Guide to Alaska Airlines’ partners

Alaska Airlines serves more than 120 destinations and operates nearly 1,200 flights that depart from the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Belize and Guatemala. The airline also offers a range of West Coast hubs commonly utilized by frequent travelers, including in major cities like Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Anchorage, Alaska. There are also two Alaska Airlines hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Alaska Airlines is also known for its range of partners that make it possible to fly to even more destinations around the world. In fact, Alaska became a member of the oneworld alliance in 2021, which opened the door to using the airline and its alliance partnerships to fly to more than 900 destinations worldwide.

If you’re curious about Alaska Airlines’ partners, how they work and how to make the most of them, read on to learn more.

Who are Alaska Airlines’ partners?

As mentioned, Alaska Airlines is a part of the oneworld alliance, which features 14 airlines total. This means the carrier has a partnership with these airlines, which can pave the way to earning and redeeming miles through each one. Elite members in the Alaska Mileage Plan program can also enjoy corresponding oneworld status tiers (Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald) on all member airlines.

Below you’ll see current oneworld partners and how many destinations they service. Note that Alaska Airlines also has a oneworld connect partnership with Fiji Airways, which means flyers get reciprocal benefits on the airline. Another airline, Oman Air, is set to join the oneworld alliance later in 2024 but is not considered a member airline yet.

Alaska has additional partnerships with airlines that are not a part of the oneworld alliance. While you cannot use your miles to book flights on all of them, you can book paid flights through AlaskaAir.com and earn Alaska miles with each of these non-alliance partnerships.

The chart below shows which non-alliance partners let you earn miles with Alaska, redeem miles with the airline or do both:

How to redeem miles with airline partners

Travelers don’t have to worry about transferring miles when they want to use one of Alaska Airlines’ partners. Instead, they’ll redeem their miles directly through the Alaska Airlines website.

Redeeming Alaska Airlines miles through the airline’s partners is fairly simple and starts by looking at the airline’s basic awards chart, which shows how many miles would be needed for a flight with partners. Travelers can simply look at the region they’re traveling to and from, and then see the base number of miles they would need to travel with Alaska or its partners based on the distance they fly.

This awards chart will give you a general idea of how many miles you’d need, but because Alaska miles cannot be used on all routes with every carrier, you should use the Alaska Airlines website to check whether the fare you want is available and how many miles it will cost. You can check the flight you want and redeem your miles with partners by following these three steps:

1. Head to AlaskaAir.com and search for the flight you want

This can be done by searching for the departure and arrival destinations you want, adding in your travel dates and by clicking the box that says “Use miles.”

2. Compare flight options

Once you conduct a search, you can choose from available award flights with Alaska and partners.

3. Book your award

Next up, you can book your award. Note that you’ll have to fork over enough Alaska miles to book the flight and pay government-mandated taxes and fees.

Rules to remember

When it comes to using Alaska miles with partners, you’ll want to keep the following rules in mind:

• Awards with partners that have both an origin and destination outside the U.S. and Canada must be booked at least 72 hours in advance if you want to use miles.
• Stopovers are prohibited on award redemptions that have both an origin and destination outside of the U.S. and Canada.
• Itineraries that include at least one partner airline require a $12.50 nonrefundable fee that’s charged per person, per way.
• Round-trip awards with Alaska miles on Korean Air cost the same as one-way awards through Alaska Airlines.
• Alaska Airlines typically does not let you mix partner airlines within a single award fare.

Which Alaska partners are best?

Which Alaska Airlines partners are best depends on where you want to fly and when. This is especially true for Alaska Airlines partners like Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways and Royal Jordanian that are heavily focused on a specific region of the world.

That said, some Alaska Mileage Plan sweet spots through partner airlines could help you get more value out of your miles. Sweet spots are awards that are offered at a much lower price point than most competitors. So a flight that might usually cost 30,000 points with other programs might cost just 15,000 as a sweet spot offering.

Consider using your miles with the following partners for these superior sweet spot redemption options:

• American Airlines for flights to Hawaii: Fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL) in economy class for just 17,500 Alaska miles one-way.
• Fiji Airways to visit Fiji: Use Alaska miles to fly to Fiji from Los Angeles (LAX) and pay just 75,000 miles (plus airline taxes and fees) for a round-trip award fare.
• Qantas Airways for flights to Australia: Fly one-way from Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney, Australia (SYD) for 42,500 Alaska miles (plus airline taxes and fees).
• Qatar Airways for flights to the Middle East: Book a one-way nonstop from New York City (JFK) to Doha, Qatar on Qatar Airways for 35,000 miles in economy (plus airline taxes and fees).

