How to accumulate miles through the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program

TPG readers and team members are big supporters of the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan — even those based on the East Coast who rarely fly with the airline. Despite past devaluations of Mileage Plan miles, there are still hidden gems within its Oneworld and non-alliance partners. You can redeem miles for some of the most coveted premium seats on carriers like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and others.

Although earning Alaska Airlines miles hasn't been as straightforward as other programs, the recent acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines opens up a new opportunity to convert American Express Membership Rewards points into Alaska Mileage Plan miles.

You can use Mileage Plan miles for fantastic rewards, such as saving up to 50% on award redemptions to top destinations with the airline's Global Getaway promotion.

New to earning Mileage Plan miles? Let us guide you on how to collect Alaska miles and get closer to your next award trip.

How to earn Alaska miles by flying

The easiest way to accumulate Alaska miles is by flying with Alaska Airlines or one of its partner carriers. Unlike many airlines, Alaska still awards miles based on the distance flown, rather than the ticket cost. However, the total miles you earn depends on several factors related to your flight.

Accumulate miles by flying with Alaska Airlines

When flying on an Alaska-operated flight, you'll earn Alaska miles based on the distance traveled. However, Alaska's basic economy 'Saver fare' only earns 30% of the miles flown.

Tickets purchased in higher fare classes earn additional bonus miles. Here’s the earning chart for Alaska-operated and marketed flights to help you calculate how many miles you'll earn on your next trip (note that the rates are the same for 2024 and 2025, regardless of the year):

To calculate your flight distance, we suggest using Great Circle Mapper. For example, a one-way flight from Chicago's O'Hare (ORD) to Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) in a C-class first-class cabin would earn 3,003 miles—100% of the base miles (1,716 miles) plus a 75% class-of-service bonus (1,287 miles).

Elite status bonus

Additionally, those with Alaska Airlines elite status can earn extra bonuses on their Alaska-operated flights. Here’s a breakdown of the bonus Mileage Plan miles each MVP status level will earn on these flights through 2024:

• Alaska MVP: 50% bonus
• MVP Gold: 100% bonus
• MVP Gold 75K: 125% bonus
• MVP Gold 100K: 150% bonus

Starting January 1, 2025, the bonus miles will be awarded as follows:

• Alaska MVP: 25% bonus
• MVP Gold: 50% bonus
• MVP Gold 75K: 100% bonus
• MVP Gold 100K: 150% bonus

These bonuses apply only to the base miles flown (100%), excluding any additional miles earned from class-of-service upgrades for higher fare classes.

Earn miles by flying with partners

When flying with a partner airline on an Alaska Airlines ticket (a codeshare flight operated by a partner but booked under an Alaska flight number), you’ll earn 100% of the base miles flown, except for basic economy (fare code X), which only earns 30%. However, the way you earn Alaska miles may differ slightly if you book the flight using the partner's ticket stock and add your Mileage Plan number.

When you do this, the exact number of miles will depend on the airline, your status tier, and the booking class. Generally, you won’t earn 100% of the miles for every fare class, but flights in higher fare classes will typically earn more.

For travel in 2024, each partner airline has its own earning rate. To find out how many miles you’ll earn on your partner flight, visit Alaska Airlines' partner page, locate the partner airline you're flying with, and check the chart for your booking class, as each chart will vary.

Here’s the British Airways earning chart for travel in 2024:

Beginning in January, Mileage Plan will make it easier for frequent flyers to earn miles on partner flights. The miles you earn will depend on whether you book the flight through Alaska's website or a partner’s site, as well as your fare class.

Please note that Starlux Airlines flights booked through a partner site do not qualify for earning Mileage Plan elite-qualifying miles.

Alaska Airlines is part of the Oneworld alliance, and you can earn miles on all Oneworld carriers, including:

• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Fiji Airways (Oneworld Connect partner)
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian Airlines
• SriLankan Airlines

In addition, Alaska Airlines has a wide range of non-alliance partners where you can also earn miles, including:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Tahiti Nui
• Condor
• El Al Israel Airlines
• Hainan Airlines
• Icelandair
• Korean Air (SkyTeam)
• LATAM Airlines
• Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance)
• Starlux Airlines
• Aleutian Airways
• Bahamasair
• Cape Air
• Contour Airlines
• Kenmore Air
• Mokulele Airlines
• Southern Airways Express

Earn Alaska miles with credit cards

A simple and effective way to accumulate a large number of Mileage Plan miles without flying is by using the Alaska Airlines co-branded credit cards provided by Bank of America.

One option is the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card, which has an annual fee of $95. New cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus miles along with Alaska's Famous Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees starting at $23) after spending $3,000 or more within the first 90 days of account opening.

For small business owners, the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card might be a better fit. This card comes with a $70 annual fee for the business and $25 per additional card. As part of a limited-time welcome offer, you'll receive 50,000 bonus miles and Alaska's Famous Companion Fare ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after making $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days.

Both of these cards offer benefits such as a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to six additional travelers on the same reservation, plus discounts on inflight purchases and lounge access.

