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I don’t earn a commission if you are approved for the 50,000 miles Alaska Air card. But it is one of the best cards (in my opinion) available right now. And the highest bonus which I’ve seen on the Alaska Air card.
Not only is the minimum spending low at $1,000 within 3 months, but it is issued by Bank of America which means that you’re not applying for another card from banks like Chase, American Express and Barclays.
At the very least, 50,000 Alaska Air miles could get you:
2 domestic round-trip coach flights on American Airlines or Delta within the US
1 round-trip coach flight to Hawaii
1-Way to Asia in Business Class on Cathay Pacific
1-Way to India or Africa in Coach on Cathay Pacific
$100 off an Alaska Air ticket of $200+ for 10,000 miles
50,000 Alaska Air Miles!
Using Alaska Air Miles
Link: Using Alaska Air Miles
Some folks may not be familiar with Alaska Airlines, so here are 10 ways to use 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles.
1. 20,000 Miles for $200 off Alaska Airlines Flights
If you book a paid flight on Alaska Airlines, you can use “Money & Miles“ for a discount of up to 50% of the retail cost of the flight.
This is only available for flights booked online and on Alaska Airlines flights (sometimes called “Alaska Airlines metal”).
Money & Miles is NOT available for codeshare flights flown by partner airlines such as American Airlines or Delta.
Here’s how it works:
Use 10,000 miles to reduce the price of a ticket by up to $100
Or 20,000 miles to reduce the price by up to $200
You can Save up to $200 on Your Ticket With Money & Miles
For example, if you buy an Alaska Airlines ticket for $250, you can redeem 10,000 miles to take $100 off the price of the ticket. So you’ll end up paying $150 and 10,000 miles for the flight.
If you use 20,000 miles, you would only save $125, because you can only get a discount up to 50% of the ticket price.
But if you buy a ticket that costs $400+, you can use 20,000 miles to take $200 off the price!
Miles & Money Example
You would pay ~$584 to fly roundtrip from Seattle to Maui roundtrip on Alaska Air on February 6, 2014.
You’d Pay ~$584 to fly From Seattle to Maui Roundtrip.
The same trip would only cost you ~$384 + 20,000 miles, if you used Money & Miles. You’d save $200 cash and getting a value of 1 cent per mile for each Alaska Air mile used.
But Using Money & Miles, You’d pay ~$383 + 20,000 Miles & Save $200!
An award ticket to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines usually costs 40,000 miles, but if there are no award seats available when you want to travel, you can still use miles to lower the cost!
You can use Money & Miles on any paid Alaska Airlines reservation, including domestic flights, flights to Hawaii, Mexico, or within Alaska.
With Miles & Money you don’t have to worry about award seats being available and you earn miles on your paid ticket!
2. $99 Companion Ticket
The Alaska Airlines credit card comes with an annual companion ticket voucher valid for one year.
This can be used on any paid coach ticket on Alaska Airlines. You cannot use it on flights booked on partner airlines (such as American Airlines) or on codeshare flights flown by partner airlines.
With the companion voucher, you pay for the first ticket, but the second ticket only costs $99 + taxes. And both passengers earn miles on these tickets!
There are some restrictions when using a Companion Fare, such as that you have to travel in coach and that both passengers (not necessarily the card holder!) must be booked in the same itinerary.
$99 Companion Fare Fine Print
You can use the companion voucher on round-trip or one-way travel. In addition, you can gift the companion voucher to friends or family to use, as long as the person who holds the companion voucher arranges and purchases the tickets!
You receive one companion voucher each year you have the Alaska Airline credit card. Each companion voucher expires after one year, but you can book future flights as long as you book the tickets before the voucher expires.
Where is my Companion Ticket Voucher and how do I use it?
Step 1 – Login & Click “Discount Codes”
To find your companion voucher, sign in to your Alaska Airlines account on alaskaair.com.
From the top right of the page, under the “My Account” tab, click “Discount Codes.”
Step 1 – Click “Discount Codes” to Find Your Companion Ticket Voucher
Step 2 – Click “SHOP”
You will see a page that includes all discount codes on your Alaska Airlines account. The companion voucher is labeled “Bank of America Companion Fare.”