When to use your Alaska miles with a partner

Because you can’t actually transfer your Alaska miles to airline partners, you can’t use your miles with all Alaska partners. Some partners only allow you to earn Alaska miles on their flights, not spend them. Plus, pricing for awards can vary quite a bit. Ultimately, you’ll want to do some research on the Alaska Airlines website to find out how many miles you’ll need for the flight you want to take with Alaska or another airline.

When it makes sense to book with Alaska partners

It makes sense to book flights with Alaska partners in a few different scenarios, the most important of which is when you’re getting a good deal. If you are searching for awards through Alaska and you find a partner award for a lower number of miles, lower airline taxes and fees or both, it makes sense to book it over other options.

You can also utilize Alaska partners to book award flights to destinations the airline doesn’t fly to on its own. Remember that Alaska Airlines serves just over 120 destinations, although its main operations center around:

• The U.S.
• Mexico
• Canada
• the Bahamas
• Costa Rica
• Belize
• Guatemala

Alaska partners make it possible to use your miles to fly to more than 900 destinations in 170 territories around the world, so you’d have the possibility of using your miles to travel to more places than just those listed above.

When it doesn’t make sense to book flights with Alaska partners

It won’t make sense to use miles with Alaska partners if you’re being asked to fork over more miles than you would if you booked an award fare through a different program.

Note the fine print regarding partner awards (under “Terms”). The airline says the “starting at” amount in its award charts represents the “estimated minimum award prices on one or more of our partner airlines.” It adds that it cannot guarantee available inventory at these award levels for your desired dates or itinerary, and that partner awards are subject to capacity controls.

Also remember that you can’t plan on using Alaska miles to book last-minute flights that begin and end in an international destination. That’s because awards with partners that have both an origin and destination outside the U.S. and Canada must be booked at least 72 hours in advance if you want to use miles. Stopovers are also prohibited on award redemptions that have both an origin and destination outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Finally, it doesn’t make sense to book flights with partners if those partners will impose fuel surcharges that can eat into the value of your Alaska miles. For example, British Airways may impose charges from $150 to $1,000 for an award flight, and Hainan Airlines may charge $100 to $750. Icelandair also mandates a carrier-imposed charge that ranges from $150 to over $300 for all awards redeemed by Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members.

How to maximize Alaska miles

Getting the most from your Alaska miles works better when you have a plan in place. Here are a few ways you can maximize the miles you have worked so hard to earn:

• Be as flexible as you can. Being flexible with your travel dates is always smart when you’re trying to find an award fare, and you can even try out a few departure airports if you have that flexibility. The more options you have when it comes to where and when you travel, the more likely you’ll be able to get the most from your miles.
• Earn more miles with Alaska credit cards: While you can earn miles by flying with the airline and select partners, a selection of co-branded airline credit cards from Alaska can help you earn rewards faster. Cards to consider include the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card*.
• Book early. Alaska Airlines is very clear that, when it comes to its partners, some of them have capacity controls that limit availability. Based on this information, booking as early as you can will leave you with the most options.
• Check out one-way fares. Also, remember that you may have better luck booking one-way flights with your miles instead of round-trip itineraries. You may find better options for each leg of your trip on different partners, but you’ll never know unless you compare round-trip options to one-way bookings.
• Consider multiple airline partners. Finally, remember that some of Alaska’s partners will work better than others based on your destination, departure airport and dates. Keep your mind open and your eyes out for the best deal, and you’ll wind up forking over fewer miles for the flight you want.

The bottom line

Alaska Airlines has quite a few partnerships through the oneworld alliance, and its many other non-alliance partners will let you use your miles in even more ways. That said, the right redemption for you really depends on where you want to go, when you want to go and which cabin you want to fly in.

Our advice? Sign up for a travel credit card that lets you earn Alaska miles while enjoying other frequent flyer perks, and begin searching for the flight you need once you’re ready. You can also check out Bankrate’s travel toolkit for tips and tricks on how to maximize travel with a credit card.

*The information about the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.