Here are our picks for the. Finally , I always purchase main cabin fares so thanks to all who purchase basic economy because you lose priority on the upgrade list. Say, for example, that you want to book an award flight with Alaska miles from New York City to Hawaii. Request a free stopover. As mentioned above, you can earn miles when you fly with Alaska Airlines. Learn more: How much is 40,000 miles worth. As an AA platinum pro member, my wife and I were recently upgraded to first class on a flight on Alaska Air from LAX to TPA. But you can also earn Alaska miles on most flights operated or marketed by Alaska's partners. For example, youre eligible for complimentary upgrades on Alaska but upgrades are currently not a oneworld benefit. You made the booking after you earned the status? Since redemptions aren't available on all partners and Alaska's agreements with some partners don't allow for redemptions on all routes, you'll need to search for your desired award on Alaska's website to know whether it's available (and if so, how much it will cost). Only 15,000 miles to upgrade to First Class.2. Earning rates vary by airline and fare class and not all fares earn Alaska miles. All our elites are eligible for complimentary access to select extra legroom seats known as Main Cabin Extra on American Airlines when theres availability. Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card. Use your AAdvantage miles to upgrade on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle for yourself or anyone you designate. Upgrades are valid to the next cabin of service and are valid for a single one-way trip with a maximum of three segments. Each tier has a set of fare classes that are eligible for instant upgrades that can be used as early as when you book your trip. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can now enroll in a CLEAR Plus membership for a preferred rate of $179. For every 3 Marriott points you transfer, you'll get 1 Alaska mile. Flights taken on or after March 31, 2021. When shopping at alaskaair.com, select "Mileage" from the Upgrade fare type selections, under Filter Results, and you'll only be shown fares that qualify for an upgrade. This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. And luckily, we're still seeing this pricing: If you're considering booking, know you can add a stopover in Fiji and then continue to Australia for the same amount of miles. You'll also be eligible to receive an additional 1,250 miles per year when you renew your Clear membership while it's linked to your Mileage Plan. Not only are the elite qualifying thresholds some of the lowest compared to other U.S. airlines with similar qualification criteria, but there are also no minimum revenue requirements to earn or keep your status. This is a welcome change for everyone, as you'll no longer have a situation where you see yourself as No. Realtime Alaska Airlines Flight Status and Tracking from SEA to SEA on AS2185. Related: How to book free stopovers with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. How to use miles to upgrade. Here's a look at some of these partners: Many more niche Alaska Mileage Plan partners let you earn miles on everyday purchases. Iberia. You can do this online or you can get help from an Alaska Airlines agent at 1-800-252-7522. If a flight has upgrade inventory available, any Mileage Plan member can use miles to upgrade their ticket. Earn and redeem miles on oneworld flights ✓ ✓ ✓ Earn elite bonus miles on eligible oneworld flights ✓ ✓ ✓ Priority check-in ✓ ✓ ✓ Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating* ✓ ✓ ✓ Priority on waitlists and when on standby* ✓ ✓ ✓ Priority boarding Once purchased, no refunds are allowed for Premium Class seat purchases or First Class paid upgrades. Until now, only Americans Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro elites could use a systemwide upgrade to confirm a higher cabin when flying on AAs long-haul international flights. ), Under the new rules, that same member will be placed at the bottom of any other waitlisted 75Ks who also purchased a Y fare, but above 75Ks in other fare classes a welcome change for those buying expensive tickets at the last minute, Related: What airline fare classes tell you about your ticket. The benefits are worth crowing about: Our elite flyers can get priority check-in, access to preferred seating and priority waitlist when on standby, priority boarding, bonus miles and more depending on tier status. Itineraries that include one or more partner award segments incur a $12.50 nonrefundable fee per person, per way. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion directly. According to NerdWallets valuations, Alaska Airlines miles are worth 1.2 cents each when redeemed for award flights. MVP Gold members and higher may upgrade one companion traveling with them on the same flight, in the same reservation and in the same class of service. Everyone will get 1,000 bonus How many miles to upgrade to Alaska Airlines first class? For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit, This post was updated with more clarifying information on Alaska's new upgrade process. Where you sit on the waitlist depends on four factors: The upgrade window opens five days (120 hours) before travel for MVP Gold 75K and 100K, three days (72 hours) prior for MVP Gold and two days (48 hours) prior for MVP. This will make it much easier to ascertain where you and your companion are ranked on the upgrade list. Do not sell or share my personal information. This is different from AA where the limitation does not apply. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. So, no, you can't transfer miles from Alaska to American or from American to Alaska. In addition to the total eligible EQMs or total segments flown, theres a minimum number of trips required on flights marketed and operated by Alaska in order to earn or keep your status. As soon as your upgrade window opens, we'll attempt to confirm by status level, fare and time of booking. See more about our ethics policies here. Who is eligible for first class upgrades, who is eligible for extra legroom economy upgrades, and how does it all work? This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES - JUNE 8: An Alaska Airlines plane lands at San Francisco International [+] Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on June 8, 2023. Those purchasing the most expensive tickets can even enjoy a confirmed bump to first class at the time of booking, assuming that upgrade space is available. Sign in to your Mileage Plan account to manage your flights, redeem miles, and access your profile information. Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan is one of the best travel loyalty programs around, with plenty of ways to earn miles. Alaska Airlines and CLEAR have announced a new partnership to give travelers a quicker experience through airport security. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit. Alaska limits the first class cabin to one pet and requires confirmation of "pet space" prior to upgrading (or selling) a ticket there. Before joining NerdWallet's content team, she had spent more than 12 years developing content strategies, managing newsrooms and mentoring writers and editors. In particular, all award tickets must be operated by a single partner. She's a contributor at several financial publications, including U.S. News & World Report. Miles dont expire and can be redeemed anytime without blackout dates. For example, if you purchase a First Class ticket on Alaska, youll earn 200% of your total flown miles as EQMs. