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Alaska Airlines: Sweet Spots and Realistic Award Redemptions

May 6, 2025 By Nancy 6 Comments

Last week, I wrote about Why I Jumped on the Amex to Hawaiian Airlines Speculative Transfer Bandwagon in order to increase my stash of Alaska miles (by transferring Hawaiian miles to Alaska). A reader requested more information on Alaska Airlines award sweet spots. In addition to these theoretical award redemptions, it’s important to see which awards have decent availability and are realistic for travelers to book. Let’s take a deeper dive into Alaska Airlines award possibilities.

Note: Alaska Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance (13 partners) and also has 11 other partner airlines (see here).

Award Flights to Hawaii and Alaska

Since Alaska Airlines merged with Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska now has plenty of routes to both Hawaii and Alaska. Award chart for Alaska and Hawaii flights:

The image is a chart titled "Alaska and Hawaiian award charts," which applies to awards wholly on Alaska Airlines or Hawaiian Airlines. It details North American award travel options from the contiguous US, including Alaska and Canada, to various destinations. The chart lists the starting miles required for economy and first-class travel based on distance:

- Less than 700 miles: Economy 5,000, First 15,000
- 701–1,400 miles: Economy 7,500, First 25,000
- 1,401–2,100 miles: Economy 10,000, First 25,000
- 2,101 miles and above: Economy 12,500, First 30,000
- Hawaii (all distances): Economy 15,000, First 40,000
- Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean (all distances): Economy 10,000, First 30,000

Flights to Hawaii in economy are as low as 10,000 miles from California! Most flights are 15k miles, with first class starting at 40k miles.

The image shows a flight booking summary. It includes a "Low fare alert" label. The flight number is AS 270, departing at 9:50 am from ONT and arriving at 1:45 pm at HNL, with a duration of 5 hours and 55 minutes. There are options for "Refundable Main" at 10,000 miles plus $6, and "Refundable First" at 65,000 miles plus $6, with only 6 seats left. There are buttons for "Details" and "Seats."

Flights to Alaska in economy are as low as 7500 miles (from Seattle) and 12,500-20,000 miles from California. First class awards start at 25k miles.

Realistic Award Availability: Award availability for multiple travelers to both Alaska and Hawaii in economy is plentiful, even in peak seasons. However, finding low level first class award seats is much more difficult, especially on flights to Hawaii.

Award Flights on Partner American Airlines

I frequently use Alaska miles to book award flights on partner American Airlines. Alaska uses a distance-based award chart, and sometimes the miles required by Alaska are less than AA.

The image is a table titled "Partner award charts" for the Americas, showing the starting award levels for non-stop itineraries based on distance in miles. The table has columns for different travel classes: Economy, Premium Economy, Business, and First. Each row corresponds to a distance range in miles, with the starting award levels listed for each class. The distance ranges are: less than 700, 701–1,400, 1,401–2,100, 2,101–4,000, 4,001–6,000, and 6,001 and above.Realistic Award Availability: I can attest that at least from DFW, award availability in economy for these AA partner awards is plentiful. Just recently, I’ve booked AA flights from DFW to Chicago for 7500 miles, DFW to SFO for 12,500 miles and DFW to Saint Maarten for 15,000 miles. Economy award availability to Europe and South America is also decent, although premium economy and business saver-level awards are much harder to find.

This image shows a flight booking summary. It includes a "Low fare alert" and details for flight AA 48 operated by American Airlines. The flight departs from DFW at 4:50 pm and arrives at CDG at 9:05 am the next day, with a duration of 9 hours and 15 minutes. The "Main" fare option is refundable and costs 27.5k miles plus $19. The "Business" fare option is unavailable. There are buttons for "Details" and "Seats."
DFW to Europe for as low as 27,500 miles

Award Flights to Japan on Partner Japan Airlines

Alaska partners with Japan Airlines (JAL), and you can fly from many cities in the USA to Japan from 37,500 in Economy, 50,000 miles in Premium Economy , 60,000 in Business and 90,000 miles on First Class. Theoretically.

The image shows a flight booking summary for Japan Airlines flight JL 57 from San Francisco (SFO) to Narita (NRT). The departure time is 2:00 pm, and the arrival time is 4:30 pm the next day, with a flight duration of 10 hours and 30 minutes. There is a "Low fare alert" label. The fare options include "Refundable Main" for 37.5k miles plus $19, "Refundable Partner Premium" for 50k miles plus $19, and "Refundable Partner Business," which is unavailable. There are buttons for "Details" and "Seats."

