Ever since Alaska Airlines (AS) and Hainan Airlines (HU) became partners last year, points and miles enthusiasts have been eager to see the award chart for redeeming AS miles on Hainan flights. Today the pricing is finally out. Without further ado, take a look at the chart below:
As you can see, a one-way business class award between China and the U.S. costs only 50,000 miles. After the AA devaluation, this is arguably the best mainstream mileage option for a one-way business class redemption between China and the U.S. (UA, AA, and DL all charge 70,000 one way, while ANA charges 95,000 round trip). Do note, however, that redeeming Hainan one way comes with about $100-$200 in YQ, i.e. fuel surcharges. The pleasant surprise is that, unlike Cathay Pacific awards that require a phone call, Hainan award tickets can be booked directly on the AS website! You can use this link to book: AS award booking
Hainan Airlines' U.S.-China routes include the following: Beijing-Seattle/Boston/Chicago/San Jose, Changsha-Los Angeles, and Shanghai-Boston/Seattle.
Hainan Airlines has been named a SKYTRAX five-star airline for four consecutive years, and its service is considered among the best of mainland Chinese carriers. Thanks to Hainan's extensive domestic network, this partnership also allows AS miles to be used for award tickets from the U.S. to secondary and tertiary cities within China. Meanwhile, Seattle and San Jose are traditional Alaska Airlines hubs, which means easy connections onto Alaska's domestic network to many smaller U.S. cities. That is excellent news for readers in North America. Below is Hainan Airlines' Boeing 787 fully flat business class cabin (image source: Civil Aviation Resource Net):
Before looking at redemption examples, let's review the award rules mentioned in Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Guide (2) - Redeeming Miles: you can book Hainan-only itineraries, or mixed Hainan + AS itineraries, but you cannot book Hainan + AA or Hainan + any other AS partner on the same award. The biggest sweet spot here is that an intercontinental award can include one stopover! (If you are not yet familiar with stopovers and open jaws, see this article: Stopover and Open-Jaw Policies for Major Airlines.)
In the previous post, we already explained how to use the one-way stopover benefit to add an extra intra-Asia flight for free on trips back to China. Previously, this perk mainly benefited readers in the Pearl River Delta. Now that Hainan can be redeemed, the list of cities that can benefit expands across the country. Let's start with a simple example:
You could fly Hainan's A330 lie-flat business class from Seattle back to Beijing, rest there for a while, then continue on to Chengdu. The price is still 50,000 AS miles + $184 YQ, exactly the same as redeeming only Seattle-Beijing in business class. Since you get a free domestic segment, why not use it to explore more of China?
If your home base in China is not Beijing, Shanghai, Changsha, or another city with nonstop service to the U.S., there is no need to worry. This stopover can also be in other cities. For example, Xi'an. The ticket below shows a U.S.-Xi'an itinerary with an added Xi'an-Shenzhen segment for free:
After returning to Xi'an, you could rest for a bit and then head to Shenzhen or Hong Kong for fun. You can use the same trick on the return as well: fly from Shenzhen/Hong Kong back to Xi'an, take a break, and then continue back to the U.S. Making full use of Alaska's stopover rules can make your trip back to China much more interesting.
AS and Hainan can also be combined on one ticket, with a stopover added as well. Can you tell where the stopover is on the award below?
In theory, this free segment could go to other countries in Asia as well. Unfortunately, on the AS website we were not able to find award space to other Asian countries; the intra asia examples we found were limited to domestic China. This may be a bug from the newly launched integration, or it may be that Hainan has blocked award tickets from China to other Asian countries. OneMoreDay will keep an eye on this and provide updates.
Since bookings only opened today, award space is relatively plentiful, and finding two or three business class seats on transpacific flights is not difficult. We expect transpacific business class award space to become scarcer over time, so if you want tickets for summer travel back to China, now is the time to book.
Ways to Earn the Miles
AS miles mainly come from four sources:
- Alaska's recurring buy miles promotions with a 40% bonus. At the cheapest price, the cost is 2 cents per mile. Given the high value of AS miles, that can still be reasonable.
- AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest credit card (the SPG card): the current welcome bonus on this card is 25,000 SPG points, which can be converted into 30,000 AS miles. Since this is also an AMEX card, you can often take advantage of money-saving AMEX Offers.
- Transfers via Marriott Travel Packages. For a detailed introduction, see ymlulu's articles Complete Guide to Marriott Travel Packages (1) and Complete Guide to Marriott Travel Packages (2). If you want to accumulate enough points for a travel package, the fastest method is of course through credit card welcome bonuses and everyday spending. The following credit cards are related to Marriott points:
- 【Historical High Offer】 Chase Marriott Premier credit card: this card currently has a record-high 87,500-point welcome bonus. Including the points from meeting the minimum spending requirement, you can earn 90,000 points total, which can be converted into 30,000 SPG points and then into 35,000 AS miles. An even better approach is to redeem Marriott points for a travel package: 270,000 Marriott points can get you 7 free nights at a category 1-5 hotel plus 120,000 AS miles. Since SPG points can be transferred to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio, applying for this card together with the SPG card above is a great way to build toward a travel package. For more details, see ymlulu's Complete Guide to Marriott Travel Packages (1) and Complete Guide to Marriott Travel Packages (2). In addition, this card comes with a free category 1-5 night each year when you pay the $85 annual fee, making it a good long-term keeper.
- 【Historical High Offer】 Chase Sapphire Preferred-CSP (55,000 UR points as a welcome bonus, 2x on travel purchases; UR points can be transferred to Marriott at 1:1)
- 【Recent High】 Chase Freedom (17,500 UR points as a welcome bonus, 5x on quarterly categories, no annual fee; if you have CSP, points can be transferred to Marriott at 1:1)
- Chase Ritz-Carlton (has previously offered a 140,000-point Marriott welcome bonus)
- BofA Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card: the best available welcome bonus on this card right now is 25,000 AS miles + $100. This article explains how to get the best offer on this card. First, go to the AS website and start booking a ticket. After entering passenger information, but before entering credit card details, you may see this welcome offer on the page. Those with short credit history or lower credit scores should proceed carefully.