How Much Are Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Worth?

When looking at redeeming Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for Main Cabin travel, you should aim to get at least 1.2 cents per mile. With business class seats, you may even receive upward of 20 cents per mile in some cases.

You can earn miles when you fly with Alaska Airlines, its airline partners or oneworld Alliance members. But you can also earn miles by using a co-branded Alaska Airlines credit card and when you spend at any of its partner hotels, cruises, car rental companies or other partner merchants. Buying miles is an option as well.

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program may be a solid choice for people who fly business class or take long-haul flights, particularly to Asia. It also offers good reward flight alternatives for frequent West Coast flyers. As you progress up the Mileage Plan elite status ladder, you stand to earn bonus miles and enjoy several benefits.

An interesting aspect of the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program is that it awards miles based on the distance you travel, not the fare amount. As a result, the farther you fly, the more miles you earn.

• How Much Are Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles Worth?
• How to Earn and Maximize Miles From Alaska Airlines
• How to Redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
• How to Get the Alaska Airlines Elite Status
• Other Questions You May Have About Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

You can usually expect to get upward of 1.2 cents per mile through the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. In most instances, you stand to get better value for long-haul flights as opposed to shorter flights. The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan redemption chart will give you an idea of how many miles you might need to fly with different airlines along different routes.

To determine the exact value of your miles, simply divide the actual fare of a ticket by the number of miles you need to book the same. For instance, if you need 15,000 miles to book a ticket that costs $270, you divide 270 by 15,000. The result is $0.018 or 1.8 cents.

Bear in mind that the number of bonus miles you earn when flying with Alaska Airlines or any of its airline partners depends not just on your membership status but also on the cabin in which you fly. For example, you can often expect a higher bonus when flying first or business class as compared to economy or premium economy.

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program fares better than most other frequent flyer programs offered by U.S. and international airlines.

You can earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles in different ways, which include flying with Alaska Airlines, its airline partners or any airline that’s part of the oneworld Alliance. Earning bonus miles is possible through the program’s multiple membership levels. You can also earn Mileage Plan miles when you use an Alaska Airlines co-branded rewards credit card to make purchases and through the program’s partner merchants.

Bank of America provides co-branded Alaska Airlines credit cards for consumers and business owners. Both cards enable you to earn bonus miles on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, and you also earn miles on all other purchases. You stand to earn a spend-based welcome bonus no matter which card you select.

The Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa credit card comes with a $95 annual fee. Eligible Alaska Airlines purchases earn 3X miles per dollar, and you earn 2X miles per dollar on eligible streaming services, gas, cable and local transit purchases (which includes ride shares and even tolls and ferries). You get 1X miles per dollar on all other purchases.

If you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days, you receive 70,000 bonus miles as well as a companion fare, from $122. You also get a companion fare on every account anniversary if you have spent $6,000 on the card in the previous anniversary year.

You and up to six guests on the same booking get your first bag checked for free and priority boarding. In-flight Alaska Airlines purchases come with 20% back, and if you want an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership, pay with the card to get $100 off.

Plus, using this card outside of the U.S. is perfect because it does not charge foreign transaction fees.

The Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Business credit card charges a $50 annual fee per company and a $25 annual fee per card. You get 3X miles per dollar on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. All other purchases come with 1X miles per dollar. Spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 90 days gets you 40,000 bonus miles and a companion fare. All cardholders also receive an annual companion fare.

Flying with Alaska Airlines gives you and up to six guests on the same booking the ability to get your first bag checked for free. Alaska Airlines in-flight purchases come with 20% back. This card comes with no foreign transaction fees. You also get access to different tools for cash flow management.

Alaska Airlines runs the Mileage Plan as its frequent flyer program. You earn miles when you fly with Alaska Airlines as well as with its partner airlines and all oneworld Alliance members. Plus, there are several other ways to earn miles. While redeeming your miles for flight tickets is the most common option, it's also possible to redeem them for seat upgrades or to book hotel stays. You have your pick of over 900 destinations and over 400,000 properties.

Signing up for the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program is free, and you may do so online. To complete the application, you will need to provide your name, date of birth, phone number, email address and mailing address.