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institutions Terms and Conditions. WebIn order to upgrade with miles, your ticket has to be booked in a certain fare category. Upgrades require a flat 15,000 miles. You can get a free stopover per one-way ticket, which is basically a way to visit two cities for the price of one. So how do we make money? As youd expect, there are some restrictions associated with this: Note that American AAdvantage elite members arent eligible for first class upgrades when booking Saver fares (in the X fare class). When you call Alaska Airlines reservations at 1-800-252-7522, you can upgrade from economy to first class using your miles. To see which ones you can apply a guest upgrade to, select MVP Gold guest in search results and look for flights with a blue F. Earn miles; Use miles; Award charts; Deals; Mileage Plan? A first world problem rant on baggage - so everyones aware - American and Alaska align on the number of checked baggage but not the max weight. You can't book a stopover on awards within international regions (such as intra-Asia or intra-Europe). Now that you have used the miles for purchase, if you talk to customer service they should be able to change the FF number to your AS number. Elite bonus miles range from 50% of base miles to 150% of base miles depending on your tier. It helps to know that not every seat thats shown on our seat map is eligible for an upgrade even within the upgrade window and sometimes upgrade space is not available until closer to departure. One of the absolute stupidest things about AS is not applying the One of the absolute stupidest things about AS is not applying the elite baggage allowance to companions booked in the same reservation, whether AA or OneWorld. Finally, you can find Alaskas upgrade inventory using tools like ExpertFlyer. In particular, the program's airline partners offer some extremely valuable redemption options. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. Mileage Plan offers the highest elite bonuses in the sky, getting you to that next award even faster. Our EQMs are accrued based on the distance you fly and any class of service bonuses. If you were hoping to upgrade to premium class using your Alaska Mileage Plan Miles, youre out of luck; upgrades are available to purchase in cash only. Alaska Airlines only offers paid upgrades 24 hours before departure. For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Members are now eligible for upgrades whether the flight was booked with us or on American Airlines. If you have elite status with us, you automatically have Priority tier privileges with the oneworld Alliance, a group of the worlds leading airlines with connections to more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Malaysia Airlines. Rebecca is a freelance writer specializing in finance. Booking a main cabin fare with Alaska Airlines requires a minimum of 15,000 miles. I only fly on AA metal domestically. Another way to extend the value of your Alaska miles is by booking a free stopover. Web2 Mileage upgrades are valid on flights operated by Alaska Airlines and by SkyWest operating on behalf of Alaska Airlines. Stay connected with the latest travel, aviation, and credit card news. Learn more about our tiers. Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan is one of the, around, with plenty of ways to earn miles. You should aim to get this value or higher when you redeem your miles. JetBlue and American haven't fully rolled out their reciprocal frequent flyer benefits yet. We know changes happen. Alaskas upgrade waitlist will now also display all eligible companions next to the elite they are traveling with. The specific benefits vary depending on the airline youre flying on, and its helpful to know that you will not necessarily receive the exact same benefits youd receive on Alaska. American & Alaska Reciprocal Elite Upgrades Guide, Alaska Mileage Plan elite upgrades on American, American AAdvantage elite upgrades on Alaska, Other reciprocal elite perks through oneworld, markets eligible for complimentary upgrades, receive confirmed upgrade instruments on American, Alaska Mileage Plan Coast To Elite Status Promo, You Can Now Redeem Alaska Miles On Iberia, Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners, Upgrades could clear starting 72 hours before departure, and can clear any time up until departure; MVP Gold 100K and MVP Gold 75K members are prioritized behind AAdvantage Platinum Pro members (up to 72 hours out), MVP Gold members are prioritized behind AAdvantage Platinum members (up to 48 hours out), and MVP members are prioritized behind AAdvantage Gold members (up to 24 hours out), One companion traveling on the same reservation as the Alaska Mileage Plan elite members is also eligible for a complimentary upgrade; the exception is that MVP members dont receive a, Upgrades arent available on basic economy fares, Flights can be marketed by Alaska or American, meaning an Alaska codeshare on American is eligible for first class upgrades, Concierge Key and Executive Platinum members can select Premium Class seats at the time of booking, Platinum Pro and Platinum members can select Premium Class seats if booked in the Y, B, H, K, M, L, V, S or N fare classes, you can select them at the time of booking, while otherwise you can select them within 72 hours of travel, Gold members can select Premium Class seats if booked in the Y, B, or H fare classes, you can select them at the time of booking, while otherwise you can select them within 48 hours of travel, Upgrades can be confirmed as early as 120 hours before departure, all the way up to departure; AAdvantage Platinum Pro members and above are prioritized behind MVP Gold 75K members (up to 120 hours out), AAdvantage Platinum members are prioritized behind MVP Gold members (up to 72 hours out), AAdvantage Gold members are prioritized behind MVP members (up to 48 hours out), AAdvantage elite members are prioritized first by fare class and then by the request date and time, Since Alaska and American have aligned elite tiers, I expect that upgrades will be prioritized more closely between tiers at the two airlines, I expect well also eventually see consistency when it comes to companion upgrades. Emirates does have its own alert system for upgrade space. Customers who purchase Alaska Airlines economy fare can upgrade to first class with miles. Dive into more details about qualifying for complimentary upgrades. You can use your Alaska miles to purchase an award ticket for someone else. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will get a discount on Clear Plus memberships plus bonus miles via a new partnership. Elite members who already have CLEAR can get 1,250 miles But you could also redeem just 50,000 Alaska miles plus $19 for a business-class award on Cathay Pacific. Enjoy a higher cabin of service. Mileage earned and elite-qualifying miles are based on a percentage of actual flight miles flown.