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Despite a relatively small route network confined to North America, the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program is a favorite among frequent flyers. This is largely due to the sweet spots and the sheer number of carriers (Oneworld and non-alliance partners) you can book with your Mileage Plan miles. Plus, unlike most U.S. airlines, Alaska Mileage Plan still publishes an award chart.
In this post, we'll dive into Alaska's award charts and highlight some of the best sweet spots for redeeming Alaska Mileage Plan miles for maximum value.
Page Contents
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Overview
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award Charts
- Best Alaska Mileage Plan Sweet Spots
- Northeastern U.S. to Europe in American Airlines, Aer Lingus, or British Airways business class
- U.S. to Europe in business class with stopovers
- Long-haul Qatar Airways flights in business class
- Stopover in Tokyo and fly onwards with Japan Airlines
- Flights to (and within) Hawaii
- Domestic American Airlines flights from 4,500 miles
- Ultra-long haul Singapore Airlines awards and fifth-freedom flights
- Building a Stash of Mileage Plan Miles
- Final Thoughts
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Overview
Before you get to booking Mileage Plan awards, there are three things you'll want to familiarize yourself with beyond Alaska's award charts:
- The value of Alaska Mileage Plan miles — so you know what your miles are worth.
- All the carriers you can book with Mileage Plan miles — so you know what you can do with your miles.
- Alaska Airlines' stopover policy — so you can make your miles go further.
Mileage Plan mile value
Whether you're hoping to redeem miles for a luxe trip in first class across the globe or a last-minute domestic flight in coach, redeeming Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for award tickets can yield excellent value.
On average, AwardWallet users redeem Mileage Plan miles for 2.11¢ apiece. However, the value varies significantly depending on which type of award you book:
- Short-haul economy: 1.3¢ per mile
- Long-haul economy: 1.75¢ per mile
- Short-haul business/first: 3.42¢ per mile
- Long-haul business/first: 4.19¢ per mile
To get the most out of your miles, look for redemptions with a cent-per-mile value close to or above these averages.
Related: How Much Do AwardWallet Users Actually Save When Redeeming Points?
Airlines bookable with Mileage Plan miles
One of the main reasons Mileage Plan remains such a popular program is the lengthy list of airline partners with whom members can book award flights. At the time of writing, you can earn and/or redeem Alaska miles with over 30 airline partners — including Hawaiian Airlines, which is now part of the Alaska Air Group.
Of those partners, Mileage Plan members can redeem their miles for award travel on over 20 airlines — almost all of which can be booked online at alaskaair.com. The remaining partners are “earn only” when you book their flights through Alaska's reservation channels.
Here's a list of all the Mileage Plan partner airlines:
| Airline | Redeem Miles | Earn Miles |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Yes | Yes |
| Air Tahiti Nui | Yes | Yes |
| Aleutian Airways | No | Yes |
| American Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Bahamasair | No | Yes |
| British Airways | Yes | Yes |
| Cape Air | No | Yes, when booked with Alaska Airlines |
| Cathay Pacific | Yes | Yes |
| Condor | Yes | Yes |
| Contour Airlines | No | Yes |
| Finnair | Yes | Yes |
| Fiji Airways | Yes | Yes |
| Hainan Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Iberia | Yes | Yes |
| Icelandair | Yes | Yes |
| Japan Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Kenmore Air | No | Yes, when booked with Alaska Airlines |
| Korean Air | Yes | Yes |
| LATAM Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Malaysia Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mokulele Airlines | No | Yes, when booked with Alaska Airlines |
| Oman Air | Yes | No |
| Philippine Airlines | Yes (Coming soon) | Yes (Coming soon) |
| Porter Airlines | No | Yes |
| Qantas | Yes | Yes |
| Qatar Airways | Yes | Yes |
| Ravn Alaska | Yes | Yes |
| Royal Air Maroc | Yes | Yes |
| Royal Jordanian | Yes | Yes |
| Singapore Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Sri Lankan Airlines | Yes | Yes |
| Southern Airways Express | No | Yes, when booked with Alaska Airlines |
| Starlux | Yes | Yes |
Alaska stopover policy
One of the best features of the Mileage Plan program is the ability to book one-way awards with a stopover. Some mileage programs don’t even allow one-way awards, and few airlines allow a free stopover. So, Alaska's policy to allow a free stopover on one-way awards makes it one of the best in the industry.