This airline rewards program comes with four elite membership levels. Moving up levels requires that you earn a minimum number of miles and fly a minimum number of flights operated and marketed by Alaska Airlines. Eligible segments also play a role.

Depending on your membership status, you may earn up to 150% bonus miles. Other tier-specific Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan elite benefits include priority check-in and boarding, free checked bags, preferred seating, express security line, Alaska Lounge day passes and complimentary same-day flight changes.

You earn Mileage Plan miles each time you buy an airline ticket from Alaska Airlines, its global partners or members of the oneworld Alliance. The miles you earn depend on the distance of the flight, not the price of the ticket. When you use the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card or the Alaska Airlines Visa Business credit card to make eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, you earn 3X miles per dollar.

You also stand to earn bonus miles when you fly with Alaska Airlines' global partners. However, the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan mileage earning chart shows that this number varies depending on the airline you choose, the cabin type and the fare class. For example, if you book a U or D fare business class ticket with Singapore Airlines, you earn 100% bonus miles. If the fare class changes to Z, C or J, you get 125% bonus miles.

Spending on eligible oneworld flights also enables you to earn elite bonus miles.

Earning Mileage Plan miles is possible when you make purchases through any of the program’s partner merchants, which include hotels, cruises, car rental companies and more. In addition, while there are no Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan transfer partners to whom you may transfer your miles, you can use your miles to book hotel stays at any of over 400,000 properties through Alaska Airlines Hotels.

You may buy miles through the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. Each mile costs two cents or more. This is higher than the average Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles value. As a result, buying miles might make sense only if your plans to redeem those miles yield a higher value. The program also runs promotional offers through which you may earn bonus miles when buying miles.

There is no limit to the number of miles you may buy if you have elite status. Program members with no elite status may purchase up to 150,000 miles each calendar year. However, the bonus miles you earn do not count toward this limit.

Bear in mind that the Mileage Plan program lets you buy no more than 100,000 miles through a single transaction. So, if you wish to buy 260,000 miles, you’ll need to carry out three transactions.

If you're wondering how to redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, know that you may use them to fly with Alaska Airlines, its global partners or any oneworld Alliance member. You need to book all award travel through Alaska Airlines. You may make most bookings online.

How much Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are worth depends on the airline you select, the route you wish to fly and the cabin type. For example, flying one way from the U.S. to Asia with Hainan Airlines requires 30,000 miles for economy class and 50,000 miles for business class. With Korean Air, this changes to 70,000 miles for economy and 105,000 miles for business.

You may use the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan redemption chart to get an idea of how many miles you might need to fly with different partner airlines.

You can also redeem your miles for seat upgrades, hotel stays, magazine subscriptions and more.

Even though the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan redemption chart mentions how many miles you will need to book travel across different routes, there is no mention of time frames, so just how many days you book your ticket before departure may impact the value you get for your miles. This is also the case if you plan to travel during the peak holiday season from December 22 to 29.

• Up to 15 days in advance – 1.1 cents per mile
• 16 to 180 days in advance – 1.5 cents per mile
• During the peak holiday season – 1.2 cents per mile

The routes you wish to travel and the airline you select have more of a bearing on the value you get for your miles. For example, you stand to get better value for your miles if you fly business class to Asia with Cathay Pacific instead of American Airlines. In addition, you stand to get better value by using the program’s stopover policy. Consider these examples for one-way travel:

Taking a long-haul flight in business class from Tokyo to New Delhi with Japan Airlines requires just 25,000 miles. Flying first class from Fort Worth to Sydney with Qantas Airways requires 55,000 miles.

You need 40,000 miles to travel to Fiji and Australia with Fiji Airlines. A one-way business class ticket for the same needs 55,000 miles.

Flying with Cathay Pacific to a host of Asia destinations after stopping over in Hong Kong requires 30,000 miles for economy class. You'll need 50,000 miles for business class and 70,000 miles for first class.

MoneyGeek experts have taken a close look at how the value of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles changes based on different redemption methods. They have also carried out in-depth market research to determine the worth of your points.

Checking the answers to other commonly asked questions about the value you stand to receive through the Alaska Airlines membership program might help you determine how best to redeem the miles you earn.