The Guide to the Alaska Airlines Award Chart

Alaska Airlines is one of the few U.S. carriers that still publishes an award chart. The latest changes to these charts went live in March 2024.

Alaska's award flight booking system is based on the region you’re traveling to, your flight’s distance in miles and your desired seat class. Here’s what to know about booking award flights as a member of Alaska Airlines’ free loyalty program, Mileage Plan.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

Alaska has different awards charts depending on whether you are flying Alaska or one of its partner-operated flights.

Alaska award flights

When booking an award flight departing from the contiguous U.S. — which includes Alaska and Canada — award levels vary by destination, mileage and whether you’re booking an economy or first-class seat.

Alaska used to publish an award mileage range to help you budget how many awards might be necessary for your trip. However, its latest charts only include “starting at” language. While it gives members a baseline of how many awards your flight might cost, the award level can be higher.

Alaska boasts that members get more value for short-haul flights, compared with its previous charts. Now, shorter trips start at 4,500 one way.

Partner award charts

In past years, each Alaska Airlines partner had a unique award chart. This meant the same flight route could cost you a different amount of miles depending on your carrier. Moving forward, booking an award flight through an Alaska Airlines partner will be more straightforward.

Alaska’s new partner award levels are the same across its 24 partner airlines. The partner award chart is grouped by region:

• Africa.

• Americas.

• Asia Pacific.

• Europe.

• Middle East.

Upon determining your travel region, you can view how many miles are needed to book an award flight, based on travel distance and your desired seat class.

» Learn More: Guide to Alaska Airlines partners: Earning, redeeming, elite perks

If you’re booking an international award flight and have the time, cash in on Alaska Airlines’ free stopover perk. You can stay in a destination en route to your final destination, for a range of a few days to a few weeks, at no extra points cost to you. Just select “multi-city” when booking your reward.

If you’re already booked on a flight with a lower fare class, but can’t stop daydreaming of first-class perks like spacious leather seats and fresh meals, you can redeem 15,000 award miles for a first class upgrade. Note that upgrades like these are not eligible for lounge access.

» Learn more: A beginner's guide to flying in first class

Earn points while you’re snoozing when you use miles to book a hotel stay on your trip. No matter your travel style, one of Alaska Airlines’ 400,000 affiliated properties worldwide will likely be a match. If you’re an Alaska Airlines credit card holder, you can enjoy additional discounts for stays.

Get a discount of up to $100 or $200 off your one-way or round-trip flight when you book an award with a combination of cash and your miles. You’ll still benefit from the 1:1 ratio for miles flown and miles earned.

» Learn more: How much are my Alaska Airlines miles worth?

Magazine subscriptions

Need some extra reading material on your next flight? Use your Alaska miles on a subscription for select magazines, thanks to Mags for Miles.

Gift or donate your miles

Airline miles can be a great gift. Transfer current miles to friends and loved ones for $10 per 1,000 miles, or consider donating extra miles through Alaska Airlines’ CARE miles program that supports worthy causes, like Make-A-Wish.

Mileage Plan miles can be redeemed for award flights, starting at just 5,000 miles for a one-way ticket. But before you start using Alaska miles, you have to earn them. Beyond flying, another way to amass a large number of Alaska Mileage Plan miles is to earn a sign-up bonus for an Alaska Airlines credit card.

This sum of points can net you several round-trip flights. Here's how the airline's two co-branded cards compare.

If you seek more flexibility in redeeming miles for award flights, consider applying for a more general travel credit card instead. A more general travel credit card differs from an airline card in that you can book flights with multiple carriers rather than reaping the benefits of staying loyal to a single brand.

The more high-end the travel credit card, the more benefits you can enjoy, including airport lounge access or automatic elite status in certain programs. That said, a brand-specific airline card can net you benefits like waived baggage fees, which can have meaningful dollar value.

For Mileage Plan members, booking awards under the new award chart might feel a little hit or miss.

Alaska’s standardized partner awards chart going into effect in March 2024 offers uniformity and simplicity. However, depending on your destination, it might cost you more miles to redeem an award ticket abroad. Conversely, a shorter getaway might be within reach with fewer award miles.

Ultimately, you can quickly earn Alaska Airlines miles through all of the normal channels, and can still benefit from the free stopover peppered in (both ways).