Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a bit of a secret weapon for seasoned point hackers. This program occasionally sells miles cheaply to use on partner airlines like Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. These carriers are immensely popular with Australian-based travellers, with domestic and international destinations all covered.
With the right promo, it could cost as little as AU$932 to fly from Australia to Hong Kong in Business Class all-inclusive. You can check the latest buying miles offers in our dedicated guide here. This article is more of a first-step guide for those wanting to learn about the benefits of Mileage Plan.
How do I buy Mileage Plan miles?
If you’re a Mileage Plan member with an account more than 10-days old, it’s very easy to buy miles. (If you don’t have an account yet, sign up now to take part in future offers).
- Head to the Mileage Plan buy/gift/transfer miles landing page.
- Log in to your Mileage Plan account when prompted.
- Choose the number of miles you wish to purchase.
- Enter your payment information to complete checkout.
- Your purchased Mileage Plan miles should be ready for use almost instantly.
Other ways to earn Alaska Airlines miles
If you have American Express Membership Rewards points, you can transfer them to Marriott Bonvoy. From there, you can convert your points into Alaska miles. You can also credit certain flights to your Mileage Plan account, such as from Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
Things to watch out for before purchasing miles
Some readers have previously noted that purchases made using an Australian credit card have been declined. Some agents have also mentioned that only cards issued in the US, Canada or Mexico would work. We’ve not had any issues using an Australian-based American Express Platinum Card. But let us know how you go with the payment.
You can purchase a total of up to 150,000 miles per calendar year (unless you are an elite member, in which case there is no limit). The website, points.com, also has a limit of four transactions per 30 days, per credit card. If you happen to be buying miles more frequently than that, consider using another card.
Mileage Plan miles expire after 24 months of inactivity in your account, though you may be able to reinstate them with a fee. Still, we recommend you only buy miles with a specific flight redemption in mind.
Where can I go with Mileage Plan miles?
Despite being a smaller boutique airline, Mileage Plan has a surprising number of individual partnerships – such as with Singapore Airlines. Alaska Airlines is also a full oneworld member, which opens up a huge range of partners and flights. See the full list of Mileage Plan partner airlines here.
Because Mileage Plan uses a region-based chart, you can get some pretty good value across the board. Just keep in mind one important fact: you can’t book every route that a partner airline offers. For example, Singapore Airlines doesn’t offer flights from Australia to Singapore with Mileage Plan miles.
Use the Mileage Plan award chart to see which routes are available. Simply choose which region you’re travelling from and to. The eligible airlines and routes will be displayed. Note that you can’t mix and match different airlines for a journey – though you can create separate bookings to get around this.
Here are some of our top picks:
| Airline | Route (one-way unless indicated) | Cabin | Mileage Plan miles | Cost of miles in USD with a 50% bonus promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathay Pacific | Australia to Hong Kong | Business | 30,000 miles | $591 |
| Australia to the US via Hong Kong | Business | 60,000 miles | $1182 | |
| Singapore Airlines | Two flights within South East Asia via Singapore | First | 35,000 miles | $689.5 |
| Fiji Airways | Australia or NZ to Hawaii via Fiji | Business | 45,000 miles | $886.5 |
| Qantas | Australia to the US | Business | 55,000 miles | $1083.5 |
| Australia domestic | Business | 20,000 miles | $394 | |
| Korean Air | Australia to the US return via Seoul | Business | 125,000 miles | $2462.5 |
Our favourite ‘sweet spot’ is Australia-Hong Kong for just 30,000 miles with Cathay Pacific in Business Class. After all, Economy is 22,500 miles, so paying 7,500 miles more for Business is a no-brainer.
Let’s say you want to book two people return – that’s 120,000 miles. When there’s a 50% bonus miles promotion, you can buy that for US$2,365. Add US$50 in booking fees and approximately US$260 in taxes. All-up, your per-flight cost is US$669 (AU$932) for each Business Class flight!
Free stopovers on a one-way ticket
Alaska Airlines has another surprise up its sleeve – one free stopover at the partner airline’s home port! For example, that’s Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific and Nadi with Fiji Airways. To book a stopover, simply create a multi-city booking on the Alaska Airlines booking page.
For example, fancy a tropical island getaway from Sydney that includes both Fiji and Hawaii? Normally, it costs 45,000 miles to fly Australia-Fiji-Hawaii with only a short transit. But you can swap that transit for an extended break in Fiji before continuing.
It’s simple. Simply search ‘Sydney to Nadi’ on your departure day, and ‘Nadi to Honolulu’ on the day you want to depart Fiji. If available, both award seats will be combined into one booking, and you’ll pay the same number of miles as if you flew with a straight transit. Neat, right?
With a 50% bonus miles promotion, you can buy 90,000 miles for US$1,773.75. Add US$336.74 in taxes, and that’s a total cost of US$2,110.49 (AU$2,945) for two people to fly from Sydney to Hawaii in Business, with a stopover in Fiji.
How do I book with Mileage Plan miles?
It’s pretty easy to book with Mileage Plan online, for most airline partners. Simply head to the booking page, tick ‘Use miles’, and enter your search. Available award seats will show up with the number of miles and taxes required. The prices include a US$12.50 partner award booking fee, which is charged per person and each way.
