Alaska Mileage Plan miles can be used for award travel on Alaska Airlines and on 16 domestic and international partners. The number of miles and the fees required for an award ticket will depend on which airline you choose to fly. This guide will walk you through the process of finding and booking an award ticket.
Compare Award Prices
Alaska Airlines presents a complication for those trying to optimize their frequent flyer miles. They have a separate award chart for every partner, so it is not as easy to say what a particular award will cost or if it is better than, say, booking it with American Airlines miles instead. It really depends on which airline you fly. That makes it a great use of the award chart search tool that I created, which displays a separate price for each partner.
Compare award prices from Alaska Mileage Plan and other programs.
To give you a head start, the “best” partner for a particular itinerary tends to be an airline that has a large presence in the region (think British Airways or KLM for Europe, and Cathay Pacific for Asia).
Estimate Taxes, Fees, and Surcharges
Because the same award space is generally available to all partners, consider the possible fees and surcharges that will apply before you redeem your miles. If you have miles with both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, for example, they probably have different award prices for the same ticket. But they will also have different fees. I recommend that you familiarize yourself for these fees before you begin searching for award availability.
Learn more about taxes, fees, and surcharges when booking through:
Review the Award Routing Rules
One last thing before you start searching: make sure you are familiar with the Alaska Mileage Plan routing rules. They are actually quite simple, and because the Alaska Airlines website displays most partners and builds these rules into its search logic, you probably won’t have any challenges. But because they are so simple they also open up creative opportunities.
Generally speaking, the award chart is the only routing rule you need. If it says you can fly from one region to another, then you can take almost any path. If it doesn’t say you can fly from one region to another, then that award is not possible — at least not with Alaska’s miles. Also remember that you are permitted one stopover in each direction.
You may get lucky and find results on your first try, searching from your origin to your destination. In many cases, however, it’s easier to find the flights you want if you break up your search and look one leg at a time. For example, if you want to travel from the U.S. to Europe, create a list of all the gateway airports in each region. (Gateway airports are international departure and arrival points. They may be big hubs like New York or smaller cities like Portland.)
The logic here is that when you submit a search the airline’s computers will consider all possible connecting points and then look to see if there is award space on all segments of your journey. But computers take shortcuts and sometimes miss things. If you do the work yourself you will be more certain that you have exhausted every option. So if you live in Seattle you might look for flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, and even New York. Then from each of those cities you might look for flights to London, Paris, Madrid, and so on. (Don’t forget to look for flights from Seattle to each of these European cities, too!)
As you find routes with availability, you can piece together an entire trip. You can visit an airline’s website or OpenFlights.org to get more information about which airlines serve which cities.
However, there are specific rules about how you may combine flights on multiple carriers in the same award. You should try to understand these and other routing rules before you start finding flights that may not be permitted.
Learn more about the Alaska Mileage Plan routing rules.
Find Award Availability
There are five primary locations where you might search for award space on Alaska Airlines and its partners: AlaskaAir.com, AA.com, BritishAirways.com, Qantas.com, and FlyingBlue.com. In addition, you might find it useful to use ExpertFlyer.com for some purposes. ExpertFlyer is a paid service; the rest are free to use.
Find Award Space Using Alaska Airlines
In most cases the Alaska Airlines website is able to search for and book award travel on all partners, including:
- Air France
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates
- Fiji Airways
- Hainan Airlines (avaialble March 30, 2016)
- Icelandair
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Qantas
- PenAir
- Ravn Alaska
Learn more about how to find award space using the Alaska Airlines website.
Keep in mind that Alaska will only display award space for eligible routes. Space may be available but will not be shown if Alaska doesn’t offer that particular award.
In addition, Alaska does not display any award space for Cathay Pacific or LAN. This does not mean that award space is not available. Instead, you must call an agent to book these flights; it may even be possible to request a waiver for the additional fee for manual reservations.
| Language | Phone Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| All Customers | (800) 252-7522 | Daily – 24 hours |
An agents should be able to pull it up.
Be sure to record the exact date and flight number. Although you could just provide the agent with dates and cities, their computer may not search all possible options. If you have a specific flight in mind, provide the agent with specific information.
Find Award Space Using British Airways and Qantas
British Airways offers one of the most comprehensive tools for finding award space on other oneworld Alliance members. However, it does not display award space on Alaska, which may limit your ability to find connecting flights within the United States. British Airways may also display award space on airlines that are not partners with Mileage Plan, and it may display award space that does not satisfy Alaska’s award routing rules.
Award space for these airlines should be visible on the British Airways website and are also Alaska Mileage Plan partners. You can then call Alaska Airlines to book:
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- LAN Airlines
- Qantas Airways
The British Airways website is most useful for finding awards on Cathay Pacific and LAN, which are not displayed on Alaska’s website. Note that British Airways will display award space on Dragonair, a oneworld affiliate carrier that provides regional service for Cathay Pacific. However, Dragonair is not an Alaska Mileage Plan partner.
The Qantas website is a good backup to British Airways, and it does include award space on Alaska Airlines. It also displays award space on Emirates, which is a parter of both Qantas and Alaska Airlines.
Learn more about how to find award space using the British Airways and Qantas websites.
Find Award Space with American Airlines
Alaska Airlines and American Airlines share many of the same partners, and in some cases one offers a better search tool than the other. One system may do a better job of finding the same award space, or it may offer a better way of displaying results. That really depends on the kind of award you’re looking for and your preferences. I generally prefer using the Alaska Airlines website for awards that will be booked using Alaska’s miles. Still, you can consider using the American Airlines website to find award space on these airlines:
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Qantas Airways
Learn more about how to find award space using the American Airlines website.
Find Award Space with Air France Flying Blue
Several of Alaska’s partners are members of SkyTeam, another alliance similar to oneworld. Although you should be able to find award space on the Alaska Airlines website, some people prefer to search on the Air France (Flying Blue) website instead. Like the difference between British Airways and Qantas, it depends on what you like best. The following Alaska Airlines partners are displayed on the Air France website:
- Air France
- Delta Air Lines
- KLM
- Korean Air
Learn more about how to find award space using the Air France website.
Find Award Space with ExpertFlyer
ExpertFlyer is a paid service that some people use, although there is at least one free option discussed above for each of Alaska’s partners. If you choose to use ExpertFlyer, it can find award space on the following carriers:
- American Airlines
- Alaska Airlines
Learn more about how to find award space using ExpertFlyer. (coming soon)
Find Award Space with Delta Air Lines
I do not recommend searching for award space on the Delta Air Lines website. Because Delta does not publish an award chart, it can be difficult to know when you have found the cheapest “saver” awards that are made available to partner airlines like Alaska. You should be alright using the Alaska Airlines website to find space on SkyTeam partners, or using the Flying Blue website if you really need a second opinion.