Click “SHOP” to open a booking page with your companion voucher code already filled in.
Step 2 – Click “SHOP”
Be sure to book your flight before the companion voucher expires.
You can use the companion voucher for flights flown after the expiration date of the companion voucher, but they have to be booked before the voucher expires.
Step 3 – Search for Flights
After clicking “SHOP,” you can search flights for 2 people using your companion voucher.
Step 3 – Search for Flights
I found nonstop flights from Sacramento to Maui on September 12, 2014. The price came out to $673 for 2 passengers!
Roundtrip From Sacramento to Maui for $673 for 2 People!
Looking at the price breakdown, we see that the first passenger pays the full fare of ~$535, while the companion passenger pays only ~$138. That’s almost $400 saved using the companion voucher!
You Save ~$400 Using the Alaska Air Companion Voucher!
This can be a great value if you need to travel when award tickets might not be available, like Hawaii during the peak travel season.
The main restrictions with the companion voucher are that you can only fly on Alaska Airlines and that you can only book a coach ticket. This is one of the “secret” ways to save money on flights to Hawaii!
3. Use Alaska Air Miles to Fly on Other Airlines!
Alaska Airlines is not in an alliance, but they have partnerships with many airlines, including:
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Aeromexico
Air France
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Emirates
ERA Alaska
Fiji Airways
KLM
Korean Air
LAN Chile
PenAir
QANTAS
You can book awards with Alaska Airlines’ partner airlines for a $12.50 fee each way or $25 for a roundtrip. It’s a small fee, but awards booked through Alaska Airlines have no fuel surcharges (except for flights on British Airways).
So you can use Alaska Air mils to fly on Alaska Air as well as a lot of other airlines! Let’s look at some of the rules for booking awards on Alaska Air.
Rules for Alaska Airlines Awards
A. One-Way Awards
You can book one-way awards with Alaska miles.
B. Stopovers
If your award is solely on Alaska Airlines flights, you can have a stopover on a one-way award (even on domestic or Hawaii awards!)
Alaska Air lets you Have a Stopover on a one-way Award
You can book one-way awards on any of Alaska Airline’s partner airlines. When booking international partner airline awards, you can also have a stopover on a one-way award!
However, one-way awards on Delta and Korean Air price at the round-trip level. In other words, you will pay the full round-trip price for a one-way award on Delta or Korean Air. This means that you should try to book Delta or Korean Air awards only as part of a round-trip.
Don’t Book one-way Awards on Delta and Korea Air
C. Mixing Partner Airlines
This is the most restrictive part about partner airline awards on Alaska Air.
When you book a partner award ticket, you can only have ONE partner airline in addition to Alaska Airlines for each one-way segment.
For example, if you want to fly from Dallas to Hong Kong one-way, you cannot combine American Airlines and Cathay Pacific because that involves 2 partners of Alaska Airlines (American Airlines & Cathay Pacific).
However, you CAN combine Alaska Airlines and Cathay Pacific, because that only involves 1 partner airline (Cathay Pacific)
You can mix-and-match partners on a round-trip award if you use only 1 partner airline in each direction.
For example, you can fly Los Angeles to Seoul with Alaska Airlines and Delta. You can then return from Seoul to Los Angeles with American Airlines, because you only have 1 partner in each direction of travel!
Because the trip has Delta in one direction, it charges half the round-trip price for a Delta award to Asia.
Half of the regular round-trip price of 60,000 miles is 30,000 miles for the outbound on Delta and Alaska.
Flying from the US – Use Alaska Air miles to fly to Asia on Alaska Air and Delta
The flight back on American Airlines would cost 32,500 miles since that’s the price for an American Airlines award from Japan or Korea during the regular peak season.
Flying Back to the US – Use Alaska Air Miles to fly From Asia on American Airlines
The total price for the award is 62,500 miles.