The ability to add two additional destinations to a round-trip award adds massive value to Alaska awards. However, several important restrictions apply. Read all about booking a Mileage Plan stopover.
Related: What Is the Difference Between a Layover and a Stopover?
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award Charts
Prospective award travelers have four mostly distance-based charts to navigate: one for wholly Alaska-operated itineraries and three region-based charts for partner-operated flights.
With distance-based charts, keeping a tool like the Great Circle Mapper in your back pocket is invaluable. You can calculate the exact distance of your planned itinerary and refer to the award chart for the cost.
Alaska-operated flights
Alaska's award chart for flights it operates is simple. Awards are priced primarily on distance, but other destinations like Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America feature the same one-way “starting at” pricing no matter where you originate. But it's worth noting that you can occasionally find awards lower than this table suggests.
| From Contiguous US including Alaska and Canada to: | Economy starting at: | First starting at: |
|---|---|---|
| Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: less than 700 miles | 5,000 | 15,000 |
| Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 701–1,400 miles | 7,500 | 25,000 |
| Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 1,401–2,100 miles | 10,000 | 25,000 |
| Contiguous US, Alaska and Canada: 2,101 miles and above | 12,500 | 30,000 |
| Hawaii: all distances | 15,000 | 40,000 |
| Mexico, Central America and Caribbean: all distances | 10,000 | 30,000 |
Partner-operated flights
Mileage Plan publishes a trio of award charts for partner-operated flights. The one-way “starting at” partner pricing is a function of the region you're flying to and the distance your itinerary covers.
Here is the Mileage Plan award chart for partner flights to and within the “Americas” region:
| Distance (miles) | Economy (starting at) | Premium Economy (starting at) | Business Class (starting at) | First Class (starting at) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 700 | 4,500 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 13,500 |
| 701–1,400 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 |
| 1,401–2,100 | 12,500 | 17,500 | 25,000 | 40,000 |
| 2,101–4,000 | 17,500 | 22,500 | 35,000 | 52,500 |
| 4,001–6,000 | 25,000 | 32,500 | 50,000 | 75,000 |
| 6,001 and above | 30,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa:
| Distance (miles) | Economy (starting at) | Premium Economy (starting at) | Business Class (starting at) | First Class (starting at) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,500 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 22,500 |
| 1,501–3,500 | 22,500 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 67,500 |
| 3,501–5,000 | 27,500 | 35,000 | 55,000 | 82,500 |
| 5,001–7,000 | 35,000 | 45,000 | 70,000 | 105,000 |
| 7,001–10,000 | 42,500 | 55,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 |
| 10,000 and above | 55,000 | 72,500 | 110,000 | 165,000 |
And Asia Pacific:
| Distance (miles) | Economy (starting at) | Premium Economy (starting at) | Business (starting at) | First (starting at) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1,500 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 22,500 |
| 1,501–3,000 | 25,000 | 32,500 | 50,000 | 75,000 |
| 3,001–5,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
| 5,001–7,000 | 37,500 | 50,000 | 75,000 | 110,000 |
| 7,001–10,000 | 42,500 | 55,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 |
| 10,000 and above | 65,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 | 195,000 |
Best Alaska Mileage Plan Sweet Spots
Now that we've covered the basics, here's a dive into best sweet spots bookable with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.
