Your complete guide to Alaska Airlines partners - The Points Guy (2024)

Editor's note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

Even if you aren't on the West coast or don't live near an Alaska Airlines hub, you can still get a ton of value from the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. Sure, you can use Alaska miles for flights on Alaska Airlines, but the real sweet spots of the Alaska Mileage Plan program lie in its wide selection of partners.

Alaska Airlines miles aren't as easy to earn as other programs since Marriott Bonvoy is the only major transferrable currency you can transfer into the program. However, there are still several options if you want to earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles for your next redemption.

Here's what you need to know about earning and redeeming with Alaska Mileage Plan partners.

Alaska Mileage Plan airline partners

You can redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on Oneworld partner airlines, including Oneworld connect airline Fiji Airways. Specifically, here are Alaska's Oneworld partners:

• American Airlines.
• British Airways.
• Cathay Pacific.
• Fiji Airways (a Oneworld connect airline).
• Finnair.
• Iberia.
• Japan Airlines.
• Malaysia Airlines.
• Qantas.
• Qatar Airways.
• Royal Air Maroc.
• Royal Jordanian.
• SriLankan Airlines.

Alaska also has several non-Oneworld airline partners. While redemptions aren't available on all of them, Alaska's non-Oneworld airline partners include:

• Aer Lingus.
• Air Tahiti Nui.
• Condor.
• El Al Israel Airlines.
• Hainan Airlines.
• Icelandair.
• Korean Air.
• LATAM Airlines.
• Mokulele Airlines + Southern Airways Express.
• Ravn Alaska.
• Singapore Airlines.

Related: Your complete guide to earning and redeeming with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

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Alaska Mileage Plan award charts

Until the final days of 2022, Alaska Mileage Plan offered award charts on its website for each of its partner airlines. But now, you'll only find three award charts on Alaska's website: a North American award chart, a Money and Miles award chart for Alaska fights and an international award chart.

Related: Alaska Mileage Plan publishes a new partner award chart

Here's the North American award chart:

Here's the Money and Miles award chart:

And here's the international award chart:

These award charts only show starting rates for award flights on Alaska Mileage Plan partners. And the note at the bottom of the international award chart states you'll need to search using your origin, destination and dates to view pricing for awards to and from points outside the U.S. and Canada.

Since redemptions aren't available on all partners and Alaska's agreements with some partners don't allow for redemptions on all routes, you'll need to search for your desired award on Alaska's website to know whether it's available (and if so, how much it will cost).

Related: Maximizing redemptions with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Redeeming Alaska miles for a partner award flight

To search for award availability and pricing, go to the Alaska Airlines website, log in to your Mileage Plan account and select the "Use miles" box before searching.

You can also check the "Award calendar" box before searching for an award to see a calendar view. Then you can select the award type.

The calendar view is particularly helpful if you have a flexible travel schedule and are looking for less-expensive partners. For example, consider these one-way business-class partner awards from New York to Hong Kong:

You could redeem 120,000 Alaska miles plus $26 per person for a mixed-cabin award on Korean Air. Or you could redeem 100,000 Alaska miles plus $25 for a business-class award on Singapore Airlines. But you could also redeem just 50,000 Alaska miles plus $19 for a business-class award on Cathay Pacific.

Caveats

Here are some things to know if you want to redeem Alaska miles on partners:

• Itineraries that include one or more partner award segments incur a $12.50 nonrefundable fee per person, per way.
• You can't book a stopover on awards within international regions (such as intra-Asia or intra-Europe).
• If your origin and destination are outside the U.S. and Canada, you must book at least 72 hours before departure.
• Alaska Mileage Plan awards for select partners, including British Airways, Hainan Airlines and Icelandair, face a high carrier-imposed charge.
• You can't use Alaska miles to book a Ravn Alaska award between Fairbanks and Anchorage.
• If you redeem Alaska miles for a one-way Korean Air award, you'll pay the same amount of miles as if you booked a round-trip award.
• For international partner award bookings, lap infants may not be accepted. Alaska's website recommends booking a seat at the standard mileage rate for infants on these flights.

