Earn
Even You You can redeem miles for some of the most sought-after premium award seats on airlines like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and many more.
Although Alaska Airlines miles haven’t traditionally been as easy to earn as those of other programs, with the recent Hawaiian Airlines acquisition news, there’s an interesting new way to convert American Express Membership Rewards points to Alaska’s Mileage Plan.
You can redeem Mileage Plan miles for great rewards, including saving up to 50% on award redemptions to popular destinations using the airline’s Global Getaway promotion.
Are you unfamiliar with earning Mileage Plan miles? How Alaska Earn Unfortunately, Alaska’s basic economy “Saver fare” product earns just 30% of the miles flown.
Meanwhile, tickets booked in higher fare classes earn bonus miles. Here’s the earning chart for Alaska-operated and -marketed flights to determine how many miles you’ll earn on your next trip (while there are two tables depending on whether your travel is in 2024 or 2025, the earning rates on Alaska Airlines flights are the same):
ALASKAAIR.COM
To figure out your flight distance, we recommend using Great Circle Mapper. A These fares earn 100% of base miles (1,716 miles flown) and a 75% class-of-service bonus (1,287 miles).
Elite status bonus
Additionally, those with Alaska Airlines elite status will earn additional bonuses on their Alaska-operated tickets. Here’s how many bonus Mileage Plan miles each MVP status tier earns on these flights through 2024:
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Alaska MVP
: 50% bonus
MVP Gold
: 100% bonus
MVP Gold 75K
: 125% bonus
- MVP Gold 100K: 150% bonus
- From Jan. 1, 2025, the bonus miles will be awarded as follows:Alaska MVP
- : 25% bonusMVP Gold
- : 50% bonusMVP Gold 75K
: 100% bonus
- MVP Gold 100K: 150% bonus
- These bonuses only apply to the 100% base miles flown, not any class-of-service bonuses for higher fare classes.Related: What is Alaska Airlines elite status worth?
- Earn by flying with partnersWhen flying a partner airline booked on Alaska Airlines ticket stock (a codeshare flight operated by a partner but booked with an Alaska flight number), you’ll earn 100% of the base miles flown except for basic economy (fare code X), which awards 30%. When For To check how many miles you’ll earn on your partner ticket, head to Alaska Airlines’ partner page, find the partner you’re flying and check the chart for your booking class, as each chart will be slightly different.
- Here’s the British Airways earning chart for travel in 2024:ALASKAAIR.COM
Starting in January, Mileage Plan is simplifying how frequent flyers earn miles when traveling on partners. The number of miles you earn will depend on whether the flight is booked through Alaska’s website or a partner’s website and your fare class.
Note that Starlux Airlines flights booked via a partner site are not eligible to earn Mileage Plan elite-qualifying miles.
Alaska Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance, and you can earn miles on all Oneworld airlines, including:
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Fiji Airways (Oneworld Connect partner)
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
- Further, the airline has a plethora of nonalliance partners with which to earn miles, including:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Condor
- El Al Israel Airlines
- Hainan Airlines
- Icelandair
- Korean Air (SkyTeam)
LATAM Airlines
- Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance)
- Starlux Airlines
- Aleutian Airways
- Bahamasair
- Cape Air
- Contour Airlines
- Kenmore Air
- Mokulele Airlines
- Southern Airways Express
- Related: How to redeem miles with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn Alaska miles with credit cards
- One of the easiest ways to earn a large chunk of Mileage Plan miles without flying is through Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards issued by Bank of America.
- One option is the
- Alaska Airlines Visa Signature(r) credit card
- , which carries a $95 annual fee. Earn The As a limited-time welcome offer, receive 50,000 bonus miles and Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $3,000 or more purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- Note that these cards both offer a free checked bag for you and up to six other guests on the same reservation when you pay for your flight with the card and include discounts on inflight purchases and lounge passes.
- When spending with either the personal or business card, you will earn the following miles:
3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases
1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
Additionally, starting on Jan. 1, 2025, if you hold the Alaska personal or business credit card, you will earn 1 elite qualifying mile for every $3 spent (up to 30,000 EQMs each year).Alaska Airlines transfer partnersTransfer Bilt Points to Alaska Mileage Plan
In March 2024, Bilt Rewards added Alaska Mileage Plan as a transfer partner. You Plus, Alaska Airlines cardholders earn 3 miles per dollar spent (on up to $50,000 annually) when paying rent through Bilt using their Alaska Airlines Visa credit card.Transfer HawaiianMiles to Alaska Mileage PlanSince the merger of Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, you can also transfer miles between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines at a 1:1 rate.
Therefore, if you’re in the market for a new credit card and a way to earn additional Alaska miles without opening an Alaska credit card, you can consider opening a Hawaiian Airlines cobranded credit card.
