By KBC Associate 
Despite being smaller than the Big Three legacy carriers — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines — Alaska Airlines has gained popularity among American travelers thanks to its loyalty program, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
As a member of the Oneworld alliance, the program offers numerous high-value partnerships with airlines like American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific.
Moreover, Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines in a joint merger, and the carrier is planning a major overhaul of its Mileage Plan program later in 2025.
This guide will discuss how to redeem Alaska miles, details on its elite status program and more.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan overview
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is Alaska Airlines’ frequent flyer program. You earn Alaska miles by flying with Alaska or its partner airlines. The program also offers additional ways to earn miles, such as through its shopping portal, dining program and cobranded credit cards. Once you accumulate miles, you can redeem them for travel on Alaska or its partner airlines.
Mileage Plan includes an elite status program with four tiers: MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K and MVP Gold 100K. Each tier includes upgrades, preferred seating and bonus mileage earned on Alaska flights. Elite members also enjoy limited benefits on Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines and other Oneworld partners.
Related: 6 great benefits I received as an American Airlines elite flying Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines partners
Alaska Airlines is known for its suite of airline partners, which includes airlines in Oneworld and other alliances.
Oneworld alliance partners
Alaska joined Oneworld in late March 2021. This means that the airline is now a partner with these airlines:
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- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
Other airline partners
Alaska has partnered with airlines outside of Oneworld for years now. We’re hopeful these nonalliance partnerships will remain long-term now that Alaska is a Oneworld airline, but only time will tell. Here’s the full list of Alaska’s other airline partners to earn and redeem miles with:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Condor
- Hainan Airlines
- Icelandair
- Korean Air
- LATAM
- Oman Air
- Philippine Airlines
- Porter Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- Starlux Airlines
Alaska Airlines elite status
Alaska Airlines has four elite status tiers.
To qualify, you need to earn a set number of elite qualifying miles, which can be earned by flying Alaska or its partner airlines (including award flights), credit card spending or other select nonflight activities.
| Status tier | Required number of EQMs |
|---|---|
| MVP | 20,000 |
| MVP Gold | 40,000 |
| MVP Gold 75K | 75,000 |
| MVP Gold 100K | 100,000 |
There are also milestone rewards after earning 10,000, 30,000, 50,000, 85,000, 150,000, 200,000 and 250,000 EQMs.
With Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines’ merger, the carriers are also currently offering an elite status match.
| If you have: | You’ll be matched to: |
|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP status | HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status |
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K or MVP Gold 100K status | HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Gold status | Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP status |
| HawaiianMiles Pualani Platinum status | Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold status |
Plus, the airlines offer members the opportunity to combine their elite qualifying miles across the two loyalty programs to earn status.
| Combined EQM balance: | Status you’ll get with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: | Status you’ll get with HawaiianMiles: |
|---|---|---|
| 20,000 EQMs | MVP | Pualani Gold |
| 40,000 EQMs | MVP Gold | Pualani Platinum |
| 75,000 EQMs | MVP Gold 75K | Pualani Platinum |
| 100,000 EQMs | MVP Gold 100K | Pualani Platinum |
How to earn Alaska miles
Earning Alaska miles used to be more challenging since the airline is not directly associated with major credit card programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, but you can now transfer Bilt Rewards Points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
Plus, since merging with Hawaiian Airlines, Amex members can transfer their Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles and then transfer those miles to Mileage Plan at a 1:1 rate. However, Alaska has advised TPG that this opportunity may not last much longer.
Earn miles when flying with Alaska Airlines
Unlike other major U.S. airlines, Alaska continues to award miles based on the actual length of a flight. You’ll earn 1 mile per physical mile flown in standard economy. Saver tickets earn 30% of the miles flown.
First-class tickets receive a minimum 50% mileage bonus, resulting in higher mileage earnings. Note that this bonus only applies to paid first-class tickets, not upgrades. Elite members also earn bonus miles on all Alaska flights.
Bonus miles can accumulate quickly for frequent travelers. Additionally, higher-fare economy classes offer bonus miles, although they may be more expensive than standard economy tickets. You can refer to Alaska’s website for more information about earning Alaska miles on Alaska flights.
Credit partner flights to Mileage Plan
You can credit partner flights to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, allowing you to earn both redeemable and elite qualifying miles. The miles earned depend on the airline, flight length and fare class. To determine the earning levels, visit Alaska’s partner page and locate the earning chart for the specific partner and fare class. Multiply your flight’s distance by the percentage in the “Miles earned (total)” column.
Spend on an Alaska Airlines credit card
Alaska Airlines has two cobranded credit cards with Bank of America: a personal card and a business card.
- Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card: New cardholders can receive a 30% flight discount code for a qualifying future flight after opening a new account. Additionally, they’ll earn 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account. This card earns 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible Alaska purchases; 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible gas, electric vehicle charging station, cable, streaming service and local transit (including ride-hailing services) purchases; and 1 mile per dollar spent everywhere else. Cardholders also get a free checked bag on all Alaska flights and 20% back on inflight purchases.
- Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles and Alaska’s Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $4,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account. The card earns 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases; 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible gas, EV charging station, shipping and local transit (including ride-hailing services) purchases; and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Plus, for cardholders of the personal Alaska credit card, you will earn 1 elite qualifying mile for every $3 spent (up to 30,000 EQMs each year).
Transfer Bilt Rewards points
Bilt Rewards members can now transfer points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 ratio. This is huge news for award travelers, as Marriott Bonvoy points are the only other major transferable currency that transfers to Mileage Plan.
