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Seattle (SEA), Anchorage (ANC), Portland (PDX), Los Angeles (LAX)
Alaska Lounge in Seattle
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is an award-winning program that is valued by travelers for a couple of reasons. Frequent flyer miles are earned based on miles flown rather than dollars spent, and premium cabin awards are redeemable on Alaska’s partner airlines such as Cathay Pacific and STARLUX.
In fact, many travelers use Mileage Plan as a collection point for their travel with these partners—without even flying Alaska Airlines much!
To join Mileage Plan, sign up for free.
Sign in on the alaskaair.com homepage. You’ll need to enter your user ID and password.
You can see your mileage balance and elite progress on the overview and tier status page.
Here, you can view your trips, mileage activity, wallet, and discount/companion certificates.
Mileage Plan miles expire after 24 months of inactivity.
Any miles earning or redeeming activity counts, so you have many options beyond taking flights. This includes using an Alaska Airlines credit card or using the Alaska Airlines shopping portal and dining program.
The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program has 3 status tiers:
MVP:
MVP Gold:
All MVP benefits, plus:
MVP Gold 75K:
All MVP Gold benefits, plus:
MVP Gold 100K:
All MVP Gold 75k benefits, plus:
After flying 1 million miles on Alaska Airlines (excluding bonus miles and partner flights), travelers are granted lifetime MVP Gold status.
Lifetime MVP Gold members receive a complimentary meal or picnic pack whenever they fly in the main cabin.
Check Alaska’s site for the full lineup of benefits.
Alaska Airlines is part of the Oneworld alliance, and its benefits with the Oneworld member airlines are as follows:
MVP:
MVP Gold:
All MVP benefits plus:
MVP Gold 75K:
All MVP Gold benefits plus:
MVP Gold 100K:
All MVP Gold 75k benefits plus:
Additionally, Alaska Airlines elite members receive the following benefits with these non-Oneworld partners:
Mileage Plan elite status is one of the highest-regarded programs among travelers for its mileage earning rates and benefits.
Compared to competitors, Mileage Plan is lucrative for earning miles by distance rather than spending.
Mileage Plan elite status is especially strong on companion benefits and customer service.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan elite status is more straightforward than some of its competitors, and there is no dollar spend threshold.
You can earn status by any 1 of 3 ways:
Eligible miles include class of service bonuses, but they exclude elite status bonuses.
Class of service bonuses range from 0% to 50% in economy and are 75% for first class. This means cheap first class fares can be a shortcut to earning elite status.
Annual Qualification PeriodJanuary 1 to December 31 | MVP | MVP Gold | MVP Gold 75K | MVP Gold 100K |
Miles on Alaska and Qualifying Partner Airlines | 20,000 | 40,000 | 75,000 | 100,000 |
Segments on Alaska and Qualifying Partner Airlines | 30 | 60 | 90 | 140 |
Minimum Number of Segments Flown on Alaska to Earn/Retain Status | 2 | 4 | 6 | 24 |
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan boasts many partnerships that attract members who don’t even fly Alaska Airlines itself. For those who do fly Alaska Airlines, Mileage Plan is a rare U.S. airline program that continues to treat a mile flown as a mile earned.
When flying Alaska Airlines, you’ll earn miles by flight distance and fare class. On short flights, travelers earn a minimum of 500 miles.
Cabin | Classes of Service | Base Mileage Earned | Bonus Miles |
First Class | F or P | 100% | 75% |
Main (Economy) | Y or S | 100% | 50% |
Main (Economy) | M or B | 100% | 25% |
Main (Economy) | H, Q, L, V, K, G, T, or R | 100% | – |
Alaska Airlines has numerous airline partnerships for earning miles; check its partners page for earning rates by partner and flight:
The Alaska Signature card (and its business version) both earn 3x miles per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines purchases, 2x miles on several popular categories, and 1x mile per $1 spent everywhere else. The card includes an annual $99 plus taxes companion certificate and a free checked bag.
For everyday spending, your best option is earning Marriott Bonvoy points with one of the Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. Every transfer of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account earns you a bonus of 5,000 miles.
We have step-by-step guides for the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan shopping portal and dining program, which can both earn you quick bonus points.
Plus, there are other retail and travel partners that earn miles. See our article on the best ways to earn lots of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles for more.
There are several credit cards that can help you quickly collect Alaska miles to redeem for some amazing flights.
