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I love Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles; I think they're really valuable, if you know how to use them. And with the elevated bonus on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card in early 2024, I was happy to apply for this card. Beyond just the welcome bonus, however, the card offers some ongoing benefits that provide even further value.
Here's how I got $2,509 in positive value from this card during the first year.
Alaska Visa Card Welcome Offer
Bank of America issues the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, which is currently offering 50,000 miles + buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
This offer allows you to bring a second person on a paid Alaska Airlines flight with you, paying just the taxes and fees on that ticket. And the bonus miles? AwardWallet users average 2.1¢ per Alaska mile in value from Alaska miles. To get an idea of what you can do with those miles, check out our favorite Alaska Mileage Plan sweet spots.
- LIMITED TIME ONLINE OFFER-Buy One, Get One + 50,000 Bonus Miles!
- Buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) and get 50,000 bonus miles with this offer. To qualify, make $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
Alaska Visa Card Ongoing Benefits
Beyond just the welcome bonus, the Alaska Visa Card has several cardholder perks that I find valuable — especially after a 2023 update to the card:
- Receive an Alaska Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) on each account anniversary when you spend at least $6,000 on the card in the previous year.
- Get a free checked bag on Alaska Airlines flights when paying with this card; benefit extends to up to six companions on the same reservation.
- Priority boarding on Alaska Airlines flights.
- Earn 4,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) toward Alaska status for each $10,000 of purchases on the card, up to 20,000 EQMs per year.
- $100 discount on an Alaska Lounge+ membership.
- 20% back on Alaska Airlines in-flight purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees.
And when spending on the Alaska Visa Card, I earn the following:
- 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
Read our full Alaska Visa Card review
How I Got $2,509 From the Alaska Visa Card in the First Year
Let's look at how two trips gave my wife and I so much value from the Alaska Visa Card in the first year:
- $342 from the Companion Fare: My wife wants to go to Belize for her birthday this year. Alaska Airlines flies direct to Belize City from Los Angeles, which is great for us living in Southern California. Those tickets in the mid-summer tourist boom aren't cheap. Using the Companion Fare knocked $342 off our cost, and this was much better than redeeming miles at a poor rate on this route or having a long layover to save money on a connecting itinerary.
- $140 in baggage fees: We're going to Belize for some scuba diving, so checking luggage to take our gear on this trip is mandatory. Saving $35 per person times two people makes for $140 in checked bag fees (round-trip) we won't pay by having the Alaska Visa Card.
- $2,122 on a business-class award: My wife already had some Alaska miles in her account, so we both had enough miles now to book Condor business-class tickets home from a trip to Europe. Cash price of these tickets: $2,300 per person. My welcome bonus covered my ticket, and I paid just $178 in taxes and fees. That saved me $2,122. Alternatively, what would we really pay? Not $2,300 to fly home. The economy ticket on that flight costs $300 if you want to look at it from this perspective. Of course, I wouldn't redeem my Alaska miles for that price, so we'll stick with the $2,122 number.
If you add up those numbers, you'll get $2,604. After subtracting the card's $95 annual fee, that leaves me with $2,509 in net positive value. Alternatively, taking the “what would we really pay for a flight if we couldn't use miles?” approach, I still got $687 in positive value from this card. And the year is still young! I've got time to get even more value from my card over the next nine months.
It's also worth pointing out that we redeemed 55,000 miles each for that Condor business-class redemption. You'll pay more with an impending Alaska Mileage Plan devaluation.
Bottom Line
The Alaska Visa Card can provide much more value than its annual fee year after year, but it provides especially great value during the first year when you can obtain the welcome bonus. Even if you don't consider the use of the miles — just focusing on saving money on checked bag fees to take scuba equipment on a trip where we used the Companion Fare — we're saving hundreds of dollars in the first year of this card. And the miles from the welcome bonus provide several multiples of value on top.
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