Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are very popular in the frequent flyer world. Plus, not only do we value Alaska miles more than any other airline currency, but they also partner with lots of airlines like: Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Korean Airlines, and more. So, with the Mileage Plan, you’ll have the flexibility to fly anywhere in the world.
Check out our list of the best credit card bonuses here.
Read below for more information on the best ways to redeem your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles and some redemption tricks for your rewards.
The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card and Bank of America Alaska Airlines Business are both great ways to earn bonus Mileage Plan miles with big welcome bonuses.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Redemption Quick Facts
| Best Redemption Options | Alaska Airlines flights Partner flights |
| OK Redemption Options | Money & Miles discounts First Class upgrades |
| Bad Redemption Options | Hotel stays Car rentals Magazines Share or gift miles |
| Mile Valuation | $0.018/mile |
Editor’s Pick for best Travel Credit Card
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll earn: • 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM • 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries • 2x on all other travel purchases • 1x on all other purchases • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027. Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase TravelSM This card carries a $95 annual fee. |
Alaska Airlines Flights
It shouldn’t be a surprise that one of the best ways to redeem your Mileage Plan miles is for flights with Alaska Airlines. The carrier has hubs in:
- Anchorage (ANC)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Portland (PDX)
- Seattle (SEA)
If your home airport is one of the above, you can fly with Alaska Airlines to just about anywhere in the United States, along with several destinations in Canada and Central America.
The Mileage Plan award chart has four distanced-based levels, cleverly named Hop, Skip, Jump and Leap. Each level has a set range of miles required for an award flight:
| Award Level | Miles Range |
| Hop Flights less than 700 miles |
Main Cabin: 5,000 – 30,000 First Class: 15,000 – 40,000 |
| Skip Flights between 701 – 1,400 miles |
Main Cabin: 7,500 – 30,000 First Class: 25,000 – 60,000 |
| Jump Flights between 1,401 – 2,100 miles |
Main Cabin: 10,000 – 40,000 First Class: 25,000 – 60,000 |
| Leap Flights longer than 2,101 miles |
Main Cabin: 12,500 – 50,000 First Class: 30,000 – 70,000 |
So, for as little as 5,000 Mileage Plan miles, you can go on a one-way award flight that’s less than 700 miles in distance. The most you’d spend is 70,000 miles for a one-way Leap flight in First Class.
Best Ways to Redeem with Alaska Airlines
Here are the best ways for you to use your Mileage Plan miles on Alaska Airlines award flights:
Below are the best ways to use your Mileage Plan miles on Alaska Airlines award flights:
Short- & Medium-Haul Flights. Alaska Airlines charges award travel by distance. This structure makes Skip (short-haul) and Jump (medium-haul) flights better deals than those offered by frequent flyer programs which charge flat rates for domestic flights.
The East Coast To Hawaii In Economy. Other carriers charge you more to fly to Hawaii from the East Coast. Alaska Airlines, however, requires 15,000 miles one way, no matter where you’re departing from in the United States. Stretch your miles even further by booking a stopover along the way.
Partner Flights
Even if they aren’t a member of any major airline alliance, Alaska Airlines has an extensive set of international airline partners with some of the world’s most prestigious carriers:
- Aer Lingus
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Condor
- EL AL
- Emirates
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Hainan Airlines
- Icelandair
- Japan Airlines
- Korean Air
- LATAM Airlines
- PenAir
- Qantas
- Ravn Alaska
- Singapore Airlines
Before getting into the best ways to redeem on partner flights, remember:
- Each Alaska partner has their own award chart, and not all flights operated by Alaska partners are available for redemption. Utilize Alaska’s online award charts to see what flights are available and to price out your award.
- You can’t combine more than one partner on a single award itinerary, but you can connect an Alaska-operated flight to an international partner.
- If you book a multi-segment award ticket, and at least one of the segments is in First or Business Class, the entire itinerary will price at the higher cabin mileage rate.
- Alaska Airlines charges $12.50 to book with a partner and a call center fee of $15. Note: You have to call in to book Cathay Pacific and LATAM award flights.
- And last but not least, you’re allowed one stopover on a one-way award ticket, with no limit to how long you stay. So if you book a roundtrip award as two one ways, you could get two stopovers on a roundtrip ticket. Note: The stopover has to be in one of the partner airline’s hubs.
Best Ways to Redeem with Alaska Airlines Partners
Here are our favorite Alaska Airlines partner redemptions.
| Destination (One Way) | Airline | Miles |
| Fiji (stopover) & Australia | Fiji Airways | Economy 40,000 Business 55,000 |
| Dubai (stopover) & India or The Middle East | Emirates | Business 82,500 First 150,000 |
| Hong Kong (stopover) & Asia | Cathay Pacific | Economy 30,000 Business 50,00 First 70,000 |
| Hong Kong (stopover) & South Africa | Cathay Pacific | Economy 50,000 Business 62,500 First 70,000 |
| Hong Kong (stopover) & Australia or New Zealand | Cathay Pacific | Economy 40,000 Business 60,000 First 80,000 |
| Vancouver (from New York) | Cathay Pacific | Business 25,000 |
| Australia (stopover) & New Zealand | Qantas | Economy 42,500 Business 55,000 First 70,000 |
| Tokyo (stopover) & Asia | Japan Airlines | Economy 35,000 Business 60,000 First 70,000 |
| China (stopover) & Southeast Asia | Hainan Airlines | Economy 30,000 Business 50,000 |
| Peru (from Miami) | American Airlines | Economy 20,000 Business 30,000 |
| Peru (stopover) & South America | LATAM | Economy 25,000 Business 45,000 |
| Iceland (stopover) & Europe | Icelandair | Business 55,000 |
| Europe (off peak) | American Airlines | Economy 22,500 |
Alaska Airlines Redemption Tricks
If you really want to stretch your miles, try our two redemption tricks below:
Pack in four cities on two one way awards with a different stopover each, plus an open jaw. For example, book a one-way flight to Melbourne with a stopover in Fiji. Then make your way to Sydney from Melbourne. And finally, fly home from Sydney with a stopover in Hong Kong.
Home – Fiji – Melbourne – Sydney – Hong Kong- Home
Book a long stopover at your home airport to get a free one-way flight. For example, you book a flight from New York to Sydney with a stopover in Fiji. But on your return flight, you want to go directly home to New York. With a Los Angeles trip coming up in the near future, you strategically book your return flight from Sydney to Los Angeles with a long stopover in your home city of New York. So, that one-way trip from New York to Los Angeles is free!
New York – Fiji – Sydney
Sydney – New York (long stopover) – Los Angeles
 |
 |
Conclusion
You can receive an endless amount of options for your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles. This is all thanks to the list of airline partners and their stopover policies. Plus, with our redemption tricks, Alaska miles can be one of your favorite airline rewards to build up on.