Hawaiian Airlines cards are currently offering the following welcome bonuses:
- Hawaiian Airlines(r) World Elite Mastercard(r)
- : Earn 70,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days.
- Hawaiian Airlines(r) Business Mastercard(r)
: Earn 50,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
The information for the Hawaiian Mastercard and Hawaiian Business Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. This However, it has been reported that this transfer option may become obsolete in 2025.
Related: Transfer Hawaiian miles (and by extension, Amex points) to Alaska Airlines
Transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska
INN AT BELLEFIELD, RESIDENCE INN BY MARRIOTT HYDE PARK/FACEBOOK
Even if you don’t have any Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines credit cards in your wallet, it’s still possible to generate miles by transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 ratio. You’ll also earn a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.
If you want to transfer your points to book an award flight, make sure you check/find availability
before
- making any point transfers, as transfers are irreversible.Earn business rewards with EasyBiz
- Alaska Airlines has a business rewards program called EasyBiz. This Rewards earned with EasyBiz are in addition to the employee’s mileage earnings, so both parties win.Businesses earn 1 Alaska mile for every dollar spent on base airfare. Access You After doing this, you’ll receive an EasyBiz number that you, your employees or your travel agent can attach to Alaska bookings.
Note that according to Alaska’s website, “new EasyBiz enrollments are currently unavailable as we make system updates. “
Earn Alaska miles with travel partners
JEFFREY GREENBERG/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES
You can also earn Alaska miles with other travel partners. You You In other words, you’ll need to decide which rewards currency you value most.
Further, you can earn Alaska miles instead of hotel points when you book with a handful of hotel groups at the following rates:
Hotel
Earning rateBest WesternEarn 250 miles per stay
Choice Privileges
Earn 250 miles per stay
Coast Hotels
Earn 500 miles per stay
IHG One Rewards
Earn up to 2 miles per $1 spent or up to 500 miles per stay
Marriott Bonvoy
Earn 2 miles per $1 on all qualifying charges, or 1 mile per $1 spent on the room rate, depending on the hotel
Rocketmiles
Earn 500 to 10,000 miles per night on every reservation.
Related: 10 ways you could be earning airline miles other than credit cards
| Rent a car and earn Alaska miles | You can also earn Alaska miles when booking car rentals through Alaska Airlines Car Rental. You You won’t earn rental car points on these bookings; prices may differ from booking directly. |
|---|---|
| You can also book directly with rental car companies and earn Alaska miles instead of rental car points at the following rates: | Rental car company |
| Earning rate | Alamo |
| 50 miles per day on qualifying rentals. Offer valid in the U.S. and Canada. | Avis |
| Up to 1,250 miles per rental | Budget |
| Up to 1,250 miles per rental | Dollar |
| 150 miles on rentals three days or longer through Dec. 31, 2024 | Hertz |
200 miles per day on rentals of one to four days or 2,000 miles per rental on rentals of five or more days until Dec. 31, 2024.
National
50 miles per day in the U.S. and Canada only
Thrifty
| 150 miles on rentals three days or longer | Related: How to never pay full price for a rental car |
|---|---|
| Earn Alaska miles with other partners | Additionally, you can earn Alaska miles through several Alaska Mileage Plan partners for everyday purchases like dining out and even shopping online. |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping | Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping is a great way to earn bonus Alaska miles on your online purchases in addition to the miles you already earn with your credit card. Sign up for a Mileage Plan Shopping account and find your merchant on the portal before purchasing. |
| Please note that each participating merchant offers a different number of miles per dollar spent, and their rates fluctuate frequently. Use a shopping portal aggregator like Cashback Monitor to compare earning potential across various sites. | Mileage Plan Shopping periodically offers promotions for spending a set amount of money or buying products from a specific merchant — keep an eye out for promotions. |
| Related: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping portal: Earn miles on your online purchases | Mileage Plan Dining |
| Do you dine out a lot? Mile It These Use The Sign You’ll be upgraded to VIP status once you dine 11 times in 12 months. | Select members earn 3 miles per dollar, while VIP members earn 5 miles per dollar. If To qualify for this offer, you must spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and review it on the Mileage Plan Dining website. |
| Related: Maximizing restaurant spending with dining rewards programs | Buy Alaska miles |
| Another way to earn Alaska miles is to purchase them outright. However, buying miles without a promotion typically offers a poor value proposition. | But Alaska frequently runs promotions for buying miles with bonuses of up to 50%. With up to a 50% bonus, your effective purchase price is 1.97 cents apiece, and while that is above TPG’s October 2024 valuations (which pegged Mileage Plan miles at 1.45 cents each), it can still unlock some great value. |
Related: Buy bonus points and miles with these promotions
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are among the most sought-after in the points and miles game. Although
