This not-to-be-missed miles-buying promo makes premium travel very accessible, no matter who you are, on Aeromexico, Air France, American, Alaska, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Emirates, Fiji Airways, KLM, Korean Air, LAN, and Qantas.
It pays to have connections the world over, and Alaska Airlines does. Its partners include American, Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas, and eight others, and it’s that sociability that is the basis of this great sale (see FCF’s Feb. 6 alert).
The point is not to fly Alaska Airlines, which has a route system largely limited to the West Coast, Hawaii and Mexico, but to use the airline’s miles—which anyone can acquire cheaply and easily—to book its partners that can take you almost anywhere in the world.
In fact, don’t think of this as buying Alaska Miles, but rather purchasing a highly convertible currency— an Airline Reserve Currency.
Anyone Is Eligible
The key move is to join Alaska’s frequent flyer program, Mileage Plan (it takes five minutes), as you have to be a member for ten days before the airline will let you in on this storehouse of savings. Use the waiting period to check availability for trips you have planned or to explore your wish-list. (See booking steps in the Sept. issue.) Join quickly as the offer ends March 15.
The Deal
The airline is offering a bonus of up to 40% on miles purchased—which makes this already good deal a great deal. The maximum purchase per transaction is 40,000 miles, but there’s no limit to the number of Airline Reserve Currency-purchase transactions permitted, although, there is a limit four transactions per credit card per month (not an issue if you have more than one credit card).
The bonus rate increases as the number of miles purchased does, with the 40% bonus going to those who buy 35,000 miles or more. With a 40% bonus, the cost is 2.1¢ per mile (including tax).
Savings Power
Domestic Flights On American: Save up to 60% on a Business Class transcon flight on American. The published fare from New York to LAX is $3,572. Booking the ticket using Alaska miles drops the cost up to 60% (up to $2,153 off), bringing it to just $1,419 round-trip.
Domestic Flights On Delta: Save up to 42% on a First Class fare from San Francisco to Washington, DC, on Delta. The published fare on this route normally goes for $1,837, but this strategy reduces it to just $1,064 round-trip (up to $773 off).
[aside headline="For FCF Subscribers Who Live Abroad (or in U.S. Cities Not in the Examples)" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]The article has global relevance because almost anyone in almost any country can buy Alaska miles, book Alaska’s mileage partners, and save on First and Business Class travel. For example, Alaska’s British Airways mileage award is offered from London to North America. Cathay Pacific’s flight awards are offered from Asia to North America (including Canada), intra-Asia, and for travel between Hong Kong and Europe. Even Emirates awards via Alaska miles redemptions are not only offered from India or the Middle East to North America, but also between Europe and North America.[/aside]
International Savings Power: Save up to 69% on a First Class flight on British Airways. The published First Class fare from Boston to Johannesburg, South Africa, can be as much as $15,745 round-trip. Booking through this method drops the price to $4,961 (including award taxes), a savings of $10,784 (69%).
More Reasons to Like this Strategy
Kick the Tires First: Some airlines require you to sign up for their mileage program in order to check award space online. Alaska does not, so you can see what’s actually available before taking our advice.
See Partner Availability—Easily: Search online to see Alaska partner availability, including Aeromexico, Air France, American, British Airways, Delta, Emirates, Fiji Airways, KLM, Korean, and Qantas. For partners Cathay Pacific and LAN, call the airline at 800-252-7522 for availability before you commit.
Flexibility = Options
Alaska’s “Mix and Match” awards allow you to use a different partner in each direction, or to book a one-way award. All of its partners, except Delta and Korean, allow one-way bookings at 50% mileage cost.
Significantly Less Cash Outlay: On some international routes, Alaska charges lower award taxes than the partner airline itself charges via its own mileage program. For example, Air France’s Business Class award taxes on the New York-Paris route are $679 round-trip, while a ticket booked through Alaska’s mileage program for travel on Air France incurs only $174 in taxes, a savings of $505 (74%).
Samples of More Unbelievable Opportunties
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Upgrade Food For Thought
When should I buy miles? In short: When published premium fares are high. In general, for domestic flights that means $1,500+; for international flights, $3,500+ in Business and $4,500+ in First Class.
Continental U.S. and Canada Awards: The best value is for Business Class on three-cabin American flights (just 65,000 miles round-trip to JFK from LAX and SFO). Don’t use Alaska miles on an American two-cabin aircraft because Alaska charges 15,000 more miles than AA does (50,000). Or fly Delta (also 50,000 miles).
First Class Awards: One of the best deals, British Airways seldom discounts First and Business Class fares to London. However, in October, we found that British Airways had First Class award space via Alaska miles from Boston available 30 days out of the month on the departure and 28 days on the return, a ticket that otherwise costs $8,226. Other routes on other airlines can have even more lucrative availability
More Upgrade Mindset Thoughts and Questions
- Which partner flight awards cannot be booked as a one-way ticket? Delta and Korean.
- If I live in Australia, Asia, or Europe, can I still get this bonus offer? Yes.
- Which Alaska partners offer First Class international awards? American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Emirates.
- Which credit card offers point transfers to Alaska? Starwood.
- Which Alaska partners offer awards on A380s? Air France, British Airways, Emirates, and Qantas; and our research shows that Emirates has good Business Class award space on its A380 from New York to Dubai.
- Stopovers? Yes, but only on international flights. Domestic stopovers are limited to Alaska flights.
- How far out can award travel be booked with Alaska miles on its partners? 330 days.
- When booking award space online using Alaska miles, beware of the “mixed cabin itinerary” (or also shown as a blue seat icon) in the select flight section of your booking process; it means that one part of your flight itinerary is in a different class than requested. Click on the icon to get more flight details.
Survey of Award Availability Using Alaska Miles on Partner Airlines
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