Sweet Spots in the New Alaska Mileage Plan

Editor’s Note: I’m happy to introduce a new contributor at MilesTalk – Ginny Grady. She’s done a great job breaking down how you can still get great value out of Alaska miles below and there’s more to come! You can catch her on Instagram @thegrady_bunch and on TikTok @thegrady_bunch.

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Sweet Spots in the New Alaska Mileage Plan

Alaska Airlines is switching to a new distance-based program for award flights, which will be completed by the end of March 2024. These changes apply to both Alaska Airlines and partner bookings. Alaska miles can be used with 24 airline partners, including American Airlines, Qatar, LATAM Airlines, and Starlux. 

With these award changes, many partner flights will be bookable at a lower starting price point. A notable perk of Alaska Airlines award bookings is that there are no penalties for changing or canceling an award flight. The miles will be redeposited into your Alaska account, and the taxes and fees will be refunded to your payment card. Note: there is a $12.50 nonrefundable fee for partner airline bookings. Additionally, Alaska is retaining its generous stopover program, where you can add up to a 14-day stopover for no additional charge. More on that later. 

But first, how does Alaska price its award tickets with these new changes? 

It depends on whether you are booking Alaska metal or with an Alaska partner. All award tickets are priced based on the distance flown. Additionally, the award price can vary based on demand and other factors.

 

 

 

For instance, flying Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Orlando would cost at least 12,500 Alaska miles since this flight is over 2,101 miles. However, you can see on October 12 that this flight costs 20,000 miles.

 

 

 

Despite these changes, there are still many sweet spots where you can stretch your Alaska miles. Check out the four examples below.

Fly Taiwan’s Luxury Airline Starlux 

You can use your Alaska miles to fly Starlux from the US to the Asia Pacific region. Starlux flies from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE). Both flights fall within the 5,001-7,000 distance, meaning an economy flight would start at 37,500 Alaska miles per way, and a business class flight would start at 75,000 Alaska miles for this route

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to add to your itinerary (i.e., fly Starlux through Taipei to Fukuoka, Japan), the award price is based on the total distance flown. This example below would cost at least 42,500 Alaska miles in economy and at least 85,000 Alaska miles in business since the total distance flown is 7,276 miles. (Note: if the total distance flown remained below 7,000 miles, you could add the connection for no additional Alaska miles; however, you may be charged additional taxes and fees.)

 

 

 

Fly to Central or South America

You can use Alaska miles to fly to South and Central America with Alaska’s partners, LATAM Airlines and American Airlines. Depending on your final destination, you can fly for as low as 12,500 miles in economy and 25,000 miles in business class. (Note: these business class flights may or may not have lie-flat seats.)

 

 

 

 

 

For example, you can fly from Miami (MIA) to Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU), starting at 25,000 miles in economy and 50,000 miles in business.

 

 

 

Travel to Europe, the Middle East, or Africa

You can fly coveted Alaska Airlines partners, including Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, and Finnair. The total award cost will depend on the distance flown. For example, you want to fly from Miami (MIA) to Casablanca, Morocco (CMN). This flight distance is 4,321 miles, which means a business-class flight would start at 55,000 miles, as shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you were to change your final destination to Doha, Qatar (DOH), a business class award ticket would start at 85,000 miles, given that the total distance traveled is 7,891 miles.

 

 

 

Business class availability for these partners may be difficult to find, but you can utilize Alaska Airlines’ award calendar to find the lowest-priced flight. Results can be filtered to saver awards, lowest available, business, and first class.

 

 

 

 

 

Visit Two Places for One with Alaska’s Free Stopover Program 

Alaska Airlines offers a free stopover program when booking international flights. You can add up to one stopover per way. This means if you book a roundtrip ticket, you can add one stopover in each direction of travel. Each stopover can be up to 14 days. 

When booking these stopover awards, each flight must be on the same partner (e.g., your first flight is on Qatar, so your second flight must also be on Qatar). These stopover flights can be booked on Alaska’s website using the Multi-city function for all partners except Cathay Pacific and LAN. You must call an Alaska Airlines representative to book Cathay Pacific or LAN.

To search, select Multi-City and then enter your desired route and travel dates. In this example, you are searching for Miami to Casablanca, with a 9-day stopover, before heading to Doha.

 

 

 

In this example, an award flight is available for 85,000 Alaska miles and $326 in taxes and fees. This is the same award price as shown in the previous section. However, the taxes and fees are slightly higher. This is likely attributed to the second flight being considered a separate ticket despite them being booked all in one transaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding your preferred stopover flight may take some time and patience. It may be beneficial to focus first on finding availability for the longer flight and then search for the shorter flight thereafter. If you have trouble finding availability, call an Alaska Airlines representative (1-800-252-7522) for assistance. 

Summary

Alaska Airlines is currently rolling out a new distance-based program for award tickets, which will be completed by the end of March 2024. Many award routes will now be bookable at a lower price point. Additionally, there are still award sweet spots to stretch your miles even further, especially with Alaska’s free stopover program. 

Editor’s Note: What did you think of this article? Let Ginny know!

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