Occasionally, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan offers discounts on purchasing miles. Since these miles can be difficult to earn, buying them during these sales can help top off your account to save on future redemptions. From now until Feb. 24, Alaska is offering a bonus of up to 60% when you purchase miles, with prices as low as 1.72 cents per mile. Simply log in and buy miles through the Alaska Airlines website.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a frequent flyer program that allows members to earn and redeem miles for flights on Alaska Airlines and its partner airlines. The program offers a variety of ways to earn miles, such as flying with Alaska Airlines, using co-branded credit cards, and participating in partner promotions. However, earning a significant number of miles can often be a challenge, which is why purchasing miles during a sale can be a valuable option.
TPG’s valuations peg Alaska miles at 1.4 cents each. However, buying miles slightly above this value can still be worthwhile if you have a specific redemption in mind. This sale is especially beneficial if you’re ready to book a high-value award flight and have already found available award space, especially given the upcoming changes to the Mileage Plan award chart in March 2024.
The current sale offers a bonus of up to 60% when purchasing miles. The bonus is structured as follows:
– For purchases of 3,000 to 19,000 miles, you’ll receive a 40% bonus, resulting in a price per mile of 1.96 cents.
– For purchases of 20,000 to 39,000 miles, you’ll receive a 50% bonus, resulting in a price per mile of 1.83 cents.
– For purchases of 40,000 to 100,000 miles, you’ll receive a 60% bonus, resulting in a price per mile of 1.72 cents.
Purchasing miles with the 60% bonus decreases the cost to 1.72 cents per mile as long as you purchase at least 40,000 miles. This is one of the highest bonuses we’ve seen for Alaska miles, though not as good as the 70% bonus we’ve seen in the past.
When purchasing Alaska miles, there are some limitations to keep in mind. If you hold MVP, MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, or MVP Gold 100K elite status in the Mileage Plan program, there’s no annual limit on how many Alaska miles you can buy or receive as a gift. If you don’t hold elite status with Alaska, you can only buy or be gifted up to 150,000 miles per calendar year. However, the calendar year limit for non-elite members doesn’t include bonus miles. So, if you’re targeted for a 60% bonus and haven’t purchased or received any Alaska miles as a gift this year, you could buy 150,000 miles through this sale and receive 90,000 bonus miles for a total of 240,000 miles deposited into your account.
When it comes to redeeming Alaska miles, the program offers a variety of options. Alaska Airlines partners with many great airlines, including Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and Fiji Airways. These partnerships allow you to redeem Alaska miles for first- and business-class travel on these airlines. One of the best redemption values is flying to Fiji in Fiji Airways’ business class, which starts at 55,000 Alaska miles. With the current bonus promotion, you could purchase 37,000 miles with a 50% bonus for $1,017.50, which will give you a purchase rate of 1.83 cents per mile. Compared to purchasing a business-class ticket outright with cash, this can save you about $7,291.
Another great redemption is flying from the US to South America in LATAM business class, starting at 45,000 Alaska miles. During this sale, 45,000 (30,000 miles plus a 15,000-mile bonus) Alaska miles would cost about $825 if you can buy the miles at a rate of 1.83 cents each.
You can also use Alaska miles to fly in Cathay Pacific’s first-class product to Hong Kong and beyond for just 70,000 Alaska miles one-way with minimal taxes and fees. During this sale, 70,000 Alaska miles would cost about $1,210. However, it’s important to note that first-class award availability can be hard to come by.
If you’re considering purchasing Alaska miles during this sale, it’s recommended to pay with a credit card that offers a solid return on everyday purchases to earn the most rewards for your purchase. However, keep in mind that Points.com, not Alaska, will process your purchase, so you won’t earn bonus rewards for using a card with airline spending as a bonus category.
In conclusion, purchasing Alaska miles during a sale can be a great way to top off your account and save on future redemptions. With the current sale offering a bonus of up to 60%, you can buy miles at a reasonable rate and potentially save thousands of dollars on high-value award flights. Just make sure you have a specific redemption in mind and have already found available award space before making a purchase.