【2025.10 更新】Alaska changed the award chart for its own North America flights (all segments operated by Alaska). It is now purely distance-based, with no sub-regions. A lowest 4,500-point band was added, and the pricing for medium- and long-haul redemptions increased. Overall, it is a slight devaluation.

  • Short-haul Seattle (SEA) to Sacramento (SMF): under the old chart it started at 5,000, now it starts at 4,500. So this is a win.
  • Medium- and long-haul awards increased quite a bit. The old chart topped out at 2,101 miles, starting at 12,500. Now a 3,500-mile band has been added, starting at 20,000. For example, MSP-SEA-HNL used to be 15,000, now it costs 20,000.
  • Portland (PDX) to Cancun (CUN): trips to the Caribbean went up a lot too. This itinerary used to cost only 10,000 miles, but now it requires 20,000.
  • Fortunately, the partner-airline award chart we use most has not changed.

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan offers excellent elite benefits, a strong earn rate on flown miles, and high value when redeeming miles. Alaska recently devalued its award rates, but the program still has many things going for it. In this article, we will cover all aspects of the program, including the best ways to earn miles, how to get elite status, and how to use miles.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The airline has hubs in Anchorage, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and is a West Coast-focused carrier with service across California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Alaska, and Hawaii. Its international network covers western Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Compared with other major U.S. airlines, Alaska lacks a truly nationwide network. American Airlines, Delta, United, and Southwest all have far greater capacity and much broader network coverage than Alaska Airlines, which serves more than 120 destinations and operates about 1,300 flights per day.

At a time when the three major U.S. airlines all use dynamic pricing (miles tied to ticket prices), Alaska and its partners still have fixed award charts (based only on distance and regions), and there are still many excellent redemptions to be found. We will go into the details below.

In 2021, Alaska Airlines joined oneworld, which greatly expanded how you can use its miles. You can now redeem them for alliance flights such as American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and more.

In addition to oneworld airlines, Alaska also has other partners, including Aer Lingus, Hainan Airlines, Condor, Icelandair, Singapore Airlines, LATAM, Korean Air, Starlux, and Ravn Alaska, so its coverage is basically global.

Earning Miles

You can earn Alaska miles by flying paid tickets on Alaska or on its partners. But there are other ways to earn without flying, including Alaska co-branded credit cards (such as the Alaska Airlines Visa), transferring hotel points, converting Bilt Rewards points, car rentals, cashback portals, and more. Below, we will introduce the three main sources of miles.

Flying

Alaska is one of the few programs that still rewards redeemable miles based on distance flown (AA, UA, and Delta all earn based on ticket price). For example, a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle will earn 954 miles. That is the flight distance between Los Angeles International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Alaska awards at least 500 miles per segment, so even short flights earn at least 500 miles. In addition, elite members and premium cabins receive extra bonuses.

Partner flights earn 25% to 200% or more of the flown miles as redeemable miles. The earning rate depends on the partner airline, fare class, and flight number. Alaska has 13 oneworld alliance partners and 11 non-alliance partners whose miles can be credited to Alaska.

Credit Cards

Alaska, together with BofA, offers personal and business credit cards, and a premium version is still on the way.

The personal card is still very worth applying for; the sign-up bonus is quite good.

Apply now

Full review

BofA Atmos Rewards Ascent Credit Card

One companion fare each year; free checked bags; one free museum day every month!

  • Welcome bonus: 85,000 Alaska miles + 1 companion fare (spend $4,500 within 120 days)
  • Rewards: 3x on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines purchases; 2x on gas, EV charging, streaming, and public transit; 1x on all other purchases
  • Redemption: Redeemable for award flights on the airline and its partner airlines
  • Annual fee: $95
  • Apply now>>

Also, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are in the process of merging. Hawaiian Airlines miles can be converted 1:1 to Alaska miles, and these two cards will probably be discontinued soon, so consider applying for the sign-up bonus while you still can.

Besides the sign-up bonus, spending on the card can also slowly build miles. Since Alaska miles are relatively valuable, these cards can still make sense for everyday spending, especially purchases with Alaska itself. But compared with a 70,000 sign-up bonus, earning through spending is pretty slow.

Transferring Points

Right now, there are still not many banks that can transfer to Alaska miles. Only Bilt Rewards transfers 1:1. Marriott Bonvoy still transfers at 3:1, with 5,000 bonus points for every 20,000 points transferred. Since Alaska miles are relatively valuable, transferring from Marriott Bonvoy is still acceptable. Transfer ratios from other hotel programs are terrible, so there is basically no need to consider them.

If you need to pay rent, a mortgage, or HOA fees, getting a Bilt Rewards card to earn points is a great option.

Apply now

Full review

Bilt Rewards Credit Card

Earn points on rent payments, with a very large list of transfer partners!

  • Welcome bonus: Updated
  • Rewards: 5x at partner restaurants and Lyft; 3x at other restaurants; 2x on travel; 1x on rent payments (up to 100k points)
  • Redemption: Transfer 1:1 to many airline miles and hotel loyalty programs; redeem at 1.25c/p for travel purchases through Bilt Travel
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Apply now>>

Using Alaska Miles

As an airline that still keeps an award chart, Alaska has quite a bit more to talk about.

