Alaska also count toward elite status. You’ll earn bonus elite-qualifying and redeemable miles when you fly first class or certain economy fares. Redeemable miles are what you can use to purchase award flights, while elite-qualifying miles only count toward earning elite status.
If you have elite status with Alaska, you’ll earn bonus redeemable miles:
50% bonus with MVP status100% bonus with MVP Gold status125% bonus with MVP Gold 75K status150% bonus with MVP Gold 100K status
If you regularly fly Alaska and have elite status, this is another easy way to rack up additional Alaska miles.
Fly with Alaska Airlines partners
Alaska is a Oneworld alliance member, joining airlines like British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. It also partners with a number of other airlines, including Emirates, Aer Lingus, and Singapore Airlines. The number of miles you earn varies for each partner and the type of fare purchased.
Alaska Airlines partnersAer LingusAir Tahiti NuiAmerican Airlines*British Airways*Cathay Pacific*CondorEl AlFiji Airways*Finnair*Hainan AirlinesIberia* IcelandairJapan Airlines*Korean AirLATAM AirlinesMalaysia Airlines*Mokulele Airlines + Southern Airways ExpressQantas*Qatar*Ravn AlaskaRoyal Air Maroc*Royal Jordanian*S7 Airlines* (temporarily suspended effective March 1, 2022)Singapore AirlinesSri Lankan Airlines*
*Oneworld or Oneworld Connect partner
When you fly with Alaska partners, a mile flown is not necessarily a mile earned. Many economy fares only earn a fraction of the distance flown, while premium fares can earn much more. You can see the breakdown for each of the partner airlines here.
Even when the earning rates may not be much, it can be worth crediting your flight to Mileage Plan instead of a partner airline’s own loyalty program, especially if you don’t fly with the partner often. That way, you’ll be more likely to use them for an award flight in the future — and partner flights also count toward earning elite status with Alaska.
Transfer points from Bilt Rewards to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Bilt Rewards is a brand-new transfer partner of Alaska Airlines as of March 2024. Bilt is the first of the major credit cards to forge a transferrable rewards relationship with Alaska Airlines, and Bilt Rewards members can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio.
Transfer points from Marriott Bonvoy to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Insider’s Rating
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
A five pointed star
4.3/5
Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp
It indicates a confirmed selection.
Perks
Regular APR
20.99% – 29.99% Variable
Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points
Recommended Credit
Good to Excellent
Pros
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
Annual statement credits can save you money on Marriott stays
Check mark icon
A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction.
You get a free reward night each year after your renewal month
Cons
con icon
Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’.
High annual fee
con icon
Two crossed lines that form an ‘X’.
Other cards are more rewarding for earning points on your spending
Product Details
Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
$300 Brilliant Dining Credit: Each calendar year, get up to $300 (up to $25 per month) in statement credits for eligible purchases made on the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card at restaurants worldwide.
With Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, you can receive room upgrades, including enhanced views or suites, when available at select properties and booked with a Qualifying Rate.
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.
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.
Each calendar year after spending $60,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, you will be eligible to select a Brilliant Earned Choice Award benefit. You can only earn one Earned Choice Award per calendar year. See https://www.choice-benefit.marriott.com/brilliant for Award options.
$100 Marriott Bonvoy Property Credit: Enjoy your stay. Receive up to a $100 property credit for qualifying charges at The Ritz-Carlton® or St. Regis® when you book direct using a special rate for a two-night minimum stay using your Card.
Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) 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.
Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card you can receive 25 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express. Terms apply.
Enroll in Priority Pass™ Select, which offers unlimited airport lounge visits to over 1,200 lounges in over 130 countries, regardless of which carrier or class you are flying. This allows you to relax before or between flights. You can enjoy snacks, drinks, and internet access in a quiet, comfortable location.
No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
With Cell Phone Protection, you can be reimbursed, the lesser of, your repair or replacement costs following damage, such as a cracked screen, or theft for a maximum of $800 per claim when your cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim with a limit of 2 approved claims per 12-month period. Additional terms and conditions apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
$650 Annual Fee.
Terms Apply.
You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska Mileage Plan at a rate of 3:1.
