It's not one of the big four U.S. airlines, but Alaska Airlines and its Mileage Plan frequent flyer program shouldn't be overlooked.
Whether you fly Alaska frequently or never fly them, Alaska's Mileage Plan program is incredibly valuable thanks largely to its amazing array of international partner airlines like Japan Airlines, Aer Lingus, Fiji Airways, and more. But even if you're just looking to fly domestically, there are plenty of valuable ways to fly for a bargain using Alaska miles.
Alaska has pivoted to a new, distance-based award chart that determines how many miles you need to book a particular flight. Although some of the best deals to book business or first class on Oneworld partner airlines to Hong Kong (HKG) or Australia have disappeared, it's still fairly easy to find good deals for domestic and international flights with Alaska and on partner flights.
Here's what you need to know.
Read next: 5 Quick (& Easy) Ways to Earn Alaska Miles
Step 1: Start an Award Search on Desktop with Alaska
Whether you're starting a search from scratch or received this Thrifty Traveler Premium alert about an Alaska miles deal for business class flights to Dublin (DUB) for as low as 55,000 Alaska miles one-way, the process works much the same.
Want to get alerts to use your Alaska miles? Sign up for Thrifty Traveler Premium!
Just want to book a short domestic flight? Start by heading to alaskaair.com, select “Use miles,” and then enter your desired dates and destination. Be sure to click “One-way” for your initial search. Lastly, click “Find Flights.” Let's take a look at this route to Los Angeles (LAX).
Looking for award availability (flights you can actually book with miles) on partner airlines like Japan Airlines or Qatar Airways? It's best to search for one-way flights separately to confirm the flights you want are available to book at the lowest rates.
For domestic flights, you'll be presented with an economy and first class option, depending on availability.
If the dates don't work for you, you can use the arrows on either side to see flights on a different day or click on different dates above. You'll see the lowest points required to book that route for any given day.
Step 2: Pull Up the Calendar to Find the Cheapest Rates
The real power of Alaska Airlines' site is its award calendar. It's key to finding the best deals, and it's incredibly simple to use.
Say you want to fly to Paris in style but don't want to pay cash for those crazy expensive business class tickets to the City of Light. Before you input your desired dates and destination, click “All search options”.
You will then select “Use miles” and “Award calendar” for a one-way flight to easily view flight availability. Make sure your “Award type” is “Miles only.”
You will then enter your desired outbound airport and destination. I prefer to fly out of Seattle (SEA), so I'll start there. It doesn't matter what date you put in, just select one and click “Find Flights”. This will open up a calendar where you can easily see award availability – flights that are actually bookable with Alaska miles.
Use the filters on the lefthand side of the screen to filter your results by cabin. Since I want to fly business class, I'll click “Business.” Otherwise, the “Lowest Available” award rates will appear, which will be economy tickets.
Once you find a flight you like, click on the date and press “Continue.” Beware of expensive taxes and fees, like what British Airways notoriously charges, as noted on the July 22 date above.
As you'll see, a list of redemptions in every cabin will be displayed depending on availability for these Air Tahiti Nui flights (my favorite way to fly to France using Alaska miles). Rather fly economy or premium economy? Alaska lists these as “Main” and “Premium Partner” respectively.
Step 3: Sort & Filter to Narrow in on the Best Flights
Odds are, your search will yield more than one ticket bookable with Alaska miles. Now it's time to zero the flights you really want.
Use the filters and sorting tools on the main search results page to zero in on the flights you want. You can filter by price, for the number of stops, time, and by airline.
I like to filter by price to see which flights cost the least amount of points. I tend not to care about layovers if I'm getting a good deal but you might prefer nonstop flights! You could even hone in on the time of day you prefer to fly.
Note: You'll always be on the hook for any taxes and fees, even when redeeming Alaska miles for Alaska-operated flights. Taxes and fees vary from around $12 for most domestic roundtrip flights with the airline or more for some of its limited international destinations.
Step 4: Select Your Flights & Book!
Choose the Alaska miles fare that works for you and click through to book.
If you book a flight with the airline itself, the beauty of booking with Alaska miles is that you always get a main cabin fare – no stingy saver fares here. This means you'll always get free seat selection when booking with Alaska miles. The same goes for flights with any other domestic or international partner.
Plus, every ticket booked with Alaska miles can be cancelled for free. That means you can lock in a flight for later this year using your Alaska miles right now, then cancel it if your plans change and get your miles back.
Simply cancel your flight online, and Alaska will redeposit your miles in your account … typically instantly!
Bottom Line
Alaska Airlines miles are some of the most valuable airline miles you can earn – especially if you're looking to book flights on partner airlines flying all over the world. But they've got plenty of value if you're redeeming them for flights on Alaska, too.
Whether you've got a few thousand or more than 100,000 Alaska miles in your account, use this guide to find the best fares for your next trip.