Roundtrip to Asia Using Alaska Partner Airlines, one-way Awards for Each Direction is 62,500 Miles
D. How to Book Partner Awards?
You can book most partner awards online at AlaskaAir.com. If you want to book awards on Cathay Pacific or LAN, you will have to call Alaska Airlines at 800-252-7522 between 5:00 am and midnight Pacific Time. You have to pay a $15 fee for any awards booked over the phone.
E. Fees & Cancellations
Remember that partner awards also have a $12.50 fee for each one-way ($25 for a roundtrip). This is in addition to the phone fee if you book over the phone.
So the fees for the above award ticket to and from Asia on Alaska Air, Delta, and American Airlines would cost $40 ($15 telephone fee + $25 partner award fee).
Alaska Airlines charges $125 for both changes and cancellations made within 60 days of travel.
But there is NO change or cancellation fee if you make changes outside of 60 days before travel! This is a very customer-friendly policy which other airlines will of course not follow!
You pay $125 for Changes and Cancellations Made Within 60 Days of Travel…But no Charge for Changes Made Outside of 60 Days!
4. 50,000 Miles = 4 Domestic 1-way Tickets With Stopovers on Alaska Airlines
It costs 12,500 Alaska Air miles for a one-way ticket in economy class within the 49 Continental United States and Canada.
This includes flights to Alaska which can sometimes be expensive. As its name suggests, Alaska Airlines has many flights to Alaska!
You can book one-way awards with Alaska miles. If you book an award that is only on Alaska Airlines flights, you can have a free stopover on a domestic one-way.
You pay 25,000 Miles for a Roundtrip Coach Award
Just for fun, I wondered how much it would cost to fly from Ft. Lauderdale (the most southern mainland city Alaska Airlines flies to) to Barrow, Alaska (the most northern airport in America!)
The cheapest round-trip airfare I could find was ~$1,150!
It Costs $1,147 to fly From Fort Lauderdale to Barrow, Alaska
But it would cost only 25,000 Alaska miles + $10 to fly similar flights on the same days!
You can use 25,000 Miles + $10 to fly From Fort Lauderdale to Barrow, Alaska & Save $1,147
And because you’re allowed 1 stopover on each one-way when flying only on Alaska Airlines, you could have 2 stopovers on this round-trip.
You could stop in Anchorage on the way up and Fairbanks on the way down!
You can Visit 3 Alaskan Cities for Just 25,000 Miles Total!
The stopover on one-way domestic awards is a great benefit for people who live in or near cities with lots of Alaska Airlines flights, especially west coast cities like Seattle, Portland, Anchorage, Los Angeles, San Diego, or the Bay Area.
You could schedule a stopover at your hometown and combine two trips into a single one-way award!
Here’s a post by Hack my Trip explaining how to book domestic stopovers on Alaska Airlines.
And here’s a list of all the cities that Alaska Air and their affiliate airlines fly to. Alaska Air flies to more US cities than I initially thought!
All the Cities Where Alaska Flys!
5. 50,000 Miles = 2 Domestic Roundtrip Coach Tickets On American Airlines and Delta!
You can also book an award using your Alaska Air miles for travel on American Airlines.
A one-way in coach is still 12,500 miles each way, but you would not be allowed stopovers on a domestic award. And you have to pay a $12.50 fee in each direction.
You can use 25,000 Alaska Air Miles to fly on American Airlines Roundtrip
If you book an award that includes Delta, you will need to book a round-trip for 25,000 miles. Plus pay a $12.50 fee for each direction of your trip.
You can use 25,000 Alaska Air Miles to fly on Delta Roundtrip
You can mix-and-match partners in different directions. So you could fly Delta in one direction and American in the other on a round-trip award.
You can fly American There and Delta on the way Back Using Alaska Air Miles!
How to Book American Airlines & Delta Awards?
You can book these awards online! The Alaska Air website is very good and you don’t even need to be logged into your Alaska Air account to search for award flights!
You can only use Alaska Air miles to book Saver Awards or low level awards.
This is the same as “Mile Saver” on the American Airlines website and “Low Saver” on the Delta website.
6. 40,000 Miles Roundtrip to Hawaii
A. Flights on Alaska Air
It costs only 20,000 Alaska Air miles for a 1-way flight to Hawaii for a coach saver level award.
