Alaska Airlines launched a promotion letting you buy Alaska Mileage Plan miles with a bonus of up to 50%. The promotion is valid for purchases through June 26, 2024. However, the promotion is tiered, and your bonus will depend on the number of miles you purchase. To see the promotion, you will have to log in to your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account and see the offer.
This offer is not as good as some previous offers we have seen from Alaska Airlines this year. However, as you will see, this promotion can be very lucrative if you opt to use your Alaska Mileage plan miles in a strategic way.
At Oscape we are huge fans of Alaska Airlines miles, and buy & use them often to book all kinds of trips on Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, American Airlines, and the incredible lounge access you get with Oneworld.
Alaska Mileage Plan Promotion Overview
- The promotion is valid for purchases through June 24, 2024.
- Receive up to a 50% bonus when you purchase Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
- The offer is a mystery, and you need to log in to see what offer you have.
- The bonus is tiered depending on how many miles you purchase as follows:
- 1-2,000 miles 0% bonus.
- 3,000 – 9,000 miles 30% bonus.
- 10,000 – 19,000 miles 40% bonus.
- 20,000 – 100,000 miles 50% bonus.
- You can purchase a maximum of 100,000 miles per transaction.
- You can purchase a maximum of 150,000 miles per year
- MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K have no limit on the number of miles they can purchase.
Is it Worth It Purchasing Alaska Miles?
If you maximize the promotion and purchase Alaska Miles with a 50% bonus, you would purchase miles at just under ₵2 apiece – ₵1.97 to be exact. So the million-dollar question is, how does this stack up, and is it good value?
The answer depends on how you use your miles. What you redeem your miles for will generally determine the value you get. For instance, based on multiple data points online, the average redemption value of Alaska miles is just a fraction over ₵2 apiece. So, while the promotion will save you money, it is not much and probably not worth tying up your cash.
The situation is more bleak if you generally redeem your miles for Economy and Premium economy awards. You will get a value much less than ₵2 apiece. Making this promotion poor value. This situation is valid whether you are booking these awards on domestic or International partners. So, if you generally redeem your miles for these types of awards, this promotion will make little sense.
Premium Cabin Awards are Excellent Value
It is a whole different ball game if you generally redeem your Alaska Miles for Business and First-Class travel. Generally, if you redeem your miles for regional/domestic first class and business class travel, you should be able to leverage your miles for as much as ₵3 per point. That is an excellent 50% return on the miles you have purchased.
The situation is even better if you use your miles to book premium cabin awards with one of Alaska’s many international partners. In this case, many members have, on average, been able to leverage their miles for at least ₵4 of value. That is a huge 100% return on the value of your miles and can lead to some impressive returns on your investment in Alaska Miles.
Alaska Premium Cabin Sweet Spots
Leveraging your miles for the best value is not particularly difficult since the Alaska Mileage Plan program does have some excellent sweet spots with partners.
Awards from the East Coast to Europe (under 3,500 miles) oneway in business class on Aer Lingus, British Airways, and American Airlines are a steal at just 45,000 miles plus taxes and fees. If you are heading a little further afield in Europe (flights under 5,000 miles), you can still get an excellent deal, and one-way business class awards will only set you back 55,000 miles plus taxes and fees.
If you want to try Qatar’s legendary Qsuites, you are in luck, and Alaska has an excellent sweet spot with this Oneworld partner. One way business class awards from The East Coast – New York JFK and Washington IAD to Doha (flights between 5,000 and 7,000 miles) will set you back 70,000 miles plus taxes and fees. This is stunning value, and considering the cash price of the tickets is one of the best redemption options for Alaska Mileage Plan miles.
Finally, our personal favorite use our Alaska Airlines miles is booking Japan Airlines flights for travel between North America and Japan. Although it’s not as efficient as booking thru American Airlines most of the time, if you’re already using the Alaska Mileage Plan ecosystem you can still find some good redemptions for Business Class and First Class travel.
Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that purchasing Alaska miles with this promotion is great. And if you are smart with your redemption options, you will be able to leverage your miles for far more value than you have paid for them.
One thing to keep in mind is that it is never a good idea to buy miles speculatively, regardless of how attractive the offer. In almost every situation, unless you have an immediate use for your miles, you are better off holding cash. This way, you can avoid the side effects of a sudden devaluation of the value of your points.
That said, with this promotion, it is worth reviewing your yearly travel goals and seeing if you can make this offer from the Alaska mileage plan work for you.
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