Award Chart


Alaska's own flights (including Hawaiian Airlines) and partner awards are priced based on both distance and region.

This is the chart for Alaska's own flights

The partner award chart has been changed to a distance-based chart. The mileage required for each region is different, as shown below (chart source: AwardWallet). Although Alaska says the mileage needed for business class and economy has gone down compared with before, that only applies to certain nonstop flights! For flights that require a connection, each segment is priced separately after the change, so the mileage required can increase dramatically! And after the change, long-haul awards cost a lot more miles.

Here are the charts and links so you can get a general sense. You can use GCmap to check the distance between two airports, then plug it into the table below to see how many miles you need. For example, if you enter SNA-ORD, the result is 1,726 miles, which falls into the 12,500/25,000 one-way starting range.

Checking it confirms that this is indeed the mileage required.

Search and Book Awards

The easiest and best way to search Alaska Airlines and partner awards is to search directly on the website. Alaska's own flights and most partner award tickets will show up. You can search for one-way, round-trip, or multi-city awards. No login is required to search award space.

You can view the availability of all award tickets directly

Sometimes Cathay Pacific and LATAM award tickets do not appear in the search results, and you need to call Alaska Airlines customer service to ticket them. You can use British Airways to search for the itinerary first, then call Alaska to book.

Award Ticket Fees

Alaska Airlines no longer charges fees on paid tickets or award tickets. Except for saver fares, you can only count on free cancellation within 24 hours after booking. However, there are other related fees to know about:

  • Change and cancellation fee: $0. However, Saver fares cannot be canceled or changed
  • Partner airline ticketing fee: $25 ($12.50 one-way), nonrefundable if canceled
  • Phone booking fee: $15

In addition, Alaska Airlines does not charge extra fees on award tickets on its own flights. But other airlines may add high surcharges. For example, taxes and fees on award tickets with Hainan Airlines and British Airways can be very high (for example, British Airways business class award ticket taxes and fees can exceed $800). Some award tickets have more reasonable fees, such as Cathay Pacific (about $70), while other awards have no extra charges beyond airport and government taxes.

Best Alaska Redemptions

Partner Business Class

Business class flights to Europe and some Japan Airlines flights offer excellent value. Here are some of the best options for redeeming Alaska miles (one-way pricing):

  • U.S. Northeast to Europe: For example, American Airlines business class from Boston (BOS) to London (LHR) costs 45,000 Alaska miles.
  • U.S. to Europe + one stopover: Finnair business class from New York (JFK) to Tallinn (TLL), via Helsinki (HEL), costs 55,000 Alaska miles.
  • Condor business class from Minneapolis (MSP) to Split (SPU), via Frankfurt (FRA), costs 55,000 Alaska miles.
  • Japan Airlines business class: Japan Airlines business class from Seattle (SEA) or Vancouver (YVR) to Tokyo (HND/NRT) costs 60,000 Alaska miles. If needed, you can also add one free stopover.
  • Qatar Airways business class: Qatar Airways Qsuite from New York (JFK) via Doha to Male (MLE) costs 85,000 Alaska miles.
  • U.S. West Coast to Hawaii: only 10,000 miles
  • Short-haul within the U.S.: Alaska's own flights are distance-based, and flights within 700 miles cost as little as 5,000 miles
  • Ultra-long-haul Singapore Airlines: New York to Singapore, 85,000 miles in business class

Free One-Way Stopover

Alaska Airlines also has one especially useful feature for travelers: you can add one free stopover on a one-way award. For example, if you want to spend five days each in Chicago and Los Angeles starting from New York, you would normally have to book two separate tickets, meaning two separate award itineraries. But if you use a stopover and make Chicago the stopover point for five days, you only need to pay the miles for the New York-Los Angeles segment. If you book a round trip, you can even have two stopovers.

However, Alaska Airlines stopovers have two restrictions: it must be on one operating airline, and the stopover point must be that airline's hub.

  • The itinerary below, with a three-day stay in Helsinki, costs the same miles as a direct connection

When booking, choose multi-city and set it up as A-B, then a few days later B-C.

Elite Status

In 2024, Alaska changed its elite status requirements. EQM became the only qualification metric. There are also milestone rewards as you reach each mileage threshold.

EQM is directly tied to the distance flown. Alaska's own flights earn 100%, while Saver fares earn only 30%. Partner airlines depend on the fare class.

In addition, Alaska's credit cards, partners, and even award tickets can earn miles! It really creates a snowball effect. If your spending is high enough, you may be able to earn elite status through credit card spending alone, without flying.

Alaska also offers status matching and fast-track options through certain companies

Summary

Alaska Airlines is still fairly old-school: miles are earned based on flight distance, and award tickets also have a rough chart you can use as a reference. The only downside is that earning opportunities are relatively limited. If you really like their miles and program, getting a cobranded card and putting your spend on it can also earn EQM, which is pretty nice.

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