Is Alaska Airlines Good?

Alaska has a stellar loyalty program, but no lie-flat seats.
Josh Garber
By Josh Garber 
Published
Edited by Meg Lee

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

As travel continues its crawl back to normal, it can be tough to know which of the many U.S.-based airlines might be best for your next trip. If you’re looking at a flight serviced by Alaska Airlines, you may be wondering: Is Alaska Airlines good?

Here’s what NerdWallet found based on a number of factors, including Alaska’s loyalty program, flight experience, customer service and more.

NerdWallet’s airline loyalty program winner

NerdWallet recently analyzed the best airline loyalty program this year, and Alaska Airlines came out on top, with a rating of 4.1 out of five points — significantly higher than the 3.5-point ratings or lower of bigger airlines, like American Airlines and Southwest.

What helped set Alaska apart from all other U.S.-based carriers? It offers a high-value reward rate for its Mileage Plan program, has favorable policies around fees and pets and offers top-tier benefits for its elite members.

Aside from topping NerdWallet’s rankings of best airline loyalty programs, there are additional reasons why Alaska is a great airline to fly.

What is Alaska Airlines like?

Your experience on Alaska may vary with class of service, destination and factors like flight crew and passenger load. With that in mind, we’ve highlighted a few points below that should give you a better idea of what you’ll experience when flying with Alaska.

Making reservations

Booking a flight on Alaska is relatively easy, and you can make your flight reservation either directly with the airline (either on its website or app) or through a third-party site like Kayak or Expedia.

Keep in mind that Alaska charges a $15 service fee when booking through an agent on the phone (this fee is waived for Alaska MVP Gold and 75k members), so you should try to book online when possible.

Check-in process

You’ll be able to check in for Alaska flights up to 24 hours in advance. You can check in either on the Alaska website, on its app or at the airport.

If you use the app, you’ll be able to download a digital version of your boarding pass. Otherwise, you can print your boarding pass at home or get a paper version when checking in at the airport.

Boarding

Alaska Airlines boards its planes using seven different groups, starting with pre-boarding (including guests with children under 2), followed by first class, Mileage Plan elite members, premium class ticket holders, main cabin passengers and those in Saver seats.

In-flight experience

Your in-flight experience can vary widely depending on the cabin you’ve booked and the plane on which you’re flying. Most aircrafts offer $8 Wi-Fi for the duration of your flight, and you can still access free messaging even if you don’t pay for internet access.

Note that Alaska doesn’t offer lie-flat seating — even on its cross-continental flights – so if having a bed is important to your flying experience, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Loyalty program

Alaska’s Mileage Plus loyalty program is top-notch. Award tickets can be redeemed for as few as 5,000 miles, and miles are accumulated based on the distance you fly, not how much you spent on your ticket.

Alaska is also a member of the Oneworld alliance, so you can use your Mileage Plan miles to book travel on partner airlines including Qantas, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, British Airways, FinnAir and Qatar Airways. You can even use your Alaska miles to book flights on a few select non-Oneworld alliance members like Singapore Airlines, Aer Lingus and Korean Air.

Other factors to consider when flying Alaska Airlines

Safety ratings

If you're concerned about safety when you fly, Alaska Airlines is a great choice — Alaska was named the safest airline in the U.S. and the eighth safest airline in the world, according to a 2021 analysis by airlineratings.com.

Reliability

Compared to the nine U.S.-based carriers, Alaska Airlines ranked third for on-time performance in a 2021 - 2022 data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Although Alaska wins points for on-time performance, it doesn’t fare quite as well when it comes to luggage. In 2021, Alaska was ranked the fourth worst airline in the U.S. for lost or mishandled luggage by LuggageHero.

Customer satisfaction

Alaska customers are generally happy with the airline. In a 2022 North American airline satisfaction study by J.D. Power, Alaska was ranked second in customer satisfaction by first and business class passengers and received a fifth place ranking by economy cabin travelers.

Who should avoid Alaska Airlines

Although there are many reasons to fly Alaska Airlines, there are some travelers who may want to avoid the airline, including:

  • Travelers who prefer a lie-flat seat. Alaska Airlines doesn't offer lie-flat seats in its premium class cabins, so customers who want a bed when they fly should look elsewhere.

  • Travelers who want to fly Alaska jets outside of North America. Alaska Airlines currently only flies to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica. Although you can leverage Alaska’s partners to fly elsewhere, you won't be on Alaska's planes.

  • East Coast-based travelers. The airline's flight network concentrates heavily on the West Coast and Alaska, so it might not make the most sense for all flyers.

If you’re considering flying Alaska Airlines

So is Alaska Airlines a good airline? In most cases, yes. To get the most bang for your buck, we recommend researching the aircraft and in-flight experience offered for your specific flight, as well as verifying the amount of miles you’ll earn through Alaska’s loyalty program.

Once you’ve decided to book an Alaska flight, don’t forget to join its Mileage Plan program to take full advantage of the airline’s top-rate loyalty benefits.

Photo courtesy of Alaska Airlines.


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 2024, including those best for:

Travel Cards from Our Partners
Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-5x

5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

60,000

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

Points
Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card

on Chase's website

Chase Freedom Unlimited®
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1.5%-6.5%

Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

Cashback

Intro offer

$300

Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

on Capital One's website

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
4.7
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

2x-5x

Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

Miles

Intro offer

75,000

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

Miles
See more travel cards
Get more smart money moves – straight to your inbox
Sign up and we’ll send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money.