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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.