Up to a 60% Bonus When You Buy Alaska Miles [Ends May 21]

Update:The offer mentioned below has expired and is no longer available.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is one of the most valuable airline loyalty programs thanks to its high-value airline partners, from Cathay Pacific to Fiji Airways. The downside? It can be difficult to amass a large number of Alaska miles. Currently, the program’s only transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy.

Given the number of possible redemptions you can book with Alaska miles, purchasing miles needed for an award flight can save you some serious cash — even more so when you can buy them with up to a 60% bonus!

Table of Contents

Up to a 60% Bonus on Alaska Miles
Should You Buy Alaska Miles?
Final Thoughts

Up to a 60% Bonus on Alaska Miles

Through May 21, 2023, you may be targeted to buy Alaska miles and receive the following bonus amounts depending on the number of points you purchase:

Buy 3,000 to 19,000 miles and get a 40% bonus (2.11 cents per point)
Buy 20,000 to 29,000 miles and get a 50% bonus (1.97 cents per point)
Buy 30,000 to 100,000 miles and get a 60% bonus (1.85 cents per point)

Here are the important terms:

Transactions must be completed by May 21, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PDT
You can purchase miles from points.com for a cost of $27.50 per 1,000 miles
Miles are non-refundable and do not count toward MVP and MVP/Gold status
MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K Mileage Plan elite member accounts have no annual limit on the number of miles purchased or gifted through points.com. If you’re not an elite member, your account may only be credited up to a maximum total of 150,000 miles acquired through points.com in a calendar year. Bonus miles do not count toward the maximum total of 150,000 miles

We value Alaska Mileage Plan miles at 1.8 cents apiece, making the 60% bonus tier very close to our baseline. Given that, it could be a good idea to purchase miles at this price if you have a specific redemption in mind, especially if it will offer significantly more value than what you’ll purchase the points for.

With the current targeted promotion, you can also purchase miles at a 70% bonus down the road. If you buy miles at the 60% bonus rate (of any amount), you can get access to buying miles at a 70% bonus between October 5-30, 2023.

Should You Buy Alaska Miles?

Cathay Pacific business class reverse herringbone seats. Image Credit: Cathay Pacific

It can make sense to purchase Alaska miles if you have a specific redemption in mind that you know will offer more than 1.85 cents per point in value, but you don’t currently have enough points to complete the booking.

One such example could be purchasing a round-trip ticket in Cathay Pacific business class between the U.S. and Hong Kong for 100,000 Alaska miles.

To purchase the 100,000 miles needed, the cost would be $1,921.56 during this promotion. This is a sizable sum for sure. But when you consider that the cash cost of this ticket is usually $6,000 to $8,000, paying ~$1,900 to fly in one of the world’s nicest business class cabins for 32 hours round-trip starts to feel like a bargain.

Hot Tip: Learn about the best ways to earn and redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles in our detailed guides!

Final Thoughts

When it comes to buying Alaska miles, the 60% bonus is a pretty great offer. As always, the decision on whether to buy points is very situational. Therefore, run the numbers yourself and weigh your options before deciding if it makes sense for you to do so.

If you do decide to jump on this promotion, make certain that you do so before May 21, 2023.