Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines To Combine. Here’s What We Know.

In major news, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines will combine. The exact logistics for how this will impact members of both loyalty programs aren't known, but we know there will be just one loyalty program going forward. We also know that Alaska is acquiring Hawaiian; however, the verbiage in the press release oscillates between references to keeping both airlines and having a single airline going forward. Here's what we know and what we don't know about this major announcement.

Alaska Mileage Plan ‘Erroneously’ Charging Higher Taxes and Fees on Qatar Awards

Late last week, AwardWallet caught that Alaska severely increased the out-of-pocket costs for awards on Qatar Airways. Rather than charging under $50 out-of-pocket each way, awards are currently pricing as high as $800 one-way. Thankfully Alaska confirmed that these fees are being "erroneously" charged. Here's what you need to know about this situation - and your alternatives in the meantime.

Crazy Good Availability for Starlux Flights Using Alaska Miles

Alaska Airlines and Starlux (the Taiwan-based airline) launched a partnership earlier this year, and mileage redemptions with Alaska Mileage Plan miles are now live. That means you can book Starlux awards. And I'm not just saying, "In theory, you can book awards." You really can book awards...pretty much any day you want. Let's show you how to take advantage of this award availability for a dream trip to Taiwan or onward to other points in Asia.