Alaska Airlines cardholders can earn 3 miles per dollar (on up to $50,000 annually) when using their Alaska Airlines Visa credit card to pay rent through Bilt. That said, Alaska cardholders will pay a small processing fee to do this.
Related: Bilt Mastercard review: No transaction fee rent payments
Transfer HawaiianMiles to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
HawaiianMiles can be transferred to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a 1:1 rate. Since Alaska is part of the Oneworld alliance, this opens up a slew of redemption partners, such as American Airlines.
Additionally, Hawaiian Airlines is currently a transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards; Amex Membership Rewards points can be transferred to HawaiianMiles at a 1:1 rate. However, as mentioned earlier, it’s safe to say that the Amex transfer option will eventually become obsolete.
Other ways to earn Alaska miles
You can earn miles using the Mileage Plan Shopping portal when shopping online and the Mileage Plan Dining program when dining out.
On the shopping side, Mileage Plan Shopping awards bonus miles whenever you click through the Alaska portal before making an online purchase. It offers bonus miles with hundreds of different merchants, including Apple and Saks Fifth Avenue. Each merchant awards a different number of miles per dollar spent, and rates can fluctuate frequently.
Watch out for shopping portal deals offered by Mileage Plan Shopping. It occasionally runs limited-time bonuses where you can earn extra miles by spending a specific amount of money.
Mileage Plan Dining is another opportunity to earn bonus miles. Create an account on the Mileage Plan Dining website, and link your credit cards. For maximum benefits, use a card that offers bonus points or miles on dining.
The miles you earn depend on your Mileage Plan Dining membership tier. These include:
- Basic members: 1 mile per $2 spent
- Select members: 3 miles per dollar spent, earned after you enroll in email communications from Mileage Plan Dining
- VIP members: 5 miles per dollar spent, earned after you enroll in email communications and dine at participating restaurants 11 times in a calendar year
There are other ways to earn Alaska miles, such as booking rental cars and hotel stays with Alaska partners. You can learn more about these earning opportunities in our full guide to earning Alaska miles.
How to redeem Alaska miles
You can use your Alaska miles for flights on Alaska Airlines and its partner airlines. Redeeming on partner airlines often offers the best value, especially for international first- or business-class flights.
Note that Alaska Airlines flights are dynamically priced. Your price for a specific award ticket varies by route and day. You’ll generally find the lowest-priced awards on short flights, such as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
On the airline’s website, you’ll see award pricing for all of Alaska’s partners, depending on the region you are traveling to.
All partner awards are now dynamically priced. For instance, American Airlines award flights in the U.S. and Canada now only have starting prices and then pricing will “vary depending on demand.”
Related: Alaska Airlines tweaks award charts with HawaiianMiles
Add stopovers to one-way award tickets
One significant advantage of booking partner tickets with Alaska Airlines is the ability to add stopovers to one-way award tickets. Booking a ticket with a stopover costs the same as booking a nonstop flight to your final destination.
You can have a stopover operated by Alaska Airlines or a single partner in its hub city.
How to book Alaska Airlines award tickets
You can book most award tickets on the Alaska Airlines website. Log in to your account and enter your search criteria on the homepage, ensuring you select the “Use miles” option for award flights. Click “Find flights” to search and view available options in the center of the screen.
If you find a suitable ticket, select it and click “Add to cart” to proceed with booking.
For booking stopovers, click the “All search options” link on the homepage and select “multicity” under the “Flight type” header. Enter your flights, and search for connecting tickets. All available options will be displayed in the center of the screen. If you find a desirable itinerary, book your ticket as usual.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan redemption sweet spots
Now that you know about Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, let’s explore some top ways to use your Alaska miles.
- Business class to Fiji and Australia/New Zealand: One-way business-class seats on Fiji Airways now start at 75,000 Alaska Airlines miles. You could fly to New Zealand and Australia, with a stopover in Fiji for just 10,000 miles more.
- Domestic flights within Australia: Alaska’s Oneworld partner Qantas operates many wide-body services on the “golden triangle” routes between Sydney Airport (SYD), Melbourne Airport (MEL) and Brisbane Airport (BNE). These flights can be booked in economy class starting at 7,500 Alaska miles each way for journeys of 1,500 miles or less.
- Business class to the U.K. and Ireland: While many flight routes from North America to Europe will fall within the 3,501- to 5,000-mile range, such as a flight from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) costing 55,000 miles in business class, there are several routes from the East Coast to the U.K. or Ireland that will only cost 45,000 miles in business class, as they are under 3,500 miles. Two such examples are the New York-to-London and New York-to-Dublin routes.
- Book South America flights on LATAM: Despite leaving the Oneworld alliance, LATAM still partners with Alaska Airlines. By taking advantage of the free stopover, you can book flights like MIA to Lima, Peru’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) to Santiago, Chile’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), allowing you to experience two vibrant South American cities in one trip from just 25,000 miles for economy and 50,000 miles for business class each way.
Related: Best Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan sweet spot redemptions you can book
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a top airline loyalty program, thanks to its wide range of partners and reliable award charts. Additionally, with its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines and updated program announcements, the Mileage Plan loyalty program offers many notable benefits.
However, it remains to be seen how the impending joint loyalty program between the two carriers will follow Alaska’s current Mileage Plan program. Our hope is it’s not a total devaluation of a valuable airline program.