Alaska Mileage Plan – Unique Redemptions & Amex MR Transfer Opportunity

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The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a valuable rewards program that offers unique flight redemption options through 24 airline partners, including OneWorld. This program allows travel to various niche destinations worldwide.  Since there is a limited opportunity to indirectly transfer American Express (USA) Membership Rewards to a Mileage Plan, it’s time to peel back the layers of this underrated loyalty program and examine some of its vast reward offerings.

Introduction

Over the past couple of years, I have repeatedly heard negativity from points and miles enthusiasts towards Alaska Mileage Plan, arguing that the sweet spots of the past have dried up and pricing has now become dynamic with many sweet spots like the famous Emirates “boomerang” gone. While there is some truth to this, the reality is that, in my view, the program is better than ever!

Alaska Mileage Plan – Partnerships & Redemption Highlights

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is well-regarded for its flexibility and value in flight redemptions. Let’s first look at what makes the program stand out.

Diverse Partner Network — Alaska is part of the Oneworld alliance and maintains partnerships with independent airlines.  As of January 2024, Mileage Plan points can be redeemed on 23 airlines to destinations worldwide.

Partner Award Charts — The award chart was overhauled in 2024, introducing a new distance-based structure divided into three region-based charts: Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa, and Asia Pacific. Pricing depends on the region and distance flown. In addition, the prices shown on the charts are “starting at” prices. However, do not worry; plenty of awards can be found in my research at the lowest price or just slightly higher.

Link to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Award Chart

Stopovers on One-Way Tickets — One of the program’s most unique features is the ability to add a free stopover to a one-way award ticket. For example, you can stop in a city (e.g., Tokyo) for a few days before continuing to your final destination. However, note that for some airlines (e.g., Starlux Airlines), the price increases significantly, and it is often cheaper to book the flight separately.

Mixing Carriers — The Alaska Mileage Plan will soon (2025) allow different airlines to be combined on a single award ticket. However, it remains to be seen if this will be limited to Oneworld airlines or if it can be combined with partner airlines.

Porter Airlines Redemptions (Coming Soon!) — This is a big one and is news that should excite all Canadians especially! Porter Airlines has been rapidly expanding its network to new destinations as more Embraer jets continue to be added to its growing fleet.

The partnership with Alaska Airlines means you can soon redeem Mileage Plan points for Porter flights. Based on the published partner award chart, the pricing is also expected to be unbelievably cheap: as low as 4,500 points!

It’s important to remember that Porter Airlines only has an Economy Class cabin; however, if you have flown an Embrarer, you know how spacious it can be on this aircraft.

Japan Airlines First Class —Quite possibly the best First Class to debut in 2024, Japan Airlines’ new First Class aboard its A350-1000 is a revolutionary product. I had the chance to fly it recently, and it is currently the best product for flying Trans-Pacific. JAL is an Oneworld partner, so awards can be booked through the Mileage Plan for 100,000 points.

Free Changes & Cancellations – Changes to award tickets and cancellations are FREE until 2 hours before departure.

Outstanding Customer Service –Alaska Airlines call center agents are a pleasure to deal with. Not only are they competent, but there is hardly any waiting time to reach one. Every agent I have spoken to has been cheery, kind, and patient.  Alaska Airlines agents, in my opinion, truly stand out from the dozens of airline call center staff I have dealt with over the years!

Transfer from Amex (USA) Membership Rewards (MR) — There is a LIMITED TIME opportunity to transfer Amex MR to the Alaska Mileage Plan via HawaiianMiles. To add more context, historically, accruing Alaska Mileage reward points has been difficult, with Marriott Bonvoy being the only transfer partner. In the United States, Bank of America issues Alaska Airlines credit cards; however, accrual presents a challenge beyond the one-time sign-up bonus and organic spending. There are no longer any Alaska credit cards in Canada.

In September 2024, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines completed their merger, meaning a single reward program would be coming soon. You can read about all the merger details here. In the interim, it has become possible to transfer points between the two award programs, HawaiianMiles and Alaska Mileage Plan, at a 1:1 ratio, at no charge. The icing on the cake? HawaiianMiles is a transfer partner with Amex Membership Rewards.  This means:

Amex MR -> HawaiianMiles –> Alaska Mileage Plan

There is an extremely slim chance that American Express will maintain its relationship with Hawaiian Airlines and continue to provide the ability to transfer miles to it. Hence why, this is a limited time opportunity.  We don’t know when this transfer ability will end, but speculation is that it will before summer of 2025.

