Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines seems to be a growing entity, especially in the western United States. Alaska offers Mileage Plan as it’s particular airline miles rewards programs. Alaska offers passengers the ability to purchase items onboard using credit cards on certain flights, which is nice for people like me who don’t typically carry cash. It is especially important as the airline does not offer free meals. However, you can see what will be available on your flight with the Alaska Airlines Inflight Meal Options and plan accordingly.

Earn Miles

You can earn Mileage Plan miles by flying Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air, the regional carrier for the airline. In addition, you can earn miles with the airline’s program partners, listed below.

Partner Airlines

Air France, American Airlines, Big Sky Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Era Aviation, Hawaiian Airlines, Horizon Air, KLM, LAN Chile, Northwest Airlines, PenAir and Qantas

Hotel Partners

Best Western, Choice Hotels, Coast Hotels & Resorts, Delta Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, FiestaAmericana, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt Properties, IC Hotels Group, Kimpton, Marriott Rewards, Mileage Plan Dining & Hotels, Preferred Hotel Group, Princess Lodges, Red Lion Hotels, Shilo Inn, Silver Legacy, Starwood, Westmark and Wyndham

Car Partners

Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National and Thrifty

Other Partners

Amtrak, Rewards Network, MasterPark, Mileage Plan Shopping, Points.com and Safeway grocery stores.

Redeem Miles

Awards start at 15,000 miles with a AS50 Award, which is a cash and miles award. There are several awards levels available for miles redemption.

• AS50 Award (cash & 15,000 miles): This can be used only on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights. Members may receive a discount on fares up to 50%. The maximum discount allowed is $250 off of the base fare.
• Saver Award (starting at 20,000 miles): This award may be used on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, and PenAir in and out of Dutch Harbor with limited availability.
• Partner Award (starting at 25,000 miles): This award may be used on flights operated by partner airlines with limited availability. Partner airlines include American Airlines, Northwest and Delta)
• Peak Award (starting at 40,000 miles): This award may be used on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, and PenAir in and out of Dutch Harbor. Availability is not limited, and there are no blackout dates.

Awards may be booked through alaskaair.com, by calling (800) 252-7522 for tickets on Alaska or Horizon or by calling (800) 307-6912 for partner awards.

Elite Members

MVP Members

To qualify for MVP membership, you can do the following: Fly 20,000 actual flight miles per calendar year on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air; fly 25,000 actual flight miles per calendar year on Alaska, Horizon, American, LanChile, or Northwest; fly 30 segments per calendar year on a combination of on the above airlines.

Gold Members

Gold membership in one of the following ways: Fly 40,000 actual flight miles per calendar year on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air; fly 50,000 actual flight miles per calendar year on Alaska, American, Horizon, LanChile or Northwest; fly 60 segments per calendar year on a combination of the above airlines.

Provided your account remains active, your miles never expire. If you account remains inactive for 3 years, you will lose any accrued miles. As the airlines says, your miles are “immortal.” Nice. You do not have the flexibility with this program to transfer miles between partner airline programs. In addition, miles cannot be combined with partner airline miles for awards travel.