Bank of America’s co-branded cards with Alaska Airlines allow you to earn Mileage Plan miles directly:
While earning Alaska miles directly might seem like the best way to go, we’d actually suggest considering Marriott Bonvoy points. Every chunk of 60,000 points you transfer to Alaska Airlines earns you a bonus of 5,000 Alaska miles.
A great option for Marriott hotel fans who want a no annual fee card and automatic Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Casual travelers who like to frequent properties that are part of the Marriott Bonvoy collection of brands may want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.
The Marriott Bold card rewards cardholders for Marriott stays and gives them a boost towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Marriott loyalists will love this card's annual Free Night Award, automatic elite status, and up to 17x points per $1 on Marriott hotel stays.
If you’re a frequent traveler and a Marriott loyalist, there’s a lot to love about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. The card comes packed with several great benefits like a free hotel night once a year, automatic Silver Elite status (with a fast-track to Gold Elite status), and multiple options for redeeming points.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThe Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card gives you automatic Marriott elite status and helps you earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on your everyday purchases.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, the latest mid-tier offering in the Marriott Bonvoy lineup of cards, offers cardholders automatic elite status and ways to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on each of their stays and daily purchases.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesA premium card for Marriott fans who want perks like an annual statement credit and Free Night Award, plus a fast track to Marriott elite status.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a premium card designed with road warriors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in mind.
So is the card a worthwhile addition to your wallet?
A few other hotel programs will let you transfer points to Alaska Airlines. However, this is almost always a poor use of hotel points.
Unless you are really in a bind, save your hotel points for award stays at your destination, where they’ll likely be worth more.
Alaska Airlines has multiple ways to redeem your miles once you have earned them.
Alaska Airlines recently lowered the price of short-distance domestic flights. These are now as cheap as 5,000 miles one-way!
Within Contiguous U.S. & Alaska | Miles Required |
Trips less than 700 miles | |
Main Cabin | 5,000 to 30,000 |
First Class | 15,000 to 40,000 |
Trips between 701 and 1,400 miles | |
Main Cabin | 7,500 to 30,000 |
First Class | 25,000 to 60,000 |
Trips between 1,401 and 2,100 miles | |
Main Cabin | 10,000 to 40,000 |
First Class | 25,000 to 60,000 |
Trips longer than 2,101 miles | |
Main Cabin | 12,500 to 50,000 |
First Class | 30,000 to 70,000 |
*Price ranges are all for one-way flights. The highest price in each range is a refundable award.
Contiguous U.S./Alaska to Mexico | Miles Required |
Trips between 701 and 1,400 miles | |
Main Cabin | 10,000 to 35,000 |
First Class | 30,000 to 50,000 |
Trips between 1,401 and 2,100 miles | |
Main Cabin | 15,000 to 40,000 |
First Class | 30,000 to 60,000 |
Trips longer than 2,101 miles | |
Main Cabin | 17,500 to 50,000 |
First Class | 30,000 to 70,000 |
*Price ranges are all for one-way flights. The highest price in each range is a refundable award.
Contiguous U.S./Alaska to Hawaii | Miles Required |
Main Cabin | 15,000 to 50,000 |
First Class | 40,000 to 80,000 |
*Price ranges are all for one-way flights. The highest price in each range is a refundable award.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan allows free stopovers on awards, which is a benefit eliminated by almost all other airline programs. Even better, you get a free stopover on a one-way, or 2 on a round-trip booking!
Within 24 hours of departure or at check-in, you can request an upgrade with cash. Cash upgrades can be a good value for short flights:
One-Way Trip Distance | Upgrade Price |
0 to 1,250 | $50 |
1,251 to 2,500 | $100 |
2,501 to 3,750 | $150 |
3,751+ | $200 |
Use miles for up to a 50% discount off Alaska Airlines coach airfare.
Award Type | One-Way | Round-Trip |
Money & Miles — 50% discount up to $100 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
Money & Miles — 50% discount up to $200 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
Hot Tip: You earn 100% of miles from Money & Miles awards!
Alaska Airlines standardized its award charts, doing away with the previous system in which each partner had its own award chart. That also meant the elimination of several high-value redemptions using your miles in the past.
You’ll also pay a nonrefundable fee of $12.50 when you book a ticket on a partner airline using your Alaska Airlines miles.
American Airlines:
One-Way Trip Distance | Coach | Business/First |
Continental U.S. only | 12,500 | 25,000 |
Other Airline Partner Awards:
Alaska Airlines has fantastic partner awards that can provide incredible value. See our article on the best ways to redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan for ideas.
Finally, miles can be used outside of the airline, including for magazine subscriptions and other household and travel goods.
The information regarding the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card, and Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