You can fly one-way to Hawaii for 20,000 Miles Using Alaska Air Miles
Alaska Airlines will be changing the price of some awards to Hawaii on January 14, 2014, but the coach saver awards will NOT be changing.
The price of a one-way Choice award in coach (more availability) will increase from 27,500 miles to 30,000 miles. And the price of a one-way First Class award to Hawaii will change from 37,500 miles to 40,000 miles.
Surprisingly, Alaska Airlines has a lot of flights to Hawaii. And remember that you can connect to these cities from other Alaska Air departure cities in the map in #4 above.
You can fly to Honolulu and Lihue (Kauai) from:
Anchorage
Bellingham
Oakland
Portland
San Diego
San Jose
Seattle
Alaska Airlines Flights to Honolulu (red) and Lihue/Kauai (Yellow)
You can fly to Maui and Kona from:
Anchorage
Bellingham
Oakland
Portland
Sacramento
San Diego
San Jose
Seattle
Alaska Airlines Flights to Kahului/Maui (red) and Kona (Yellow)
If you book a trip to Hawaii with flights only on Alaska Airlines, you are allowed a stopover on a one-way award.
This is great news for people who live in or near cities that fly to Hawaii (like San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, Bellingham, and Anchorage). You can combine a domestic flight to your hometown with a flight to Hawaii in a single one-way award!
B. Flights on Delta
If you book an award to Hawaii that includes flights on Delta, you will pay 40,000 miles for a round-trip and can’t have a stopover. And you will pay the $12.50 fee for partner awards in each direction.
You pay 40,000 Alaska Miles for Either a one-way or Roundtrip When Flying on Delta
C. Flights on American Airlines
If you book an award to Hawaii which includes flights on American Airlines, it will cost 22,500 miles one-way in coach and you can’t have stopovers. This is slightly more than the amount of miles for flying on Delta, but American Airlines has much better award availability to Hawaii!
You will also pay the $12.50 fee for partner awards in each direction.
It Costs Only 22,500 Alaska Miles to fly one-way on American Airlines
D. Mixing Airlines
What if you book an award to Hawaii that uses Delta one-way and American Airlines for the other way?
Because you are booking Delta as only half of a round-trip, you would pay half the Delta round-trip price of 20,000 miles. The other one-way on American would cost 22,500 miles.
A mixed award to Hawaii flying Delta one-way and American the other way would cost 42,500 Alaska Airlines miles + $30 for the partner booking fee + any relevant airport taxes ($5 to 10 on a domestic roundtrip).
You pay 42,500 Alaska Miles to fly to Hawaii if you mix Delta and American Airlines on the Same Award to Hawaii
7. 50,000 Miles = Asia 1-way in Business Class & India Or Africa 1-way in Coach on Cathay Pacific!
Alaska Airlines allows for some great use of miles for Cathay Pacific flights.
You can book Cathay Pacific flights using Alaska Airlines miles and have a stopover in Hong Kong, on a one-way award!
It only costs 30,000 miles one-way to Asia in coach. And 50,000 miles is enough for a Business Class one-way award to Asia on Cathay Pacific.
You can use 50,000 Alaska Miles to Fly one-way Business Class or 30,000 Miles in Coach to Asia on Cathay Pacific
With Cathay Pacific, Asia includes:
China
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
Cathay Pacific Destinations in Asia.
Keep in mind that Dragonair, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, is NOT a partner of Alaska Airlines, so you cannot book Dragonair flights with Alaska miles.
You can use Alaska Airlines miles to fly Cathay Pacific to Africa/Middle East/India, which includes:
Bahrain
India
Maldives
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
United Arab Emirates
Cathy Pacific Flies to These Africa, India, and Middle East Cities
50,000 miles is enough for a one-way Economy Class award from North America to Johannesburg, South Africa with a stopover in Hong Kong!
While not necessarily a competitive price, it’s a good option for folks who want to visit 2 different continents on one award.
You can use 50,000 Alaska Miles to Fly to Africa and Have a Stopover in Asia!