Unfortunately, not all carriers are bookable online. In particular, Cathay Pacific awards have to be booked at least 72 hours in advance over the phone. Call Mileage Plan on +1 206 244 0751 (international USA number) to make the booking with your miles.
Since you can’t see Cathay Pacific availability online, try using the British Airways Executive Club website as a starting point. Simply search for the same route using Avios. If award seats appear, chances are Alaska Airlines can book it too.
In terms of changes and cancellations, you should expect to pay a US$125 per person fee. This is waived for MVP Gold members and higher.
Summing up
We really do think Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are one of the best frequent flyer points you can hold. With a wide breadth of high-quality partners, low award rates on certain routes, frequent sales on miles and free stopovers, Mileage Plan really is the full package.
Of course, with COVID still putting a spanner in the works, we don’t recommend you buy miles without a firm use in mind. But if you’re looking to travel somewhere soon, definitely look into Mileage Plan.
This content contains affiliate links from which Point Hacks may earn commissions from transactions generated from new customers, bookings and general enquiries. Find out more here.
one of the benefits of Alaska Air miles is the great redemption partners and low cost for premium seats. Unfortunately lately Alaska Air redemptions on JAL have been rarer than hen’s teeth. On days when AAdvantage can redeem two seats in First between ORD and HND, Alaska Air shows no availability, not even business. Are others seeing this also? Or am I just being incredibly unlucky, and struggling to get those cool redemptions that have been the reason I have loved buying Alaska Air miles until recently.
Thanks
FWIW I’m happy having secured two passengers in BNE-LAX return in QF business class for July / August using Alaska miles and decided to avoid Japan due to the Olympics…there was availability on ANA First (from LAX and ORD) and United new Polaris (from LAX) to Tokyo for those with Star Alliance points…some dates on SQ LAX-NRT
The data points I have based on my own experience is that CX award availability varies greatly across QF, BA, AA and AS. Obviously, the ultimate source is Asia Miles itself. Not that helps necessarily!
Last year I successfully booked CX LGW-HKG at 14 days out for two in business class using Alaska miles, although subsequently cancelled to travel on BA first LHR-HKG on another FF currency since the evening fight from LHR was more convenient after a day of meetings in London.
I also booked a HKG-CNS for myself and HKG-(CNS)-BNE in business for my business partner on Alaska miles about 17 days out. In those days CX flew to my home town of CNS so it was worth keeping stock of Alaska points to get and out of Asia and onto Europe.
Other occasions I have searched and found CX available on say QF or BA (I usually search for CX on BA) and rung Alaska miles and they may or may not see the award space.
So, yes, Alaska miles access to CX is not a given, but does happen. It was never much of a problem for me since I try to keep a useful balance in QF and AA and could always transfer to Asia Miles.
I wouldn’t write Alaska miles off entirely for CX – a 30,000 miles business award between Asia and Australia is just too attractive (if available).
It also doesn’t concern me too greatly whether I can get a JAL for Japan – USA, since I have back up balances for the Star Alliance carriers (ANA, SQ) in Avianca, United and SQ.
Last year I also had booked up two first class on JAL for NRT-LAX using Alaska points several months out for mid year travel, although subsequently cancelled when travel plans changed.
I like to keep a stash of Alaska miles for Trans Pacific, especially now that there is the back up option of Fiji and its new A350 if QF and AA awards are scarce. The 55,000 business / 70,000 first point levels without fuel surcharges are always the first option. I’ve previously booked QF first using Alaska point although there is currently no availability for months that I can see for two.
I guess it comes down to how flexible you like to be and whether you like to keep just in need / time award balances or risk a float in a few programs.
Personally, I wouldn’t give up the Alaska miles. They are also especially useful for part of a RTW trip, particularly when you include stopover. I’ve used them, for example, VCE-LHR-SJC on a first class award on BA. Middle East to US west coast via LHR is attractively priced as well if you are repaired to pay for the BA fuel and surcharges and LHR taxes.
Most should, arguably, follow the risk averse advice of only buying / stashing the Alaska miles with a specific award identified…the usual advice! I’m just a sucker for having all the options at my fingertips…!
Alaska miles are potentially at least twice as valuable as QF for premium cabin (if you can find the award space!).
Default is use for internal Australian business class, especially any transcon, which are relatively easy to find.
Out of curiosity, what’s your favourite method to acquire AA points ? I’ve had to resort to purchasing them when discounted.
Despite QF points being very easy/free to acquire, the high number of points plus carrier fees means that I tend to reserve QF for flights originating in a low cost region, or for times when I AS can only see one seat but QF shows two. I buy one seat through AS and the other with an expensive QF award.
Thanks.
Avianca keep a number of credit card details on file in their system. There is a maximum number (5 if memory serves). When you use an additional card it can cause problems. I’ve had to arrange for Avianca to remove expired cards from their list before being able to make a payment.
Oh yes, CX first HKG-FRA using QF points used to be sweet spot, and came in just under the usual Asia-Euope distance band. Goodness knows what that is now since the QF devaluation of last year!
Safe and happy travels…