AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will soon see an increase in the number of miles needed to travel in first class on select Alaska Airlines flights. Starting in March 2022, Alaska Airlines will increase the maximum number of miles needed for first-class awards on select routes throughout the United States, to Hawaii, and beyond.
It is never good news when an airline increases the number of points or miles needed to book award travel. But, these changes might not be as impactful as you might think.
What's Set to Change This March?
Most avid points and miles enthusiasts know that — despite being a relatively small airline — Alaska Airlines' frequent flyer program (Mileage Plan) can be one of the most lucrative in the Americas. Thanks to solid mileage earning rates, savvy frequent flyers know to credit travel on partner airlines to their Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account, instead of earning with the airline on which they are traveling. Despite some negative changes in the past few years, Mileage Plan remains one of the best programs through which to get the most out of your points or miles.
Unfortunately, Alaska is set to devalue its program next month. Effective March 1, Alaska will increase the maximum number of miles required to book select first-class awards.
Luckily, partner awards were spared from this latest change. Travel on North American partners (including American Airlines) will not see any changes for award pricing. That's because Alaska Airlines uses a separate award chart for each partner airline, and these charts are different from the award chart for its own flights.
Comparing Current and New Award Pricing
Here is the current award chart for first class award travel on Alaska Airlines for travel within the United States (excluding Hawaii) and Canada:
| Distance | Minimum Miles Needed | Maximum Miles Needed |
|---|---|---|
| <700 Miles | 15,000 | 40,000 |
| 701 to 1,400 Miles | 25,000 | 60,000 |
| 1,401 to 2,100 Miles | 25,000 | 60,000 |
| 2,100 Miles or more | 30,000 | 70,000 |
And here is the current award chart for first class award travel on Alaska Airlines for travel between the Continental United States and Hawaii:
| Zone | Minimum Miles Needed | Maximum Miles Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Continental U.S. - Hawaii | 40,000 | 80,000 |
Effective March 1, 2022, the award chart shown above will change, with the maximum number of miles increasing. Here's what the new award charts look like:
| Distance | Minimum Miles Needed | Maximum Miles Needed |
|---|---|---|
| <700 | 15,000 | 40,000 (no change) |
| 701 to 1,400 Miles | 25,000 | 60,000 (no change) |
| 1,401 to 2,100 Miles | 25,000 | 70,000 (Increase of 10,000 miles) |
| 2,100 Miles or more | 30,000 | 95,000 (Increase of 25,000 miles) |
And for flights between the Continental U.S. and Hawaii:
| Zone | Minimum Miles Needed | Maximum Miles Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Continental U.S. - Hawaii | 40,000 | 95,000 (Increase of 15,000 miles) |
Three zones will be impacted by this change
- Flights that are 1,401 to 2,100 miles
- Flights greater than 2,100 miles
- All fights between the Continental U.S. and Hawaii.
Flights 1,400 miles or less will not see first class award increases.
Routes That Will See an Increase in Maximum Miles Needed
Any increase in the number of miles needed to book award travel is always unwelcome news. But, it's important to note that the upcoming changes are not as terrible as they might seem. First and foremost, the minimum number of miles needed to book award travel will remain unchanged. The increase only applies to the maximum number of miles required for award travel.
Mileage Plan members will typically see award travel priced at its highest during peak travel times. That is, the upcoming increase will likely be limited to travelers during peak summer and holiday travels.
Additionally, this only applies to flights operated by Alaska Airlines. This change also applies to just three zones. Only flights within the US and Canada over 1,400 miles and all flights between the continental US and Hawaii will be impacted by the change.
Examples of Impacted Routes
Here are a few of the routes that will be impacted by this devaluation:
- Seattle (SEA) to New York City (JFK), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), St. Louis (STL), Nashville (BNA), and Chicago (ORD)
- Portland (PDX) to Boston (BOS), Washington-National (DCA), and Orlando (MCO)
- All flights between the continental U.S. and Hawaii
Of course, there are many more flights that will be impacted by this change. If you frequently redeem your miles for longer domestic flights, you will likely encounter these increased award redemption rates beginning March 1.
If you're someone who prefers to use your Alaska Airlines miles for short-haul travel or for flights on partner airlines, your travel will not be impacted by this upcoming change.
The Bottom Line
There are far better ways to use your Alaska Airlines miles than domestic first-class travel. With a rich variety of partners, your Alaska Airlines miles can take you much further than the continental United States.
Nevertheless, this devaluation is not great news for travelers. At the moment, few awards are priced at these new maximums.
For now, this devaluation is not all that significant for travelers. But, naysayers will likely point out that each successive partner award chart Alaska has released recently has been worse (ex: Iberia, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian) ever since joining the Oneworld alliance. So, this is not a positive trend recently.
With that said, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members are most likely to encounter these new award redemption rates for first-class travel only during peak travel season.
What do you think of Alaska Airlines' decision to increase first class awards? Will this impact your future travel plans?
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I wonder how much else will be changing. Where AS usually was the cheapest to where I fly I am now finding they are not. I really hope their prices are not going the way of AA with this partnership.
I’m glad it hasn’t affected partner travel yet. I will need to redo my canceled booking back in early 2020 on CX with AS miles due to the pandemic.
That’s too bad. We were just talking about how it might be worth splurging on first class on our next flight, and we have primarily Alaska miles
We use Alaska FC using points from Orlando to Anchorage. This is a big hit, thus will be looking at alternative. One disappointing think when trying to book they really limit the options of using AA flights. Is there a different way to book AK Flights using AA points? Thanks
John – you should have access to some first class seats on Alaska using AA miles. However, Alaska does save some of its seats for its own members, meaning maybe just 2 or 3 first class seats per flight will be allowed for booking with AA miles. Thus, flexibility / booking early will be important on those long routes, especially at popular times.
It seems Alaska Airlines is following suit with other airlines which have been raising the number of award miles needed for award tickets. Of course, I would like for them not to do so, but it is obvious that will not happen. I am pretty sure the cash fares have increased as well. I know they have with American, Delta and United. All have increased their fares as well as the number of miles one must use to get an award mile flight.
In a way, I am not surprised because we are seeing the amount of inflation that has been creeping upwards for the past year and will likely continue as long as our current government is in control of federal spending and open borders.
Alaska airlines first needs to have a proper Transcon first class!