One amazing value with Alaska Airlines miles is First Class on Cathay Pacific. It costs 70,000 miles to fly from North America to Asia on Cathay Pacific in First Class. But you can fly to Hong Kong, have a stopover, and continue to South Africa, India, or the Middle East for the same mileage price.
You can fly First Class on Cathay Pacific With Stopovers in Asia and Africa, India, or the Middle East for 70,000 Miles
You can fly Cathay Pacific from a number of cities in North America, including:
Chicago
Los Angeles
Newark (no first class — flights begin March 1, 2014)
New York (JFK) (1 flight via Vancouver)
San Francisco
Toronto (no first class)
Vancouver
You can connect to the bolded cities with flights on Alaska Airlines on the same award ticket. See the map in #4 above for a list of cities which Alaska Air flies to.
Why Could Alaska Air Miles be Better for Awards on Cathay Pacific?
You can also book awards on Cathay Pacific using American Airlines miles.
But if you used American Airlines miles for Cathay Pacific, you could only stopover at your North American gateway city, but NOT in Hong Kong.
Also, you would pay for 2 awards if you use American Airlines miles to fly Cathay Pacific to a destination like Japan. 1 award from the US to Hong Kong and another award from Hong Kong to Japan.
You can use Alaska Airlines miles to fly one-way to India, the Middle East, or South Africa using Cathay Pacific, which you couldn’t do on one award using American Airlines miles.
8. Australia Or New Zealand & Fiji for 40,000 Miles 1-way in Coach!
Fiji Airways (formerly known as Air Pacific) flies from Honolulu and Los Angeles to Fiji, and onward to Australia and New Zealand. You can fly from the US to Fiji, have a stopover, then continue on to Australia or New Zealand for the same price in miles.
Fiji Airways is also a partner of American Airlines, but you can’t have a stopover in Fiji if you use American Airlines miles. But you can have a stopover in Fiji if you use use Alaska miles!
40,000 Alaska Miles Gets you to Fiji & the South Pacific in Coach
Business class can be tough to find, but economy class awards from Los Angeles is widely available. For example, in April 2014, 28 out of 30 days have 2 seats available in coach between Los Angeles and Fiji.
Lots of Coach Award Seats From Los Angeles to Fiji
Even if you don’t live in Los Angeles, you can connect to Fiji Airways by adding Alaska Airlines flights from your home city to Los Angeles for no extra cost!
You can fly From the US to Australia/New Zealand With a Stopover in Fiji!
9. Hong Kong & Australia on the Same Cathay Pacific Award!
Australia can be a difficult destination to get to. There aren’t many nonstop flights, and many airlines will not allow you to fly from the US to Australia via Asia.
But you can use Alaska Airlines miles to fly from the US to Australia via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, and also have a stopover in Hong Kong.
40,000 Alaska Air Miles Gets you a 1-way Coach Ticket to Australia With a Stopover in Asia on Cathay Pacific!
From North America to Australia via Hong Kong, it costs:
40,000 miles one-way in coach
47,500 miles one-way in premium economy
60,000 miles one-way in business class
80,000 miles one-way in first class
This can be a great way to get to Australia from North America and have a stop in Asia. Remember that Alaska Air allows you to have stopovers on 1-way awards as well!
Don’t forget that you can use Alaska Airlines flights to connect to the Cathay Pacific departure city in the US. See the map in #4 above for a list of cities which Alaska Air flies to.
Cathay Pacific Flights Between North America and Australia or New Zealand.
You can fly Cathay Pacific from a number of cities in North America, including:
Chicago
Los Angeles
Newark (no first class – flights begin March 1, 2014)
New York (JFK) (1 flight via Vancouver)
San Francisco
Toronto (no first class)
Vancouver
You can connect to the bolded cities above with flights on Alaska Airlines on the same award ticket for no extra cost in miles! See the map in #4 above for a list of cities which Alaska Air flies to.
10. Fly to Europe, Africa, or Asia on Emirates with Stopovers
Alaska Airlines is the only US-based mileage program that allows you to book flights on Emirates. You can even have a stopover in Dubai on one-way awards!