Alaska Mileage Plan – Redemption Opportunities

What I love about the Alaska Mileage Plan is the ability to access some unique spots on the planet with points and miles that are not readily possible with other award programs. The following are some of the best redemption opportunities through the Alaska Mileage Plan that I am personally eyeing for my future travels.

LATAM to Easter Island, Galapagos, Falkland Islands

LATAM Airlines operates an extensive network across South America, North America, Europe, and Oceania. My interest is in South America and Oceania. Taking advantage of the stopover feature with the Alaska Mileage Plan, I can fly into South America, make a stop, and continue to remote destinations like the Easter Islands, the Galapagos, and the Falkland Islands, or even take the South Pacific route to New Zealand and Australia.

Flights from North America to South American hubs like Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Sao Paulo cost just 45,000 to 60,000 points one way from Boston, New York-JFK, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, and Los Angeles with a stopover. Notice also how low the taxes are.

Many remote destinations can be expensive to fly to. However, LATM redemptions through the Alaska Mileage Plan can make these dream destinations within reach. Also note that although LATAM can be booked through Delta SkyMiles and Iberia Plus, availability is not the same, and pricing is generally much higher.

 

Fiji Airways to South Pacific Islands

Visiting the islands of the South Pacific, like Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga, has always been on my bucket list. With Fiji Airways, I can fly to these destinations at a very reasonable price and with a stopover.  Here’s a look at some of the routings that I am eying:

Pricing for the Business class is just 75,000 Alaska points with very minimal taxes. These flights can also be booked using a program like British Airways Avios, but expect to pay more in taxes and points. Plus, no free stopovers are permitted.

Seeing the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has also been on my bucket list and I’m thinking of heading to Cairns with a stopover in Nadi, Fiji.

IcelandAir to Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands

Icelandair is one of the unique partners for redeeming Alaska Mileage Plan points. I visited Iceland in 2023, and it is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited to date. Since then, I’ve been inspired to see some other places nearby, notably the Faroe Islands and Greenland, both accessible by Icelandair.

One caveat with IcelandAir is that business class awards are rarely released, and even if they were, the seats do not lie flat. All these flights will be economy, which means that awards will be priced relatively low.

Icelandair has a vast network that extends beyond the Iceland region, and if you are okay with flying economy, some awards can be obtained very cheaply. Here is what the entire Icelandair’s route network looks like:

Air Tahiti Nui to Tahiti

Visiting Tahiti, especially Bora Bora, has been a dream destination of mine since I was a child. I hope to make it a reality in 2026, and options to fly there on points in business class, especially with a family, are very limited.  Luckily, Air Tahiti Nui (not to be confused with Air Tahiti) can be booked through the Alaska Mileage Plan. Here are all the routes that Air Tahiti Nui flies:

Pricing from Seattle and Los Angeles is very reasonable, with up to 4 seats being released at times:

Condor to Europe

Have you heard of Condor? It’s a German airline known for providing affordable fares and a solid business-class product.

The comprehensive route network for Condor spans the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia:

What’s impressive about Condor is the good availability and pricing offered through the Alaska Mileage Plan. Often, when no other flight awards are available, Condor is generally available.

STARLUX Airlines

Let’s talk about Starlux Airlines. Flying this airline is perhaps the number one most wanted award ticket through Alaska Mileage Plan, and for a good reason: the Taipei-based airline offers a phenomenal business class product:

While the current route network only offers flights to the west coast of North America and intra-Asia, there is a rumour that direct east coast flights will soon begin.

 

Starlux can be priced at a Saver and a Flex Level. For flights to and from Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, the Saver price is 75,000, while Flex is 175,000.

A stopover or connecting through Taipei on a second Starlux flight significantly increases the prices, and it is cheaper to book two separate tickets than to combine them into a single ticket.

Short Haul Intra Asia Flights

I visit Asia often, which means looking for a fair price for award flights within the region. Alaska truly shines here, with many routes available that are as low as 15,000 points in business class, including Starlux. Just take a look at some of these examples:

 

Conclusion

The Mileage Plan from Alaska Airlines is a strong rewards program providing unique flight redemption opportunities via exclusive airline partnerships, such as LATAM, STARLUX, Air Tahiti Nui, IcelandAir, and Condor. In addition, access to Oneworld Alliance Airlines and flexibility with free cancellations/changes and stopovers make the Mileage Plan program stronger than ever. The limited-time opportunity to transfer American Express Membership rewards to Alaska should not be overlooked.

Alaska Mileage Plan is a home run program in my books, and I look forward to engaging more with it in the coming years!