The Guide to Alaska Partner Airlines

You can earn and redeem miles or receive elite status perks on Alaska's partner airlines.
Elina Geller
Sam Kemmis
By Sam Kemmis and  Elina Geller 
Updated
Edited by Meghan Coyle

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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.

Who are Alaska’s airline 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.

  • Aer Lingus.

  • Air Tahiti Nui.

  • American Airlines (Oneworld).

  • British Airways (Oneworld).

  • Cape Air (earn partner only).

  • Cathay Pacific (Oneworld).

  • Condor.

  • El Al Israel Airlines.

  • Fiji Airways. (Oneworld).

  • Finnair (Oneworld).

  • Hainan Airlines.

  • Iberia (Oneworld).

  • Icelandair.

  • Japan Airlines (Oneworld).

  • Kenmore Air (Earn partner only).

  • Korean Air.

  • LATAM Airlines.

  • Malaysia Airlines (Oneworld).

  • Mokulele Airlines (earn partner only).

  • Qantas (Oneworld).

  • Qatar Airways (Oneworld).

  • Ravn Alaska.

  • Royal Air Maroc (Oneworld).

  • Royal Jordanian (Oneworld).

  • Singapore Airlines.

  • Southern Airways Express (earn partner only).

  • SriLankan Airlines (Oneworld).

  • STARLUX Airlines.

How to use Alaska miles on partner airlines

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 1.4 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.

Alaska Airlines stopover rules

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.

Alaska Airlines partner award chart

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 and Oneworld elites

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).

How to earn Alaska miles with airline partners

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.

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.

Partner

Miles earned in lowest fare class

Partnership

Aer Lingus

25%.

Non-alliance.

Air Tahiti Nui

25%.

Non-alliance.

American Airlines

25%.

Oneworld.

British Airways

25%.

Oneworld.

Cape Air

100%.

Non-alliance, earn partner only.

Cathay Pacific

25%.

Oneworld.

Condor

50%.

Non-alliance.

El Al Israel Airlines

25%.

Non-alliance.

Fiji Airways

50%.

Oneworld.

Finnair

25%.

Oneworld.

Hainan

30%.

Non-alliance.

Iberia

25%.

Oneworld.

Icelandair

25%.

Non-alliance.

Japan Airlines

30%.

Oneworld.

Kenmore Air

100%.

Non-alliance, earn partner only.

Korean Air

25%.

Non-alliance.

LATAM Airlines

25%.

Non-alliance.

Malaysia Airlines

25%.

Oneworld.

Mokulele Airlines

100%.

Non-alliance, earn partner only.

Qantas

25%.

Oneworld.

Qatar Airways

25%.

Oneworld.

Ravn Alaska

100%.

Non-alliance.

Royal Air Maroc

25%.

Oneworld.

Royal Jordanian

25%.

Oneworld.

Singapore Airlines

50%.

Non-alliance.

Southern Airways Express.

100%.

Non-alliance, earn partner only.

SriLankan Airlines

25%.

Oneworld.

STARLUX Airlines

100%.

Non-alliance.

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.

Earn Alaska miles with hotel, car rental and shopping partners

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.

Frequently asked questions

Alaska currently has 28 partner airlines and is a member of the Oneworld alliance. You can earn Mileage Plan miles when flying with Alaska’s partners. You also can redeem those same miles for flights with partners.

American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are partners. Both are also members of the Oneworld alliance.

Yes, you can redeem Alaska miles with any of the airline's partners. Most of these redemptions can be made through Alaska's website but some require calling customer service directly.

Yes, you can earn Alaska miles when flying with a partner airline and attributing it to your Mileage Plan account. However, note that, for most partners, you will earn fewer miles when flying economy than when flying on Alaska.

Yes, you can earn American AAdvantage miles when flying with Alaska by applying your AAdvantage number to the itinerary. However, you will generally earn fewer AAdvantage miles than you would earn Alaska miles.

Final thoughts on Alaska Airlines partners

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.


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