To the point
Starting in March 2024, changes will be made to Alaska Airlines' frequent flyer program, Mileage Plan. Let's take a look at what this means in terms of booking award flights with Alaska Airlines and its partners.
Starting in March 2024, Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program will adjust the fare structure for award flights. The changes will mainly affect partner flights, with a new chart divided into major regions. Let’s take a closer look at the upcoming changes.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Upcoming changes
Alaska Airlines award flights
The award chart for flights operated by Alaska Airlines will change slightly. It will still be based on distance travelled, but two new sections will be added: Hawaii and Mexico/Caribbean/Central America. For flights in the United States, Alaska and Canada, prices in miles will start at:
| Distance (miles) | Economy | First |
| Less than 700 | 5 000 | 15 000 |
| 701-1,400 | 7 500 | 25 000 |
| 1,401-2,100 | 10 000 | 25 000 |
| 2,101 and more | 12 500 | 30 000 |
For Hawaii, all distances combined, award tickets will cost from :
- 15,000 miles in economy class;
- 40,000 miles in First Class.
For Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, regardless of distance, award tickets will start at :
- 10,000 miles in economy class;
- 30,000 miles in First Class.
Partner award flights
Good news about partner flights! It will now be possible to book international short-haul flights and travel within the same region. There will be three different award charts, divided as follows:
- Americas (includes North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America)
- Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Asia and the Pacific (includes Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the South Pacific, Japan and Korea)
It will also be possible to combine up to two different partners on the same ticket. Similar to Aeroplan award tickets, one stopover (up to 14 days) is allowed on the outbound and return trip.
Fares are based on distance travelled in miles. These are flights from the United States to the region in question, or flights within the region itself.
The amounts shown in the following tables are from, and therefore the lowest prices in miles that we can find. It’s very likely that mileage prices will be much higher for popular dates and destinations, or if there is more than one carrier on the same ticket.
Americas
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
| Less than 700 | 4 500 | 6 000 | 9 000 | 13 500 |
| 701-1,400 | 7 500 | 10 000 | 15 000 | 25 000 |
| 1,401-2,100 | 12 500 | 17 500 | 25 000 | 40 000 |
| 2,100-4,000 | 17 500 | 22 500 | 35 000 | 52 500 |
| 4,001-6,000 | 25 000 | 32 500 | 50 000 | 75 000 |
| 6,001 and more | 30 000 | 40 000 | 60 000 | 90 000 |
Europe, Middle East and Africa
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
| Less than 1,500 | 7 500 | 10 000 | 15 000 | 22 500 |
| 1,500-3,500 | 22 500 | 30 000 | 45 000 | 67 500 |
| 3,501-5,000 | 27 500 | 35 000 | 55 000 | 82 500 |
| 5,001-7,000 | 35 000 | 45 000 | 70 000 | 105 000 |
| 7,001-10,000 | 42 500 | 55 000 | 85 000 | 130 000 |
| 10,001 and more | 55 000 | 72 500 | 110 000 | 165 000 |
Asia-Pacific
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
| Less than 1,500 | 7 500 | 10 000 | 15 000 | 22 500 |
| 1,500-3,000 | 22 500 | 32 500 | 50 000 | 75 000 |
| 3,001-5,000 | 30 000 | 40 000 | 60 000 | 90 000 |
| 5,001-7,000 | 37 500 | 50 000 | 75 000 | 110 000 |
| 7,001-10,000 | 42 500 | 55 000 | 85 000 | 130 000 |
| 10,001 and more | 65 000 | 85 000 | 130 000 | 195 000 |
Alaska Airlines’ award booking partners are all member airlines of theoneworld alliance :
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian
- SriLankan Airlines
In addition to the following companies :
- Aer Lingus
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Condor
- EL AL Israel Airlines
- Hainan Airlines
- Icelandair
- Korean Air
- LATAM Airlines
- Ravn Alaska
- Singapore Airlines
- STARLUX Airlines
Collect Alaska Mileage Plan miles in Canada
With credit cards
Since September 2023, MBNA credit cards affiliated with Alaska Airlines have been completely withdrawn from the Canadian market. Former Alaska Airlines cards have been converted to MBNA Rewards cards.
However, it will soon be possible to convert MBNA Rewards points to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan at a rate of 1:1. There’s no date yet set for the launch of the partnership, but we’ll keep you informed of developments.
MBNA has confirmed that this possibility of converting MBNA Rewards points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will be open to all cardholders of the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® cardholders or the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard®once an agreement has been reached between the two companies.
This means that MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard® cardholders will be able to earn up to 5.5 Alaska Miles per dollar spent – taking into account the 10% annual bonus – (and holders of the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard® can earn up to 2 Alaska miles per dollar spent)!
With transfer partners
Alaska Airlines is a transfer partner of the Marriott Bonvoy program. Marriott Bonvoy points can be converted into Alaska Mileage Plan miles at a rate of 3:1.
What’s more, when you transfer more than 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, a bonus of 5,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles is added.
Buying miles
Finally, it’s also possible to buy Alaska Mileage Plan miles directly, at a cost of US$0.032 (3.2 US cents) per mile. Promotions are frequent, so stay tuned if you’re considering buying miles in the future.
Bottom Line
In short, the changes to Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program in 2024 mainly affect flights operated by partners. It will now be possible to book international short-haul flights and travel within the same region of the world.
Mileage prices will change for several routes, both upwards and downwards. To make sure you always book at the best price, try an award search tool like seats.aero!
