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Alaska Airlines is adjusting its partner award charts; for some Mileage Plan members, these changes might be overwhelmingly negative.
The new charts are distance-based, meaning a handful of the most popular Mileage Plan redemptions will soon become much more expensive with the new award charts starting in March 2024.
Until those changes take effect, you can still book partner awards using the current pricing — but time is slowly running out. Here are the awards you should book now to get better prices on your redemptions.
Alaska Airlines Is Making Changes to Its Partner Award Charts
The changes coming to Mileage Plan will alleviate inconsistent pricing between Alaska's partner airlines, which is a big deal.
Alaska Airlines currently publishes one award chart for each of its partners. Having one unified chart is great in theory — if the pricing wholly reflects actual partner awards. Alaska's chart, however, didn't (and won't until March), which is forcing the change.
As a refresher, here's the active partner chart:
The new partner award charts will provide that missing consistency through a shift to distance-based pricing. Starting in March 2024, the more miles you want to fly, the more miles you'll need to redeem.
And instead of one chart, there will be three — each focusing on a separate region. Here's the pricing for routes from the U.S. to and from (and within) the Americas:
| 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 |
Asia:
| 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 |
And, lastly, 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 |
Book These Partner Awards Before the Award Chart Change
With the introduction of distance-based charts, most long-haul awards involving connections or free stopovers are bound to get more expensive. We've looked at Alaska's partner airlines and found a variety of itineraries that'll soon feature higher pricing. These are the award redemptions you'll want to make now.
Here are a few examples:
Qatar Qsuite to Sri Lanka
One of the most desirable redemptions in points and miles is Qatar's famous Qsuite. And if you want to fly in style from Houston (IAH) through Doha (DOH) and on to Colombo (CMB), it'll cost you 85,000 Mileage Plan miles if you book today. Unfortunately, the pricing for this 10,292-mile itinerary will soon change for the worse.
- What you'll pay now: 85,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 130,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 53% increase
LATAM business class awards to Argentina
Business class awards on LATAM from North to South America are due to become a lot pricier. The 5,806-mile itinerary between New York (JFK) and Buenos Aires (EZE) with a stopover in Santiago (SCL) costs 45,000 miles now, but this pricing won't last for long.
- What you'll pay now: 45,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 50,000 Mileage Plan miles — an 11% increase
Fiji Airways business class to Oceania
One of the best Mileage Plan sweet spots is flying 7,000+ miles on Fiji Airways from the U.S. West Coast (or Vancouver, Canada) to Auckland (AKL) or Sydney (SYD) and stopping over in Nadi (NAN). This business class award will only set you back 55,000 Mileage Plan miles — a fantastic deal.
- What you'll pay now: 55,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 85,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 55% increase
Aer Lingus business class to Europe
Plenty of airlines will get you to Europe, but the ones that'll see price increases shortly are the ones you'll want to book now. Aer Lingus is a great example: You can fly from Seattle (SEA) to Frankfurt (FRA) with a connection in Dublin (DUB) for 60,000 Mileage Plan miles. Not bad for business class!
- What you'll pay now: 60,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 70,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 17% increase
Air Tahiti Nui business class to French Polynesia
If you've got your eye on a business class ticket between Anchorage (ANC) and Papeete (PPT) with a connection in Seattle (SEA), you'll want to book soon. This 6,232-mile route will currently cost you 60,000 Mileage Plan miles.
- What you'll pay now: 60,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 75,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 25% increase
American Airlines business class to Japan
While it's not the fanciest way to fly to Japan, American Airlines will get you from Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) to Tokyo (HND) in business class for 60,000 Mileage Plan miles — a solid deal compared to the price that'll soon be the norm.
- What you'll pay now: 60,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 75,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 25% increase
Condor business class to South Africa
If Cape Town is on your bucket list, you can fly Condor's business class to get there. An award ticket from New York (JFK) to Cape Town (CPT) with a stopover in Frankfurt (FRA) will cost 70,000 Mileage Plan miles now — a great deal compared to the 85,000 miles you'll pay for this 9,671-mile itinerary in a few months.
- What you'll pay now: 70,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 85,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 21% increase
Finnair economy class to Spain
If you're keen on taking the long way to get places, Finnair will fly you from Dallas (DFW) to Helsinki (HEL) and then on to Madrid (MAD) for 30,000 Mileage Plan miles. This itinerary spans 7,057 miles, and it won't come cheap next March.
- What you'll pay now: 30,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 42,500 Mileage Plan miles — a 42% increase
Cathay Pacific economy class to Indonesia
You'll absolutely want to book Cathay Pacific awards to Asia now. Business-class awards are tough to come by, but economy awards are widely available. Let's say you wanted to originate in New York (JFK), include a stopover in Hong Kong (HKG), and then head south to Jakarta (CGK). You can book this 10,087-mile journey for 30,000 Mileage Plan miles at present.
- What you'll pay now: 30,000 Mileage Plan miles
- What you'll pay starting in March 2024: 65,000 Mileage Plan miles — a 117% increase
Related: The Best Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award Chart Sweet Spots
Boost Your Balance of Mileage Plan Miles
Alaska's new partner charts won't take effect until March 2024, which leaves plenty of runway to book these awards (and many others) at the current rates.
If you need to build a balance of Mileage Plan miles to book one of these tickets, there are many ways to do it, including (but not limited to):
- Flying on Alaska Airlines or one of its many partners, such as American Airlines, Qatar Airways, and almost a dozen others.
- Earning a welcome bonus or spending on the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card or Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card.
- Using Alaska's shopping portal to earn miles on online purchases.
- Staying at one of Alaska's hotel partners like IHG, Choice, Best Western, and Marriott and electing to earn Mileage Plan miles instead of hotel points.
- Transferring Marriott Bonvoy points to Mileage Plan. You can build a hefty balance of Bonvoy points by applying for a Marriott co-branded credit card.
- Buying Mileage Plan miles outright — sometimes with a bonus or discount.
Related: Do Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Expire?
Final Thoughts
The impending change to Alaska Airlines' partner award charts isn't welcome news for most flyers. Thankfully, there's still time to book awards at current prices before the new costs take effect.
If you've been thinking about booking any of the partner awards we've highlighted in this post and want to do so at the current rates, you'll want to book before March 2024. If you're wondering “exactly what date in March?” we wish we knew. Once that date is known, we'll make sure to provide updates.
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