When spending with either the personal or business card, you will earn the following miles:

• Earn 3 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Alaska Airlines purchases
• Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent on qualifying gas, EV charging stations, cable, streaming services, and local transit (including ride share) purchases
• Earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases

Additionally, starting January 1, 2025, cardholders of either the personal or business Alaska Airlines credit card will earn 1 elite qualifying mile for every $3 spent (up to 30,000 EQMs per year).

Alaska Airlines transfer partners

Transfer Bilt Points to Alaska Mileage Plan

In March 2024, Bilt Rewards announced that Alaska Mileage Plan would be a transfer partner. Now, you can transfer Bilt Points to Alaska at a 1:1 ratio. Additionally, Alaska Airlines Visa cardholders earn 3 miles for every dollar spent (on up to $50,000 annually) when paying rent through Bilt using their Alaska Airlines Visa card.

Transfer HawaiianMiles to Alaska Mileage Plan

Following the merger between Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines, you can now transfer miles between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines at a 1:1 ratio.

If you're looking for a way to earn additional Alaska miles without opening an Alaska credit card, consider applying for a Hawaiian Airlines co-branded credit card.

Hawaiian Airlines credit cards are currently offering the following attractive welcome bonuses:

• Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard®: Receive 70,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after making $2,000 in purchases within the first 90 days.
• Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard®: Get 50,000 bonus HawaiianMiles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.

The details for the Hawaiian Mastercard and Hawaiian Business Mastercard have been independently gathered by Dinogo. These card details have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you don't have any HawaiianMiles yet, keep in mind that HawaiianMiles is currently a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards. This allows you to earn a generous welcome bonus from an Amex rewards card and transfer those points to HawaiianMiles, which can then be transferred to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. However, this transfer option may no longer be available after 2025.

Transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska

Even if you don't carry an Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines credit card, you can still earn miles by transferring Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio. Plus, you'll receive a bonus of 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Before transferring points to book an award flight, ensure you check for availability, as point transfers are irreversible.

Earn business rewards with EasyBiz

Alaska Airlines offers a business rewards program called EasyBiz. This program allows businesses to earn rewards based on the price of their employees' tickets. The miles earned through EasyBiz are separate from the employee's mileage, meaning both the business and the employee benefit.

Businesses earn 1 Alaska mile for every dollar spent on the base fare. Additionally, EasyBiz provides valuable features such as 24-hour reservation holds, travel management tools, and ticket reporting, making it easier to manage employee travel and maximize the value of your spending.

You can sign up for EasyBiz through Alaska's official website. Once enrolled, you'll be given an EasyBiz number that can be used by you, your employees, or your travel agent to link to Alaska bookings.

Be aware that, as stated on Alaska's website, "new EasyBiz enrollments are currently unavailable while we undergo system updates."

Earn Alaska miles with travel partners

You can also accumulate Alaska miles through other travel partners, allowing you to earn miles on a variety of travel-related expenses, including hotel stays and car rentals.

Book hotels with Alaska partners

You can earn extra Mileage Plan miles by booking through Alaska Airlines Hotels. However, be aware that you might not earn hotel loyalty points on these bookings. It's important to choose which rewards program is more valuable to you.

Additionally, you can opt to earn Alaska miles instead of hotel points when you book with select hotel chains, at the following conversion rates:

Rent a car and earn Alaska miles

You can also rack up Alaska miles when reserving car rentals through Alaska Airlines Car Rental. The number of miles you earn will be based on the rental cost, but you won’t accumulate rental car points on these bookings. Note that prices may differ compared to booking directly with the rental agency.

You can also reserve rentals directly through car rental companies and earn Alaska miles instead of rental car points at these rates:

Earn Alaska miles with other partners

In addition, you can accumulate Alaska miles through various Mileage Plan partners for everyday expenses, such as dining and even shopping online.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping

Keep in mind that the number of miles you earn per dollar spent varies between merchants and changes frequently. To maximize your rewards, use a shopping portal comparison tool like Cashback Monitor to see potential earnings across different websites.

Mileage Plan Shopping occasionally runs special offers that reward you for meeting a spending threshold or purchasing from select merchants — be sure to watch for these deals.

Mileage Plan Dining

The miles you earn from dining purchases depend on your Mileage Plan Dining membership level. There are three tiers: basic, select member, and VIP. You'll upgrade to select status by subscribing to email alerts, and to VIP by dining 11 times within a year.

Select members earn 3 miles per dollar spent, while VIP members earn 5 miles per dollar. If you don't sign up for email notifications, you'll remain a basic member, earning just 1 mile per $2 spent.

If you haven't joined Alaska's dining program yet, you can earn 500 bonus miles after your first purchase. To qualify, spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant and leave a review on the Mileage Plan Dining website.

Purchase Alaska miles

Another option to acquire Alaska miles is by buying them directly. However, unless there's a special promotion, buying miles without a deal usually doesn’t provide the best value.

Alaska often runs limited-time offers, where you can buy miles with a bonus of up to 50%. With this bonus, your cost per mile drops to around 1.97 cents, which, while higher than TPG’s October 2024 valuation of 1.45 cents per mile, still presents a solid opportunity to maximize your rewards.

Final thoughts

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are highly coveted in the loyalty program world. Although it may be harder to earn these miles without flying Alaska frequently, the addition of Hawaiian Airlines as a transfer partner and other earning opportunities have made it easier for dedicated travelers to accumulate miles.