Many folks are intrigued by Emirates because their Airbus 380 planes has showers in First Class and a lounge with full bar for First and Business Class passengers! All First and Business Class passengers also get a complimentary chauffeur to and from the airport.
Bow-ties aside, I’m an understated kinda guy, so I find Emirates a bit over the top.
Even coach travel on Emirates gets rave reviews with extensive entertainment options. I remember having a seat-back TV and lots of audio and video channels to choose from on a flight over 10 years ago on Emirates!
Shower in Emirates A380 First Class
Emirates flies to Dubai from many cities in North America, including:
Emirates Flies From These North American Cities
Boston (starts March 10, 2014)
Dallas
Houston
Los Angeles
New York - JFK (nonstop and via Milan)
San Francisco
Seattle
Toronto
Washington, DC – IAD
The underlined cities (Los Angeles and New York) have nonstop flights to Dubai on Airbus 380 planes, which includes showers in First Class and a bar for First and Business Class.
The bolded cities are served by Alaska Airlines, so you can fly on Alaska to connect to an Emirates flight. You can connect to the bolded cities above with flights on Alaska Airlines on the same award ticket for no extra cost in miles! See the map in #4 above for a list of cities which Alaska Air flies to.
Alaska flies to Newark (EWR), so you would have to get from Newark to New York Airport (JFK) to connect to Emirates. Emirates specifically prohibits First and Business Class passengers from using their complimentary chauffeur service between Newark and JFK airports.
Alaska Airlines flies to Reagan-National Airport in Washington (DCA), so you have to get to Dulles Airport (IAD) to connect to Emirates. There is no written restriction for using the complimentary chauffeur for First and Business Class passengers to take you between these airports.
You can search & book Emirates awards online on the Alaska Air website!
A. Emirates Flights to Middle East & India
Between North America and the Middle East or India, one-way awards cost:
42,500 miles in coach
72,500 miles in Business
90,000 miles in First
You can fly one-way to the Middle East or India on Emirates for 42,500 Miles
Between North American and Africa, one-way awards cost:
42,500 miles in coach
72,500 miles in Business
90,000 miles in First
You can have a stopover in Dubai on any of these awards!
B. Emirates Flights to Asia
You can also book flights to Asia on Emirates with a stopover in Dubai. If you spend $2,500 on your Alaska Airlines credit card (with the 50,000 bonus miles), you will have 52,500 miles.
That’s enough for a one-way coach award to Asia with a stopover in Dubai.
You can use 52,500 Alaska Miles to fly one-way in Coach to Africa on Emirates
C. Emirates Flights to Europe
You can book a flight from North America to Europe with a stopover in Dubai.
In addition, Emirates flies New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP) nonstop. It costs 47,500 Alaska Air miles for a one-way in coach.
That said, it usually costs only 60,000 United or American Airlines miles for a coach RETURN trip from the US to Europe.
So I wouldn’t spend 47,500 miles for a ONE-WAY coach flight on Emirates from the US to Milan.
47,500 Alaska Miles Gets you to Europe With a Stopover in Dubai
Need More Alaska Airlines Miles?
You will have 51,000 Alaska Airlines miles after you complete the $1,000 spending requirement on the Alaska Air card.
If you need more Alaska Air miles, you can transfer Starwood Hotel points to your Alaska Airlines account. Here’s a link to the Starwood hotel personal and business cards.
Transfers from Starwood hotel to Alaska are at a 1:1 ratio, but if you transfer 20,000 Starwood points, you get 25,000 Alaska miles.
This means that 1 Starwood hotel points = 1.25 Alaska miles. This is a sweet spot for transferring SPG points.
It also shows that after completing the spending requirement for the 50,000 Alaska Airlines miles, the best card to earn more Alaska Airlines miles is actually the Starwood hotel credit card. That’s because you can potentially earn 1.25 Alaska miles per dollar on everyday spending.
Bottom Line
There are many ways you can use 50,000 Alaska miles!
You can get at least 2 domestic coach flights, 1 coach trip to Hawaii, and have almost enough Alaska Air miles to fly internationally on Cathay Pacific and Emirates.
I hope you found this ~5,000 word post useful (read = cut me some slack tomorrow)!
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