When you transfer 60,000 Marriott points, you’ll get a 5,000-mile bonus, for a total of 25,000 Alaska miles. If you have a lot of Marriott points, this could be worthwhile, especially to top off your account if you’re close to an award flight.
You can earn Bonvoy points quickly with co-branded Marriott credit cards offered by Chase or American Express:
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
— Earn three Free Night Awards (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first three months from your account openingMarriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card — Earn 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new card to make $6,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membershipMarriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
— Earn 60,000 bonus points and one free night award after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first three months from account openingMarriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card — Earn three Free Night Awards, valued at up to 50,000 points each for eligible stays, after you use your new card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of card membershipMarriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card — Earn 85,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membershipMarriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Card
— Earn 85,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases in your first three months from your account opening
These cards aren’t ideal if earning Alaska miles is your ultimate goal, but the welcome offers can provide a nice boost toward your mileage balance.
Buy or gift Alaska Airlines miles
If you need more Alaska miles for an award flight or want to gift someone with miles for a trip, you can buy or gift them. You can purchase miles in 1,000-mile increments up to 60,000, and then in 5,000-mile increments up to a maximum of 100,000 miles per transaction.
Usually, you’ll pay $27.50 per 1,000 miles, but occasionally there are bonus promotions. Mileage Plan members have the ability to buy or gift up to 150,000 miles per calendar year, but if you have elite status, there is no cap on how many miles you can purchase.
Shop through the Alaska Airlines shopping portal
If you shop online, you can begin your shopping through the Mileage Plan shopping portal to earn bonus Alaska miles. How many miles you’ll earn depends on the store, but there are plenty of popular brands represented, including Best Buy, Kohl’s, Old Navy, PetSmart, and Sephora.
There are currently 1,100+ merchants participating in the shopping portal, so it’s worth checking if your online purchases can be rewarded.
Join Mileage Plan dining and earn when you eat out
If you eat out often, it’s worth joining Mileage Plan dining, which partners with local restaurants to reward you with Alaska miles. You’ll earn miles on everything you order, plus tax and tip. The trick is to find a place you enjoy dining, but there are usually plenty of options, especially in urban areas.
Refer friends to the Alaska Airlines credit card
If you already have an Alaska Airlines credit card, you can earn bonus miles when you refer the card to friends and family. Typically, you’ll earn 5,000 miles per successful referral — but we’ve seen up to 15,000 miles for targeted cardholders.
Opt to earn Alaska miles on hotel stays
When you book a hotel stay with certain brands, you can opt to earn Alaska miles instead of points toward the hotel’s loyalty program (if they have one). These include Best Western, Choice, Coast, IHG, Marriott, and Westmark. You can also book through Rocketmiles and select Mileage Plan miles as your preferred reward.
Earn Alaska miles for car rentals
You can opt-in to earn Alaska miles when you rent cars through Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, or Thrifty. Alaska also has its own rental car portal. As always, be sure to compare prices before you book to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
Take advantage of Alaska’s shopping partnerships
Alaska has several partnerships and deals with specific merchants. This list can vary, and currently includes 1-800-Flowers, Rover, SoFi, and Vinesse Wine Club. Be sure to check the list to see if there’s anything that sparks your interest.
How Much are Alaska Miles Worth?
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a highly lucrative frequent flyer program even if you never actually fly on Alaska Airlines. You can get an excellent return by redeeming miles for premium seats on partner airlines, and Mileage Plan’s routing rules create opportunities to add destinations to your travel plans at minimal cost.
Those features give Mileage Plan miles an average redemption value of 1.5 cents apiece in Personal Finance Insider’s most recent points and miles valuations. Read on to see which redemption options you should target and avoid to get the most out of your miles.
The best ways to use Alaska miles
The exact price you’ll pay for your award flight will vary based on distance and region. One great benefit of the program is its ability to add a stopover on one-way flights (or two stopovers for round-trip bookings). To do this, you’ll need to fly on Alaska or Alaska plus one partner. For international redemptions, you can only stop in an airline’s hub city or a focus city. Still, it’s a policy that can add huge value to your award redemptions.
For example, you could fly from the U.S. to Australia with a stopover in Fiji on Fiji Airways. Or you could fly from the US to the Middle East or Africa with a stop in Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. There are also many possibilities for flying on Emirates or Qatar with a stop in Dubai or Doha, respectively.