Realistic Award Availability: Last year, I booked my family award flights in Premium Economy on JAL with Alaska miles for our upcoming trip to Japan. However, in the last few months, JAL partner awards through Alaska have become increasingly difficult to find. Part of the reason is due to the fact that JAL releases its schedule around 12 months in advance while Alaska only releases 11 months in advance. During those 30 days, travelers can snatch up JAL award flights through JAL directly or other partners like Cathay Pacific and British Airways that release schedules earlier than Alaska.

In addition, Japan seems to be a hot travel spot right now, and demand for award flights has increased. In my recent searches on Alaska for flights to Japan, I found more plentiful award availability on Hawaiian Airlines and partner American Airlines to Japan (though mostly in Economy and Premium Economy).

Award Flights to Asia on Partner Starlux

Alaska partners with Starlux Airlines, which is based in Taiwan. The sweet spot is flying from West Coast USA cities to Taipei with connections to more cities in Asia for as low as 50,000 miles in Premium Economy:

The image shows a flight booking summary for flight JX 11 operated by Starlux Airlines. The flight departs from SFO at 12:50 am and arrives at TPE at 5:25 am the next day, with a duration of 13 hours and 35 minutes. There is a "Low fare alert" label. Three fare options are displayed: 

1. Main: Refundable Main for 37.5k miles + $19, with only 4 left.
2. Premium: Refundable Partner Premium for 50k miles + $19, with only 2 left.
3. Business: Refundable Partner Business for 175k miles + $19. 

Options for "Details" and "Seats" are available.

Realistic Award Availability: I see consistent award availability from LAX, SFO and SEA in Economy and Premium Economy. In the past, business class seats have been lower, but now I only see them for 175k miles, which is not a great deal. I’m hoping to book award flights on Starlux through Alaska Airlines for a trip to Thailand next year in Premium Economy.

Award Flights to South America on Partner LATAM Airlines

You can book award flights to South America not only on partner American Airlines but on partner LATAM Airlines using Alaska miles. The price varies a lot depending on origin in US and destination in South America. For example, a 12-hour flight from LAX to São Paulo Brazil is as low as 30,000 miles in economy and 60,000 miles in business:

The image shows a flight booking summary. It includes the following details:

- Flight number: LA 8087
- Departure time: 1:45 pm from LAX (Los Angeles International Airport)
- Arrival time: 5:40 am (+1 day) at GRU (São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport)
- Flight duration: 11 hours and 55 minutes
- Operated by LATAM Airlines
- Fare type: Refundable Main
- Cost: 30,000 miles plus $19
- Options for "Details" and "Seats" are available.

Realistic Award Availability: In my limited searching, I found a lot of economy award availability but not much in business. 

Bottom Line

Alaska miles are definitely useful for many award redemptions. Alaska Airlines also has a generous stopover policy, which I have never personally used. As with most programs, finding business and first class award redemptions are always more difficult, especially when you’re traveling as a family. 

Author: Nancy

Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.

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Comments

  1. UnitedEF says

    May 7, 2025 at 11:42 am

    Was just able to book Starlux J TPE-LAX for 75k but it was 2 days before the flight and they actually let the flight go with 4 empty J seats at 175k instead of lowering to 75K to get something out of those seats. Not a revenue manager but that seemed like a waste. Only 1 out of 4 seats were occupied in F.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      May 7, 2025 at 1:41 pm

      @UnitedEF I’m glad you snagged those seats for 75k! I wish they would open up more of those more than 2 days out.

      Reply
  2. Christian says

    May 6, 2025 at 9:24 pm

    Alaska used to be the hands down champ of great premium cabin partner awards to Asia at great prices. Unfortunately, those awards on Cathay, Korean, JAL, and Emirates are a distant memory. IMO the best remaining practical use of Alaska miles in business or first class is on Condor business class to Frankfurt. It’s certainly not luxury but if you’re not too tall it’s certainly comfortable.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      May 7, 2025 at 1:42 pm

      @Christian I forgot about Condor! Thanks for the reminder.

      Reply
  3. patrick says

    May 6, 2025 at 10:06 am

    Regarding flying “F” to Hawaii for the West coast… I’ve done it twice without to much problem. Of course you can’t just expect availability anytime you want to go but if you keep an eye out for your desired dates either by checking quite often or using an award search tool, you have a decent chance of getting a good deal. Just don’t wait to the last minute to look for ward space.
    I’ve seen award space come and go and come back again.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      May 6, 2025 at 11:59 am

      @Patrick That’s great to hear! Thanks.

      Reply

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