You Can Now Redeem Alaska Airlines Miles for Porter Airlines Flights

Porter Airlines is the third-largest carrier in Canada, and it flies numerous leisure routes across North America. Now you can redeem Alaska Airlines miles for flights on Porter.

The Alaska-Porter relationship isn’t new, but the ability to use Mileage Plan miles for these flights only became possible this week.

What kind of value does it provide, and should you use your Alaska miles this way? Let’s take a closer look.

Redeeming Alaska Airlines Miles for Porter Airlines Flights

The Alaska Airlines-Porter Airlines partnership already offered the ability to earn Mileage Plan miles on Porter flights and VIPorter points on Alaska Airlines flights. That hasn’t changed.

What’s new, however, is the ability to redeem Mileage Plan miles on Porter flights across its North American route network, as first noticed by AwardWallet.

Porter Airlines is based in the eastern half of Canada, with hubs in Toronto (both Pearson (YYZ) and Billy Bishop (YTZ) airports), Ottawa (YOW), and Montréal (YUL). From these hubs, Porter flies across Canada, the U.S. Southwest and Northeast, Florida, a pair of destinations in Florida, and 1 each in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Costa Rica.

Alaska’s Mileage Plan program uses a distance-based award chart, and all of Porter’s flights are within the Americas region. You can redeem Alaska Airlines miles on Porter flights at the following award rates:

Is This a Good Use of Alaska Miles?

Let’s look at sample routes to see what they cost and the value obtained from using miles.

Porter’s longest routes run to Liberia (LIB), Costa Rica, from Ottawa (YOW) and Toronto (YYZ) during the winter. Depending on dates and the proximity to Christmas, this flight can cost anywhere from $250 to $500. You’d pay 17,500 miles plus $88 for a nonstop flight on this route in economy.

However, that’s the starting price, and the mileage cost can rise significantly on popular dates close to holidays. The cash price is also low on dates with the 17,500-mile pricing. On the flight in this example, you’d pay just $189, so you’d save $101 by using 17,500 miles. That’d mean using Alaska miles at less than 0.6 cents apiece — far below our average valuation of Alaska miles at 1.6 cents apiece.

But what about Porter’s short routes?

You can redeem just 4,500 miles in economy or 6,000 miles in premium economy to fly from Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport near downtown Toronto to Newark (EWR), New Jersey. Taxes and fees cost $67 in either cabin.

In cash, this flight costs $174 in economy or $282 in premium. You’d pay 4,500 miles to save $107 or 6,000 miles to save $215. That’d mean using Alaska miles at 2.38 or 3.58 cents apiece, respectively. That’s fantastic value!

As you can see, not every Porter Airlines flight provides a valuable use of your Alaska Airlines miles. Make sure to divide the money you’re saving by the number of miles required. That will show you the cents-per-mile value of the redemption you’re considering and can help you make an informed decision.

Final Thoughts

Alaska Airlines and Porter Airlines have expanded their partnership, now allowing Mileage Plan members to redeem miles on Porter flights throughout North America. Not every flight provides a valuable redemption, however, and it’s important to do some quick math before using your miles on these flights.