Redeem Alaska miles for domestic flights
One of the most popular ways to redeem Alaska miles is for domestic award flights on Alaska and its partner American Airlines. Here’s the award chart for the contiguous U.S. including Alaska and Canada, which is based on the distance you fly.
Alaska Airlines
Regardless of where you want to go, you can find the longest economy flights on Alaska Airlines starting at 12,500 miles each way, save for Hawaii.
Avoid the Money and Miles option
When you book Alaska flights, you have the option to use your miles for a discount of up to $100 off when you redeem 10,000 miles or up to $200 when you redeem 20,000 miles. This makes your miles worth 1 cent each, and Alaska miles can be worth much more than that.
According to Business Insider’s points and miles valuations, Alaska Airlines miles are worth 1.5 cents apiece on average. Find out more about how we set the value of airline miles, hotel points, and credit card rewards here»
If possible, avoid this option and save your miles for better reward redemptions.
Redeem Alaska miles for flights on partner airlines
Using Alaska Airlines miles for award flights on partner airlines is perhaps the best way to use your Alaska miles. All of Alaska’s partner airlines fly internationally — and you can find great value for award flights. Here’s a look at the award chart for international travel.
Alaska Airlines
Pretty self-explanatory — the international chart is based on region rather than distance. Here are some examples, with prices for one-way flights:
American Airlines business class from the U.S. to Europe with a stopover for 57,500 Alaska milesCathay Pacific business class from the U.S. to Asia via Hong Kong for 50,000 Alaska milesCathay Pacific first class from the U.S. to Africa via Hong Kong for 85,000 Alaska milesFiji Airways business class from the U.S. to Australia via Fiji for 55,000 Alaska miles
There’s big potential for aspirational award flights with Alaska miles. Plus, you can add stopovers before continuing on to your final destination, which can add even more value to your award booking.
If you like Alaska’s partner airlines, you could collect Alaska miles just to book award flights on them — without ever having to fly on Alaska.
Get a first-class upgrade for Alaska flights
When traveling on an eligible paid Alaska fare, you can use 15,000 Alaska miles to upgrade to First Class each way. Make sure you select “mileage upgrade” as your upgrade preference when purchasing your flights. To upgrade after you purchase a ticket, you can call Alaska to make the upgrade. You can also request upgrades based on availability 24 hours before departure when you check-in online or at the airport.
Other ways to redeem Alaska milesShare your Alaska Airlines miles
You can share your Alaska miles with someone else at a cost of $10 per 1,000 miles plus a $25 handling fee per transaction. You can transfer (or receive) a maximum of 100,000 miles per calendar year. This isn’t a great option if you’re looking to pay for someone’s award flight — it’s better to just use miles from your account to book the award directly. However, this could be useful if a friend or family member is only short a few thousand miles for an award.
Donate Alaska Airlines miles to charity
You can donate your Alaska miles to over a dozen different charities, in 1,000-mile increments, and with no maximums or fees. Nonprofit charities include the Dream Foundation, Make a Wish Foundation, and Nature Conservancy.
Get magazine subscriptions
If you like to read paper magazines, you can redeem Alaska miles for subscriptions starting at 100 miles and $2, or 200 miles. There are many titles available and prices vary for each one. If you’re interested, it’s an easy way to use your miles — and some of the prices are actually reasonable.
This is also a good way to keep your Alaska miles from expiring. Your Alaska miles expire two years after your last account activity, so spending a few miles on a redemption like this — or donating some to charity — can reset the clock.
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines are some of the most valuable points to collect in the award travel world. Its unique and strategic airline partnerships give you the ability to travel pretty much anywhere for an extremely competitive price — and even throw in a stopover or two during your commute to help you visit multiple destinations on a single reservation.
Chime® Checking Account
Set up Direct Deposit and get your paycheck up to 2 days before your coworkers.** No overdraft fees. No monthly fees.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66b0be6ce45644e198f5915c84ed3c93&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fpersonal-finance%2Fcredit-cards%2Falaska-airlines-miles-how-to-earn-redeem-maximize&c=13802732351014602563&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-31 08:17:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.