a bed with a television on it

Whenever an airline offers a major bonus – there’s typically one common thread. They want you to fly with them! That’s not this promo. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a highly lucrative loyalty program, and in an amusing twist, it’s offering 10,000 miles at a very minimum for every round trip you fly with… wait for it… another airline! Need details? Got you…

a wooden structure with a blue skyAlaska Mileage Plan Partners

Alaska doesn’t do all that much international flying beyond the United States and North America. In fact, they really don’t at all. To make their loyalty program valuable to people who regularly do, they offer great rates when you choose to earn miles with them, rather than the airline you’re actually flying.

Think: you fly Finnair, and choose to earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles from the trip, instead of Finnair miles. And yes, you can totally do that.

From March 1st through December 20th of this year (2020), Alaska is rewarding everyone who drops their Mileage Plan number on partners with at least 10,000 miles per round trip on flights that go from North America to places outside of North America – aka NOT North America.

With partners including Emirates, British Airways, Air France, Qantas, JAL, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and many more, that leaves quite a lot of possibilities. Earning 10,000 for an economy round trip is super, and if you’re in a higher cabin, you’ll likely earn many more.

qantas a330Why Earn With Alaska Mileage Plan?

There’s a very simple reason here: Alaska Mileage Plan has better rates than most airlines when it comes to burning points on amazing airline partners, like all the above. We’re talking 70,000 point first class to Australia and lots of other gems.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that with a minimum of 10,000 Alaska miles earned per round trip on their partners, a few flights could add up to a free flight up front in not a lot of time. That’s the goal, right?

How To Register And All That

Fear not, you don’t even need to, but this landing page should comfort your anxiety of being screwed by “the man”. All flights starting now -as long as the actual travel is on or after March 1st count – and that means you can start booking today. There are 15 eligible airlines you can fly with, including…

Aer Lingus, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Condor, EL AL, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, LATAM, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines.

a white airplane flying in the sky

If you happen to be travelling one way and crediting to Alaska Mileage Plan, that’s okay too! Alaska will still award at least 5,000 miles per one way as well. The miles can take 4-6 weeks to post, so don’t panic if they don’t come in right away.

A Really Fantastic Opportunity

If you’re a fan of spontaneous getaways or have lots of travel planned on these partners, there’s a very high percentage chance that you’ll earn a lot more, and a lot more valuable miles with Alaska than by crediting miles to the airline you’re flying with.

The only sure fire way to know is to use WhereToCredit.com, which tells you earning rates for any type of ticket from all partners. You can then compare that expected earning versus earning a min of 10,000 round trip with Alaska. These miles don’t count for elite status, but for earn and burn – it’s a firecracker.

HT: OMAAT

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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7 Comments

  1. Cool… What if I fly one way with Cathay from outside North America to North America.
    For ex. HKG-JFK??

    Thanks

  2. Jfk to LHR BA business clas how many miles will I earn if I add their mileage plan or stick with the avios I’ll earn ?

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