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Alaska Airlines announced significant changes to its award charts that start in March 2024. These updates will affect awards on flights operated by Alaska as well as partner award flights.
Frequent flyer program changes like this are rarely uniformly positive for consumers. These changes will eliminate some of the most valuable sweet spots Alaska’s Mileage Plus plan offers—and open new opportunities.
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Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card
On Bank of America's Website
3.4
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On Bank of America's Website
Up to 3X Reward Rate
Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases, 2 miles for every $1 spent onRead More
Welcome Bonus
60,000 bonus miles
Annual Fee
$95
Regular APR
20.24% - 28.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
Credit Score
Good, Excellent(700 - 749)
Editorial Review
For West Coast frequent fliers, the Alaska Airlines card is worth a serious look. You’ll snag the prized annual Companion Fare when you spend $6,000 in the prior anniversary year, plus a free checked bag, Visa Signature benefits and other perks, which easily offset the annual fee.
Pros & Cons
- Redeem miles for flights with over 30 airline global partners
- Free checked bag on Alaska Airlines
- Annual Companion fare (earned with $6,000 or more in spending the prior anniversary year)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Limited flight options on the East Coast and in the Midwest
- Companion ticket is limited to Alaska Airlines flights
Card Details
- LIMITED TIME ONLINE OFFER—60,000 Bonus Miles!
- Get 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
- Get Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) each account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior anniversary year. Valid on all Alaska Airlines flights booked on alaskaair.com.
- Earn unlimited 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases. Earn unlimited 2 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, cable, streaming services and local transit (including ride share) purchases. And earn unlimited 1 mile per $1 spent on all other purchases. And, your miles don’t expire on active accounts.
- Earn a 10% rewards bonus on all miles earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account.
- Free checked bag and enjoy priority boarding for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation, when you pay for your flight with your card — Also available for authorized users when they book a reservation too!
- With oneworld® Alliance member airlines and Alaska’s Global Partners, Alaska has expanded their global reach to over 1,000 destinations worldwide bringing more airline partners and more ways to earn and redeem miles.
- Plus, no foreign transaction fees and a low $95 annual fee.
- This online only offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Get 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
New Alaska Airlines Award Charts
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will operate a distance-based award chart for its own flights and is implementing unified partner award charts. Before, Alaska published different charts for each carrier, which could make understanding how many miles were needed for a specific route clumsy.
Starting in March 2024, Alaska will operate four award charts: one for its own flights and three for partner airlines. Alaska has over 25 airlines partners, including:
- American Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Air Tahiti Nui
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Fiji Airways
- Icelandair
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
- LATAM Airlines
- Qantas
- Singapore Airlines
- And more. See the full list here.
These changes put Alaska’s program in line with others like Air Canada Aeroplan, which also uses a distance-based chart to price awards.
Alaska Airlines Award Chart in March 2024
This chart applies to flights operated by Alaska Airlines from the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada.
| From the Contiguous U.S., including Alaska and Canada, to | Economy starting at | First class starting at |
|---|---|---|
Contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada: less than 700 miles | 5,000 | 15,000 |
Contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada: 701 to 1,400 miles | 7,500 | 25,000 |
Contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada: 1,401 to 2,100 miles | 10,000 | 25,000 |
Contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada: 2,101 miles and above | 12,500 | 30,000 |
Hawaii: all distances | 15,000 | 40,000 |
Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean: all distances | 10,000 | 30,000 |
Partner Award Chart for the Americas
This chart includes travel on partner airlines from the U.S. to and within North America, the Caribbean islands, and Central and South America.
| Distance in miles | Economy starting at | Premium economy starting at | Business class starting at | First class starting at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Less than 700 | 4,500 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 13,500 |
701 to 1,400 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 |
1,401 to 2,100 | 12,500 | 17,500 | 25,000 | 40,000 |
2,101 to 4,000 | 17,500 | 22,500 | 35,000 | 52,500 |
4,001 to 6,000 | 25,000 | 32,500 | 50,000 | 75,000 |
6,001 and above | 30,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
Partner Award Chart for Europe, the Middle East and Africa
This chart includes travel on partner airlines from the U.S. to and within Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
| Distance in miles | Economy starting at | Premium economy starting at | Business class starting at | First class starting at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Less than 1,500 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 22,500 |
1,501 to 3,500 | 22,500 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 67,500 |
3,501 to 5,000 | 27,500 | 35,000 | 55,000 | 82,500 |
5,001 to 7,000 | 35,000 | 45,000 | 70,000 | 105,000 |
7,001 to 10,000 | 42,500 | 55,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 |
10,000 and above | 55,000 | 72,500 | 110,000 | 165,000 |
Partner Award Chart for Asia Pacific
This chart includes travel on partner airlines from the U.S. to and within Asia Pacific, defined as Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the South Pacific, Japan and Korea. It also includes travel between Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
| Distance in miles | Economy starting at | Premium economy starting at | Business class starting at | First class starting at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Less than 1,500 | 7,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 22,500 |
1,501 to 3,000 | 25,000 | 32,500 | 50,000 | 75,000 |
3,001 to 5,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
5,001 to 7,000 | 37,500 | 50,000 | 75,000 | 110,000 |
7,001 to 10,000 | 42,500 | 55,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 |
10,000 and above | 65,000 | 85,000 | 130,000 | 195,000 |
Sunsetting Sweet Spots
As one of the few remaining airlines to operate a zone-based award chart, Alaska has been known for some of the highest-value sweet spots in travel rewards. One, in particular, was the opportunity to fly to Asia for 50,000 Alaska miles in business class or 70,000 miles in first class to Asia.
A business-class flight from Boston to Hong Kong that would be 50,000 Alaska miles under the 2023 award chart will now come out to 85,000 Alaska miles. Sadly, this sweet spot has soured with the move to a distance-based chart causing a 70% increase in the miles required to book an award flight. Many of the sweet spots lost include long-haul international flights like this, particularly in upper-class cabins.
New Bright Spots
Alaska touts 60% of nonstop partner routes in economy and 64% in business class will start at a lower rate. This is at least true for short hops. Flights under 700 miles on partner airlines will begin at 4,500 Alaska miles one way. Previously, these flights started at 7,500 miles.
A flight between Seattle and San Francisco maps out at just under 700 miles. That means if saver space is available on a partner-operated flight, the cost will be just 4,500 Alaska miles. The Alaska-operated route will start at 5,000 Alaska miles.
Additionally, Alaska will continue offering one stopover in each direction on international itineraries. These stopovers can last up to 14 days and don’t cost any additional miles.
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Bottom Line
While these changes are, indeed, significant, the value of Alaska’s Mileage Plan program wasn’t completely wiped out and could have been much worse. New sweet spots will be available and it’ll be much easier to price out awards with unified charts for partners.
There’s still value in the program overall—and note there’s still time to take advantage of the current award chart. So if you find award space at current prices, book away.
