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After multiple negative changes with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan recently, we have some welcome, positive news to report. Alaska just added a new mileage partnership with Starlux.
Haven't heard of this Taiwan-based airline before? Here's why you should still care about this new partnership and your ability to earn/redeem miles on another airline.
About Starlux Airlines
Starlux is a relatively new airline, established in 2018 before flying its first route out of its home in Taiwan to Macau in January 2020 — just before the world shut down.
The airline now operates a fleet of A321neo and A330neo planes that feature business- and economy-class seats. These serve the airline's destinations around Asia.
To serve its new route between Los Angeles and Taipei, Starlux added new Airbus A350-900 aircraft — which offers four cabins of service: first, business, premium economy, and economy.
Alaska and Starlux Partnership Details
As of April 26, 2023, you can credit paid flights on Starlux to your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account, earning miles as follows:
| Cabin | Fare class | Base miles | Bonus miles | Total earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First class | F, A | 100% | 250% | 350% |
| Business clas | J, C, D | 100% | 150% | 250% |
| Premium economy | W, R, E | 100% | 25% | 125% |
| Economy | Y, B, H, K, M, L, V, S, N | 100% | 0% | 100% |
These figures are based on your flight distance. So, you'll need to multiply the mileage of your flight by the appropriate earning rate to calculate how many Alaska miles you'll earn on each flight.
Starting later this year, you'll also be able to redeem Alaska miles for Starlux flights. While Alaska has introduced some pretty bad partner award charts recently and moved to dynamic pricing, the “starting at” pricing for these flights looks attractive:
- Economy: 20,000 miles
- Premium economy: 40,000 miles
- Business class: 60,000 miles
Again, award redemptions start at these prices but can go up based on availability, popularity, and even traveling close to holidays. It's also worth pointing out that you can't redeem Alaska miles for first-class seats on Starlux.
At present, the two new airline partners haven't forged a codeshare agreement. And there's no mention of reciprocity for elite members, though that may be coming in the future.
However, Alaska and Starlux becoming partners can help fans of both airlines reach further destinations, pairing Starlux's new route between Los Angeles (LAX) and Taipei (TPE) with its destinations around Asia and Alaska Airlines' destinations in North America.
Related: How to Add a Free Stopover Using Alaska Airlines Miles
Final Thoughts
Being able to earn and redeem miles on new routes and with new partners should be welcome news. After several negative changes with Alaska's Mileage Plan recently, picking up Starlux as a new partner may offset some of these.
You can now earn Alaska miles on paid Starlux flights and will be able to redeem Alaska miles for Starlux flights later this year. Once that's possible, we'll provide updates on how to make these redemptions.
How do you feel about this new partnership?
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Love Alaska Airlines. The more travel partners the better. Thanks, Award Wallet!