Northeastern U.S. to Europe in American Airlines, Aer Lingus, or British Airways business class
Several Alaska Airlines partners fly to Europe from a few gateways in the Northeastern United States. Think of airports such as Boston (BOS), Newark (EWR), New York (JFK), and so on. Provided your itinerary is less than 3,500 miles in total distance, you can fly to select European destinations from these gateways in business class for 45,000 Mileage Plan miles. That makes this one of the cheapest business class awards to Europe.
For example, you could start in Boston and fly to London (LHR), Dublin (DUB), Shannon (SNN), and more for this low price. However, you'll want to be mindful of the partner airline you book a ticket on. Some airlines, like British Airways, levy heavy fuel surcharges — as is obvious in this example:
U.S. to Europe in business class with stopovers
The 1,501-3,500-mile distance band is pretty sweet, but the 3,501-5,000-mile distance band is potentially even sweeter. For just 55,000 Mileage Plan miles, you can travel further than you might think. Even better, this distance band allows you to fly to Europe in business class while leaving plenty of room to add a free stopover.
For instance, you could take a Finnair flight from New York (JFK) to Helsinki (HEL), spend a few days in Finland, and then trek on to Tallinn, Estonia (TLL) — all for 55k miles plus a reasonable $37 out-of-pocket:
You could also go further than Estonia, given that JFK to HEL is only 4,117 miles, and the maximum distance you can fly in this distance band without paying more is 5,000 miles.
It's cliche to say, but the possibilities are seemingly endless thanks to Alaska's stopover policy. But for more inspiration, here's another idea for maximizing the distance band with business class flights to Europe.
For example, you could fly Iberia business class from Boston (BOS) to Madrid (MAD). You'll have more to work with on this itinerary, as BOS to MAD is just 3,410 miles. What could you do to maximize the distance band? Why not fly to Venice (VCE)?
Long-haul Qatar Airways flights in business class
Qatar Airways' business class product is a bucket list redemption for many points and miles enthusiasts. If Qsuite is on your bucket list, you can use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles to book it. Even better, pricing is competitive, and more so the longer you fly.
Alaska's distance-based charts offer a few sweet spots for Qatar redemptions. Within the 5,001-7,000-mile band, you could book a one-way flight to Doha (DOH) for 70,000 miles from New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Washington, D.C. (IAD), and Montreal (YUL). Maxing out a distance band is one of the best ways to get the most out of your miles, and these flights do just that.
You can also jump to the next distance band and add a stopover from DOH. You'll redeem 85,000 Mileage Plan miles for flights between 7,001 and 10,000 miles. Redeeming more miles to fly further also opens doors to depart out of more U.S. gateways, such as Houston (IAH), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), and a few others.
After an optional stopover in Doha, destinations such as Malé (MLE), Colombo (CMB), Zanzibar (ZNZ), and more are accessible for a great price. You'll get the most out of your miles on these redemptions, that's for sure.
Note Qatar Airways' availability can be finicky via Alaska. However, you can easily create an itinerary by pulling up Alaska's calendar view or using Seats.aero. Just note that you'll likely stumble across “expanded inventory” at 2X pricing, which is borderline unaffordable for most travelers.
Stopover in Tokyo and fly onwards with Japan Airlines
Japan Airlines has traditionally been stingy with the award space it makes available to its partners. However, when you can spot an open seat, it's worth redeeming the miles necessary to book it.
JAL has a handful of U.S. gateways. Flights to Tokyo are the cheapest from the Pacific Northwest and become increasingly more expensive the further southeast you go. For example, here's what you'll redeem for a one-way business class award to Tokyo:
- 60,000 Mileage Plan miles
- Seattle (SEA)
- Vancouver (YVR)
- 75,000 Mileage Plan miles
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- San Diego (SAN)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Dallas (DFW)
- Boston (BOS)
- Chicago (ORD)
- New York (JFK)
Flights from Seattle and Vancouver to Tokyo narrowly clock in under 5,000 miles. You'll nearly maximize the 3,001 to 5,000-mile distance band, which means it's unlikely you can sneak in a stopover. Thus, if you're not planning on traveling further than Tokyo, booking a positioning flight to either Seattle or Vancouver to take advantage of the mileage savings is a great idea.
