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Alaska Airlines partners with numerous airlines, many of which you can book with Mileage Plan miles. Except for one of those carriers (American Airlines), Alaska Airlines has implemented a new restriction on how close-in you can book award tickets.
However, we're here with good news: This restriction isn't here to stay.
Alaska Airlines Blocking Close-In Mileage Plan Partner Awards
As flagged by One Mile at a Time, Alaska Airlines has been imposing what appears to be a 72-hour rule on partner bookings. Specifically, when you try to book a Mileage Plan award on a partner airline, you won't be able to complete your reservation if the first flight on your itinerary takes off within 72 hours of booking.
If award search results show up at all, you'll get an error message when trying to book that reads like this:
“Too Close to Departure. It is too close to the scheduled departure time to purchase this flight. Please start shopping again.”
No matter the rationale for it, this restriction is inconvenient. It's not ideal for those of us who have been stranded on trips and relied on Mileage Plan miles to make it home without delay needed to book a trip on a moment's notice.
The silver lining is that this 72-hour close-in “rule” doesn't apply to American Airlines awards. Even better, this restriction shouldn't be around for long.
Alaska Confirms This Restriction is Temporary
Today, an Alaska Airlines spokesperson confirmed to AwardWallet that “the 72-hour restriction we currently have in place for award redemptions with our partners is short-term — it’ll last only days and not months.”
We're unsure how many days the restriction will be in place. However, we're more than glad it's not here to stay. Once it disappears, we'll update this post to reflect that.
Related: 6 Incredible Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Sweet Spots
Final Thoughts
Alaska Airlines is currently blocking Mileage Plan redemptions on partner airlines (except for American Airlines) within 72 hours of departure. Right now, if you try to book one of these awards (online or over the phone), you won't be able to. However, according to Alaska Airlines itself, this restriction will only remain in place for a few more days.
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