Additionally, remember that you can't mix partner airlines. In particular, all award tickets must be operated by a single partner. That said, you can add Alaska Airlines flights to a partner itinerary.

Related: How to book free stopovers with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Sweet spots

Alaska's removal of partner-specific award charts may be a precursor to removing some of the best partner sweet spots. However, at least for now, we're still seeing many of our favorite Alaska Mileage Plan sweet spots.

One of the best uses of Alaska miles is to book business or first class awards on Cathay Pacific. Before Alaska removed its Cathay Pacific award chart, we knew one-way awards on Cathay Pacific from the U.S. to Asia were 50,000 miles in business class and 70,000 miles in first class. Now, all the Alaska Mileage Plan international award chart tells us is that one-way partner awards from the U.S. to Asia start at 50,000 miles in business class and 70,000 miles in first class.

While updating this story, we found no first-class award availability on Cathay Pacific between the U.S. and Hong Kong. So we can't confirm these awards are still bookable for 70,000 Alaska miles each way. But we did find one-way business class awards on Cathay Pacific bookable for 50,000 miles plus minimal taxes and fees.

You can also tack on a stop in Hong Kong for free before continuing somewhere else in Asia (like Bali) for the same miles as ending your trip in Hong Kong.

Alaska Mileage Plan miles can also be a great way to get to Fiji. Before Alaska removed its Fiji Airways award chart, we knew one-way awards on Fiji Airways between the U.S. (Los Angeles and San Francisco) and Nadi, Fiji, cost 40,000 miles in economy or 55,000 miles in business class. And luckily, we're still seeing this pricing:

If you're considering booking, know you can add a stopover in Fiji and then continue to Australia for the same amount of miles.

Related: How to plan a trip to Fiji without breaking the bank

Other partner redemptions with Alaska Mileage Plan

Besides award flights, there are other ways to redeem Alaska miles. Here's a quick overview of some of the non-airline partners with whom you can redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles:

• Alaska Airlines Hotels: You can redeem Alaska miles for hotel stays when you book through the Alaska Airlines Hotels portal. You can redeem fewer miles for stays if you have an Alaska Airlines credit card.
• Transfer miles to someone else: You can transfer miles to another Alaska Mileage Plan member at a rate of $10 per 1,000 miles.
• Donate your miles: You can donate your miles to a selection of charities through Alaska's CARE Miles program.
• Redeem miles for magazines: You can redeem miles for magazine subscriptions through MagsForMiles.
• Alaska Airlines Extras: You can redeem miles for experiences, shows, sporting events and more through Alaska Airlines Extras.

However, before you redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles with these partners, consider whether doing so will provide good value. For example, paying to transfer your Alaska miles to someone else likely won't provide good value. But, redeeming miles for tickets to a sporting event through Alaska Airlines Extras could provide good value in some cases.

Related: 5 ways the TPG staff would redeem 70,000 Alaska miles

Earning with Alaska Mileage Plan partners

To take advantage of Alaska's partner redemptions, you need Alaska miles. You can, of course, earn miles when you fly with Alaska Airlines. But here's how to earn Alaska miles with Mileage Plan partners.

Fly with partner airlines

As mentioned above, you can earn miles when you fly with Alaska Airlines. But you can also earn Alaska miles on most flights operated or marketed by Alaska's partners.

Earning rates vary by airline and fare class — and not all fares earn Alaska miles. To see how your flight will earn if you credit it to Alaska Mileage Plan, go to Alaska's partner airline page, click on the airline that sold your flight and check out the earning table.

For example, here's the earning table for flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by either American or another Oneworld airline:

If you're booked into a fare class not listed above, you won't earn any miles if you credit your flight to Alaska.

Get an Alaska Airlines credit card

An easy way to earn Alaska miles is to add an Alaska Airlines credit card to your wallet.

You could sign-up for the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card, which currently offers 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.