If you've got extra miles in your account, it might be worth jumping to the next-highest distance band. While you could burn those miles departing from a gateway closer to the East Coast, a better alternative is still departing from the Pacific Northwest but adding a stopover in Tokyo.
For example, the flight between Seattle and Tokyo covers 4,797 miles. Booking an itinerary in the 5,001 to 7,000-mile distance band requires 75,000 Mileage Plan miles but opens up a world of possibilities through a stopover. With this specific example, you could travel up to 2,203 additional miles on JAL on the same ticket.
So, where could you go from Tokyo on JAL and keep your cost basis at 75,000 Mileage Plan miles? Here are a few examples:
- Manila (MNL)
- Taipei (TPE)
- Beijing (PEK)
- Hong Kong (HKG)
- Guam (GUM)
- Seoul (GMP)
Alternatively, you can redeem 85,000 Mileage Plan miles to fly up to 10,000 miles in distance. Assuming you take the same Seattle to Tokyo flight, here's where you could go after stopping over:
- Hanoi (HAN)
- Bali (DPS)
- Jakarta (CGK)
- Bangkok (BKK)
- Bangalore (BLR)
Flights to (and within) Hawaii
Lots of airlines fly to the Hawaiian islands, and you can book tickets on three of them through Mileage Plan: Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and American Airlines. And routinely, you can book flights from the West Coast to Hawaii from 10,000 Alaska miles (or less).
If you plan to travel at an off-peak time, there's a greater likelihood awards on Alaska metal will be cheaper than those operated by Hawaiian Airlines or American Airlines. But if you go at a more popular time (especially when schools are out), fly from further away, or sit in a premium cabin, you might snag a better deal on an American-operated flight.
If you plan to island hop, you might also consider using Mileage Plan miles. Now that you can book Hawaiian Airlines awards directly through the Mileage Plan, we're seeing rates on routes such as Honolulu to Lihue for as little as 3,500 miles.
Related: The Best Ways To Book Flights to Hawaii Using Points and Miles
Domestic American Airlines flights from 4,500 miles
Not every redemption has to be flashy. On top of that, not every redemption needs to be a long-haul flight. Sometimes, the best redemptions are the ones that don't break the mileage bank.
A great example of a budget redemption could resemble an American Airlines flight between its Miami (MIA) hub and a handful of Caribbean destinations. On sub-700-mile flights, you'll redeem just 4,500 Mileage Plan miles per way in economy, or twice that for business class. You can fly from MIA to Cozumel (CZM), Cancun (CUN), Montego Bay (MBJ), and more for this low price.
Sometimes, the Caribbean can be an expensive place to fly to, so redeeming miles is an easy way to save on the out-of-pocket cost.
You could also leverage this sweet spot to fly from regional airports to connecting hubs. Wilmington (ILM) to Washington, D.C. (DCA) or Miami (MIA) is a great example where the cash fare is routinely high, but cheap award space is copious.
Ultra-long haul Singapore Airlines awards and fifth-freedom flights
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are also super valuable for booking Singapore Airlines. However, Singapore awards are not currently bookable due to ongoing technical problems with Alaska's website. There's no timetable for when the awards will come back online. Still, it could be worth synthesizing the sweet spots below, earning the miles for them if necessary, and containing your enthusiasm until they're again bookable.
In our opinion, the most interesting Singapore Airlines award bookable with Alaska miles is the world's longest flight from New York (JFK) to Singapore (SIN). For just 85,000 Mileage Plan miles, you can fly the near-19-hour journey in business class. This flight falls just under the 10,000-mile threshold before jumping into the next-highest distance band.
