The Guide to Alaska Airlines Partners

Alaska Airlines joined the Oneworld alliance in 2021, expanding the breadth and benefits of its partnerships. It has also maintained many of the high-quality partnerships from before joining Oneworld.

The benefits of these partnerships are threefold:

• You can earn Alaska miles when flying with partners.

• You can use Alaska miles to fly with partners.

• You can get MVP elite benefits when flying with partners.

Since Alaska flies few international routes itself, these partnerships greatly expand the benefits for Mileage Plan members, geographically. Alaska doesn't fly to Europe, for example, but several of its partner airlines do.

Here's what you need to know about Alaska Airlines' partners.

In this article:

• Who are Alaska's airline partners?

• How to use Alaska miles to book partner flights

• Alaska elite members get automatic Oneworld status

• Earning miles with airline partners

• Frequently asked questions

• Use Alaska Airlines' partners to your benefit

Who are Alaska’s airline partners?

Alaska is currently partnered with 23 airlines. Of these, 13 are Oneworld members and 10 are independent partnerships.

» Learn more: Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: Your complete guide

How to use Alaska miles to book partner flights

Alaska operates only a handful of international routes, so redeeming miles on its partner airlines is a good way to travel the globe.

Searching for available partner award flights is fairly straightforward. Use the flight search tool on the website or app and select the "Use miles" box.

Once you search, you’ll see the available partner routes for the destination you selected.

Each partner serves different regions and has its own award chart.

Some partners (British Airways, most notoriously) charge massive fuel surcharges that are not published in the award chart. The best way to find the “real” cost of a given itinerary is to search and compare.

NerdWallet values Alaska miles at 1.1 cents each. So consider the value you're getting when redeeming your miles for a specific redemption.

Most Alaska partners allow free stopovers on award itineraries, which means you can stop for several days (or weeks) at an airline's hub on your way to your final destination. This is a great way to extend the value of your miles, especially when booking premium cabin awards.

To book stopovers, use the multi-city search tool.

Make sure the stopover is in an Alaska’s partner's hub (in this case, Japan Airlines’ hub in Tokyo) or the search will fail.

Note: Some partners, like LATAM, are bookable only by calling Alaska directly.

» Learn more: 5 award sweet spots using Alaska Airlines miles

Alaska elite members get automatic Oneworld status

Alaska MVP elite members receive automatic reciprocal Oneworld status, which confers benefits such as lounge access when flying with Oneworld partners.

Alaska MVP = Oneworld Ruby

• Preferred check-in.

• Preferred seating.

Alaska MVP Gold = Oneworld Sapphire

• Preferred check-in.

• Preferred seating.

• Business class lounge access.

• Baggage allowance.

Alaska MVP Gold 75k = Oneworld Emerald

• Preferred check-in.

• Preferred seating.

• First class lounge access.

• Baggage allowance.

All of these policies are subject to the specific rules of each Oneworld partner airline. Don’t be surprised if you encounter some hiccups when flying with partners. And remember to use your Alaska Mileage Plan number on partner itineraries, not your reward account associated with that airline.

In addition to Oneworld benefits, a few of Alaska’s partners extend lounge access to MVP Gold and Gold 75K members:

• Emirates (Dubai).

• Icelandair (Keflavik).

• Hainan Airlines (multiple airports in mainland China).

» Learn more: Find the best airline credit card for you

Earning miles with airline partners

Credit your flight to your Alaska Mileage Plan account

You can earn miles on Alaska’s partners by crediting the flight to your Alaska Mileage Plan account. That is, if you book a flight on British Airways, you must enter your Alaska number in your itinerary in order to earn miles.

Alaska miles are earned based on the number of miles flown with the partner airline, though not always at a 1:1 ratio. Most partner economy tickets earn only 25% of flown miles. For example, if you fly 4,000 miles on British Airways in the cheapest fare class, you’ll earn 1,000 Alaska miles.

» Learn more: Here's how much your points and miles are worth

Take advantage of bonus miles in premium cabins

On the flip side, many partners offer bonus miles for flying in their premium cabins. In British Airways’ highest fare class (F), you’ll earn 100% of flown miles plus a 200% class of service bonus plus a 200% additional bonus. Flying 4,000 miles in this fare class will earn a whopping 20,000 Alaska miles.

Note that the “additional bonus” applies to redeemable miles (which can be used to book award flights) but not elite-qualifying miles (which earn elite status).

Miles earning rates from airline partners

Here is how many miles you’ll earn for each partner in the cheapest economy fare class:

For a full breakdown of earnings based on partner airlines and fare classes, check Alaska’s partner page.

An important caveat: The flight must be sold and operated by the same partner airline in order to qualify for Alaska miles. What does that mean? If you book a flight through British Airways that is operated by Iberia Airways, you will not earn Alaska miles. This can get tricky, especially for partners in the Oneworld alliance, so keep an eye out when booking your ticket.

» Learn more: Your guide to the Oneworld alliance

You can also earn Alaska miles with hotel, car rental and shopping partners

Alaska allows you to earn points in a variety of other ways including hotel stays, car rentals, shopping partners, dining programs and more.

To learn about all the different mileage earning opportunities, check out our guide to earning Alaska Airlines miles.

Use Alaska Airlines' partners to your benefit

Alaska has long offered some of the best partnership earning and redemption options out there. Now that it has joined the Oneworld alliance, these partnerships have only expanded and strengthened.

You might think of Alaska as a smallish airline that primarily serves the West Coast. But when you consider Alaska’s membership in Oneworld and its partnership with other independent airlines, its reach is far greater.

Now that you’ve mastered the partnership program, you’re ready to learn more about Alaska’s Mileage Plan program.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those best for:

• Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

• Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card 

• Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card