Or you could sign-up for the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card, which currently offers a sign-up bonus of 50,000 bonus miles and Alaska's Famous Companion Fare; ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

With both Alaska credit cards, you'll earn 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Transfer Marriott points to Alaska

The Alaska Mileage Plan program is also a Marriott Bonvoy transfer partner. For every 3 Marriott points you transfer, you'll get 1 Alaska mile. Plus, you'll get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. However, Marriott transfers may take four days to arrive in your Alaska account.

Alaska Mileage Plan hotel partners

If you want to earn Alaska miles on your hotel stays, you can book through Alaska Airlines Hotels to earn up to 10,000 miles per night. Or, you could book directly with the following brands and set your earning preference to Alaska Mileage Plan miles:

• Best Western Hotels and Resorts: Earn 250 miles per stay on qualifying rates.
• Marriott Bonvoy: Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on all qualifying charges or 1 mile per dollar spent on the room rate (depending on the hotel).
• Choice Hotels: Earn 250 miles per eligible stay at participating hotels.
• Rocketmiles: Earn 500 to 10,000 miles per night.
• Coast Hotels: Earn 250 miles per stay on qualifying rates.
• Westmark Hotels: Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on room accommodations at a qualified rate.
• InterContinental Hotels Group: Earn up to 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible charges or 500 miles per qualifying stay (depending on the hotel).

Before you earn Alaska miles on your hotel stay, consider whether you'd earn more valuable rewards through the hotel's loyalty program. For example, I'd rather earn Marriott Bonvoy or IHG One Rewards points when I stay with hotels in those programs.

Alaska Mileage Plan car rental and rides partners

If you want to earn Alaska miles on car rentals, you could book your rental through Alaska Airlines Car Rental and earn 50 miles per rental day on most rentals. Or, you can opt to earn Alaska miles on car rentals and rides with the following Mileage Plan partners:

• Lyft: Link your Alaska Mileage Plan and Lyft accounts to earn 1 mile per dollar spent on Lyft rides.
• Avis and Budget: Earn 50 miles per rental day on rentals of one to four days or 500 miles on rentals of five days or more.
• Dollar and Thrifty: You'll typically earn 50 miles per rental day. But through June 30, 2023, you can earn 150 miles per rental day on rentals of three days or longer.
• Hertz: You'll typically earn 50 miles per rental day on rentals of one to four days or 500 miles per rental on rentals of five or more days. However, through June 30, 2023, you can earn four times the miles.
• Alamo and National: Earn 50 miles per rental day.

Before you opt to earn Alaska miles on your car rental, read the linked partner page. Some partners require you to book your car rental using a special code or exclude some rental locations. And some partners only provide miles for rentals in select countries.

Other Alaska Mileage Plan partners

Finally, several other Alaska Mileage Plan partners let you earn Alaska miles on your purchases. Here's a look at some of these partners:

• Mileage Plan Dining: Earn miles when you use an enrolled card to pay at participating restaurants, bars and clubs.
• Mileage Plan Shopping: Earn miles when you click through the Alaska shopping portal to a participating merchant and make an eligible purchase.
• CuisesOnly: Earn 1 mile per dollar spent (up to 10,000 Mileage Plan miles) when you book a cruise.
• 1-800-Flowers.com: Earn 20 miles per dollar spent when using promo code AKA3.
• Carrs/Safeway stores in the state of Alaska: Earn 1 point per dollar spent on groceries and 2 points per dollar spent on gift cards. Once you earn 100 points, you get a reward you can clip for 100 Mileage Plan miles.

Many more niche Alaska Mileage Plan partners let you earn miles on everyday purchases. Check out Alaska's Everyday partners page for more details.

Related: How to earn miles with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Bottom line

Alaska Mileage Plan has some extremely valuable partners. In particular, the program's airline partners offer some extremely valuable redemption options.

There are plenty of options to earn Alaska miles with partners, including car rentals, dining and shopping. That said, the easiest ways to earn Alaska miles are with cobranded credit cards like the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card or by transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy.

Additional reporting by Benji Stawski and Victoria M. Walker.

Updated 9/27/23