How to Redeem the Welcome Bonus from the Alaska Airlines Visa
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After you receive your Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card welcome bonus, the fun begins. Here's this card's current offering: Get 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
With those miles burning a hole in your pocket and so many options to use them, it can sometimes be hard to make up your mind. Here are a few ideas to make the most out of your Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card welcome bonus.
Domestic redemptions
The first redemption that comes to mind is for those wishing to travel within the United States. Alaska structures its domestic redemptions on their fleet in distanced-based tiers. You will be able to redeem your miles for Hops, Skips, Jumps or Leaps. That way, the longer your flight, the more miles you need:
Distance | Minimum redemption cost |
---|---|
Under 700 miles | 5,000 miles. |
701-1400 miles | 7,500 miles. |
1401-2100 miles | 10,000 miles. |
Over 2101 miles | 12,500 miles. |
In many cases, these will not be the most effective redemptions, as Alaska does have very competitive fares on short-distance flights. One example of when these redemptions become very useful is when visiting National Parks near the West Coast.
A revenue ticket from Seattle to Bozeman, Montana, for example, will set you back around $250 on a long weekend — but redeeming 5,000 miles each way will get you there without hurting your pocket.
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International partner redemptions
While Alaska Airlines may be based on the West Coast, the airline is much more far-reaching when we consider the destinations served by its 15 international partners. In some cases, the miles needed for international partner redemptions are only marginally higher than a domestic award redemption.
Alaska will allow an unlimited stopover on one-way redemptions on their partner awards, which means you can get two trips out of the same booking. Let’s look at some of those really good value redemptions.
United States to Europe with a stopover in Iceland
If you wanted to go to Europe but also maybe stay for a few days (or even months) in Iceland, all you’d have to do is search for flights to any of the destinations Icelandair serves to Europe. On that reservation, you will be able to add a stopover so you can spend some time trying to catch the Northern Lights before continuing to another city in Europe. This redemption will cost 27,500 miles in economy before Feb. 1, 2020, and 35,000 miles after.
United States to Morocco with a stopover in Frankfurt with Condor
If you’re feeling adventurous, you could use as few as 35,000 Alaska miles each way to redeem an economy ticket to Morocco flying on Alaska’s partner Condor. You could stop in Frankfurt for a few days to load up on schnitzel before you head to the sunny North African country.
United States to New Zealand with a stopover in Nadi with Fiji Airways
If you want to use up your entire Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card welcome bonus and go across the world, you could redeem an award on Fiji Airways. Stop for a few days in Nadi, Fiji, and then continue onward to New Zealand to do some more exploring — all for the same price as a one-way award.
United States to Mauritius with Condor
If you wanted to sunbathe on a somewhat deserted beach in an exotic African country, then you can do so starting at 35,000 miles on Alaska’s German partner, Condor. As usual, you can enjoy your free stopover in Frankfurt.
Easter Island
Alaska’s partner LATAM will get you to Easter Island — the remote Chilean territory smack in the middle of Polynesia — for 22,500 miles each way in economy when your departure point is South America. LATAM is the only commercial airline with scheduled service to Hanga Roa, the capital of the island, where you can enjoy the sights of the famous Easter Island Moai.
The bottom line
While all of these prices are one-way ticket redemptions, they do give one a good idea of all the possibilities Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles offer. Now that you understand the potential value of the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card welcome bonus, it should be a good motivator to get out there to start earning more miles to make some of these trips a reality.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024:
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ 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
Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice: How to get the most from the Alaska Airlines Companion Fare Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan: Your complete guide Find the best travel credit card for you
United℠ Explorer Card
Travel
Get valuable perks like free checked bag, lounge passes and rental car insurance for a fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $95. Limited time offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.