If award space is hard to come by, you can also look for seats out of Newark, to which Singapore Airlines operates another ultra-long-haul across-the-world flight to Singapore.
U.S.-based travelers can also find substantial value in Singapore Airlines' fifth-freedom flights. For the unfamiliar, fifth-freedom flights are itineraries between two countries of which neither are the airline's home country. Singapore Airlines operates a few of these flights, including New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) and Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo (NRT).
In business class, the two flights to/from Europe cover between 3,501 and 5,000 miles of distance, which means you can book these flights for 55,000 Mileage Plan miles per way. Even better, this 55,000-mile rate is less than what you'll pay through Singapore's KrisFlyer program (81,000 miles) or Air Canada Aeroplan (60,000 miles).
Or, if you want to try out Singapore Airlines' business class cabin en route to Tokyo, you can do so for 75,000 Mileage Plan miles. Alaska's mileage rate is competitive compared to other airlines operating this route.
Building a Stash of Mileage Plan Miles
Alaska Airlines doesn't partner with many credit card rewards programs for transferring points, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of ways to earn Mileage Plan miles. Here are some ways to stockpile Alaska miles for your next redemption.
- Fly on Alaska Airlines or one of its many partners, such as American Airlines, Qatar Airways, and more.
- Earn a welcome bonus or spending on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card or Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.
- Use Alaska's shopping portal to earn miles on online purchases.
- Stay at one of Alaska's hotel partners like IHG, Choice, Best Western, and Marriott and elect to earn Mileage Plan miles instead of hotel points.
- Transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Mileage Plan. You can build a hefty balance of Bonvoy points by applying for a Marriott co-branded credit card.
- Convert Bilt Rewards points to Mileage Plan miles at a 1:1 ratio.
- Buy Alaska miles outright — sometimes with a bonus or discount.
- LIMITED TIME ONLINE OFFER-60,000 Bonus Miles + a 30% Flight Discount Code!
- Receive a 30% flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after opening your new account. Additionally, earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- Get Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases. And earn unlimited 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don't expire on active accounts.
- Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.
- Free checked bag and enjoy priority boarding for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation, when you pay for your flight with your card - Also available for authorized users when they book a reservation too!
- With oneworld® Alliance member airlines and Alaska's Global Partners, Alaska has expanded their global reach to over 1,000 destinations worldwide bringing more airline partners and more ways to earn and redeem miles.
- Plus, no foreign transaction fees and a low $95 annual fee.
- This online only offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
- Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
- Earn unlimited 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
- Get 60,000 bonus miles and Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you make $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- Earn another Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after spending $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year.
- Free checked bag for any cardholder and up to 6 guests on the same reservation, when you pay for your flight with your card - that's a savings of $70 per person roundtrip!
- Priority Boarding for any cardholder when paying for the flight with an Alaska Airlines Business card.
- Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, shipping and local transit (including rideshare) purchases and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if your company has an eligible Bank of America® small business account.
- Enjoy 20% back on Alaska Airlines inflight purchases when you pay with your new card.
- Get $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership purchased with your Alaska Airlines Business card.
- Plus, no international transaction fees and a low annual fee of $70 for the company and $25 per card.
- This offer may not be available if you leave this page or visit our website. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
- Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
- Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, shipping and local transit (including rideshare) purchases
- Earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other eligible purchases
There's also a relatively new roundabout way of getting Alaska miles thanks to Alaska's merger with Hawaiian Airlines. Travelers can now transfer miles between HawaiianMiles and Mileage Plan, freely and at a 1:1 ratio. That means you can transfer points to Hawaiian Airlines and then from Hawaiian to Alaska, unlocking indirect transfers from the following HawaiianMiles transfer partners:
Related: Do Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Expire?
Final Thoughts
Several reasons exist to collect Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles. The two main ones are the fantastic value you can unlock with miles and the program's extensive number of sweet spots. You can't go wrong by earning Alaska miles, especially if you redeem them to see as much of the world as possible.
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