The Guide to Alaska Partner Airlines

Although Alaska Airlines can appear to be a small West Coast carrier, that’s a big misconception. Alaska Airlines is a member of the Oneworld alliance and has independent partnerships with many other airlines. In total, Alaska is partnered with 28 airlines, meaning you can use its miles to book flights on many carriers to travel all over the world.

In addition to redeeming miles, the benefits of these partnerships allow customers to earn miles and use Alaska MVP elite benefits when flying with these other airlines.

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

Alaska is currently partnered with 28 airlines. Of these, many are Oneworld members, others are independent partnerships and four airlines are only eligible for earning miles, not redeeming.

» Learn more: Oneworld Alliance pros and cons

You can use Alaska miles to book travel on partner airlines, and searching for availability is relatively straightforward. Use the flight search tool on the website or app and select the "Use miles" box.

Here’s an example one-way flight search from New York to London.

You’ll see the available partner routes for the destination selected. Two of the options include a flight on British Airways and another on American Airlines, both of which are Oneworld partners.

Some partners (British Airways, most notoriously) charge massive fuel surcharges. This is evident when comparing the American Airlines award ticket with the British Airways one. Flying economy on American Airlines will cost 30,000 Alaska miles + $19 in taxes and fees, while the British Airways award will set you back 32,500 Alaska miles + $290 in taxes and fees.

NerdWallet values Alaska miles at 1.3 cents each. So consider the value you're getting when redeeming your miles. Generally, you’ll get the most bang for your buck when using your miles for premium cabin redemptions or when minimizing the taxes and fees on a given award.

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 partner's hub (in this case, Japan Airlines’ hub in Tokyo) or the search will fail.

Note: Some partners, like LATAM, can be booked only by calling Alaska directly.

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

Alaska used to publish award charts for airline partners on its website, but that's no longer the case. Instead, you'll see a chart on Alaska’s website showing the starting prices for flying to a specific region.

North American award chart

International award chart

Since there’s no way to know what an award will cost for the dates you’d like to fly, the best way to find out the true price of a given itinerary is to search and compare.

Alaska MVP elite members receive automatic reciprocal Oneworld elite 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 and MVP Gold 100k = 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 if you’d like to earn Alaska miles when flying with a partner, make sure to include 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 elites who have MVP Gold and higher:

• Emirates (Dubai).

• Icelandair (Keflavik).

• Hainan Airlines (multiple airports in China).

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

Credit your flight to your Alaska Mileage Plan account

You can earn miles with Alaska’s partner airlines 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 to earn miles.

Alaska miles are earned based on the number of miles flown with the partner airline, though it's not always at a 1:1 ratio. Most partner economy tickets earn 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 400% bonus. Flying 4,000 miles in this fare class will earn a whopping 20,000 Alaska miles.

You will also earn a 300% bonus of elite-qualifying miles, which earn elite status.

Miles earning rates from airline partners

Here's 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 to qualify for Alaska miles. What does that mean? If you book a flight through British Airways operated by Iberia Airways, you won't earn Alaska miles.

This can get tricky, especially for partners in the Oneworld alliance, so keep an eye out when booking your ticket.

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

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

Alaska has long had an impressive list of partner redemption options due to its Oneworld membership and partnerships with other airlines. Although the airline no longer publishes separate award charts for its partners, you can still get an idea of what an award price might start at. Alaska’s generous stopover rules allow travelers to create some exciting multistop itineraries.