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If you have yet to hear the news, Alaska Airlines is overhauling its Mileage Plan frequent flyer program for 2025. Buried amongst flashy things like milestone rewards and elite status credits on award travel is a lot of negative, much of which hasn't gotten its time in the spotlight.
Once the calendar flips over, you'll earn differently on partner airline flights. The total miles you'll earn — plus the Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) — will depend on where you book. It's a function of Alaska's quest to “simplify” how you earn miles with its partner airlines.
So, just how simple will earning be? Let's take a look at the earning charts taking effect on January 1, 2025.
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Overview of Alaska Mileage Plan Partner Earnings Changes
Unlike most airlines nowadays, Alaska Airlines awards miles and EQMs based on the total miles flown. Depending on what cabin you fly and if you have elite status, you might also collect bonus miles — the sum of both variables being what's deposited into your Mileage Plan account.
Through the end of this year, if you fly on one of Alaska's partner airlines and credit your flight to Mileage Plan, you'll earn base miles, bonus miles, and EQMs (base miles + bonus miles) based on the following table:
| Cabin | Fare Class | Base Miles Earned | Bonus Miles Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | F, A | 100% | 100% |
| Business | J | 100% | 100% |
| Business | C | 100% | 75% |
| Business | D, I | 100% | 50% |
| Premium Economy | W, P, R | 100% | 50% |
| Economy | Y, B | 100% | 50% |
| Economy | H, K | 100% | 25% |
| Economy | M, L, V, S, N, Q, O, or G | 100% | 0% |
| Economy | X | 30% | 0% |
Next year, this one, unified table will be broken into two smaller tables. The first describes your earnings on partner flights booked via Alaska's website. And the second describes what you'll earn on partner flights booked via partner websites.
However, these two tables are markedly different. One is fairly rewarding. The other? Not so much.
Related: How To Credit Airline Miles to Partner Frequent Flyer Programs
Alaska Mileage Plan earnings for flights booked on Alaska's site
We'll start with the (mostly) positives. In 2025, if you book a partner flight on Alaska's website, you'll earn miles according to the following table. For convenience, you'll see a comparison between what you can currently earn on these flights and how you'll earn in the future — plus the percent change.
And it's worth reiterating that the Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) calculation won't change. EQMs will still be the sum of base miles plus any bonus miles.
| Cabin | Fare Class | 2024 Miles Earned (Base Plus Cabin Bonus) | 2025 Miles Earned (Base Plus Cabin Bonus) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International First Class | F, A | 200% | 350% | +75% |
| International Biz Class | J | 200% | 250% | +25% |
| International Biz Class | C | 175% | 250% | +43% |
| International Biz Class | D, I | 150% | 250% | +67% |
| Domestic First Class | F | 200% | 150% | -25% |
| Premium Economy Class | W, P, R | 150% | 150% | 0% |
| Economy Class | Y, B | 150% | 100% | -33% |
| Economy Class | H, K | 125% | 100% | -20% |
| Discount Economy Class | M, L, V, S, N, Q, O, or G | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| Discount Economy Class | X | 30% | 100% | +233% |
All told, there's a lot to like here. On most international flights — in nearly every cabin — you'll earn more miles next year than you will this year.
But on domestic flights — in nearly every cabin — you'll earn fewer miles next year than you will this year. In other words, you might want to think twice about booking domestic American Airlines tickets via Alaska's website.
Alaska Mileage Plan earnings for flights booked on partner sites
Okay, now here's the news you'll want to sit down for. Next year, Alaska Airlines is drastically cutting the miles you'll earn — in every cabin — on partner flights you book on a partner airline website. Like the chart above, you can find a breakdown of how you'll earn on a comparable flight this year versus next year and the associated percent change:
| Cabin | Fare Class | 2024 Miles Earned (Base Miles + Bonus Miles) as a Percentage of Distance Flown | 2025 Miles Earned (Base Miles + Bonus Miles) as a Percentage of Distance Flown | Percentage Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International First Class | F, A | 200% | 150% | -25% |
| International Business Class | J | 200% | 125% | -38% |
| International Business Class | C | 175% | 125% | -29% |
| International Business Class | D, I | 150% | 125% | -17% |
| Domestic First Class | F | 200% | 150% | -25% |
| Premium Economy Class | W, P, R | 150% | 100% | -33% |
| Economy Class | Y, B | 150% | 50% | -67% |
| Economy Class | H, K | 125% | 50% | -60% |
| Discount Economy Class | M, L, V, S, N, Q, O, or G | 100% | 25% | -75% |
| Discount Economy Class | X | 30% | 25% | -17% |
These aren't small cuts by any stretch; the theme here is “book through our website or earn less.” Message received.
Final Thoughts
When a frequent flyer program rolls out many changes, it's easy to get distracted by the shiny objects. In the case of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, there are a lot of positives that'll roll out next year — from new milestone rewards to earning elite-qualifying miles on awards.
But there are also a lot of negatives. If you like to book flights on Alaska's partner airlines and credit your flying to Mileage Plan, next year's activity might not be so rewarding. Depending on where you book, you could leave a lot of earnings on the table.
But here's the silver lining. The new partner earning tables will take effect on January 1, 2025. You can still earn at current rates for travel through the end of 2024. That's good news if you need to finish off your Alaska elite status goals.
Just note that any new flights booked for 2025 will earn at the new rates. If you booked 2025 travel before October 16, 2024, Alaska will let you manually request earnings at the old rates that were in effect at the time you booked.
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