Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is a great frequent flyer program for Australians, offering more value than Qantas Frequent Flyer, Virgin Australia Velocity and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
Alaska Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the United States and rated by J.D. Power as having the highest customer satisfaction rating of the traditional American airlines for the past 12 years.
However, Australian’s can get great value from Mileage Plan without ever stepping foot on an Alaska Airlines flight.
In this post:
Earn Across Multiple Airlines
One of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to earning frequent flyer points is ‘Can I pool my points from different programs into one account?’. The answer is pretty much no, with the exception of the Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines partnership.
However, Alaska Mileage Plan offers the next best thing. They have 15 airline partners that cover OneWorld and Star Alliance, including the airlines Australians fly most frequently:
- Qantas (OneWorld)
- Emirates
- Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance)
- Cathay Pacific (OneWorld)
- Japan Airlines (OneWorld)
- British Airways (OneWorld)
- American Airlines (OneWorld)
- Fiji Airways
You can credit your flights on all airlines above to your Mileage Plan account to build up your frequent flyer points in a single account.
Tip: Your miles with Alaska Mileage Plan will not expire provided you have activity every 24 months.
Up To 500% Mileage Credit On First Class & 350% On Business Class Fares
The benefits are even better for those flying on paid First & Business Class tickets with an extreme earn rate of up to 500% for First Class on British Airways.
| Flight (One Way) | Airline / Fare Class | Qantas Frequent FlyerPoints Earned | Alaska MileagePlan Miles Earned |
| Sydney – Singapore – London | British Airways / First Class | 24,800 | 53,360 |
You can find the earn rate for all Mileage Plan airline partners here, but a rough guide for the average for Business Class tickets is 200%.
Faster First & Business Class Rewards
There’s no value in earning more points if the awards you are after cost more too. Fortunately the Alaska Mileage Plan award chart is excellent value, especially flights from Australia to the US.
Qantas First Class from Sydney to Los Angeles is 70,000 Alaska Miles or 162,800 Qantas Points.
Cathay Pacific First Class from Sydney to New York is 80,000 Alaska Miles or 216,900 Qantas Points.
When combined with the superior earning from most paid tickets, Alaska Mileage Plan offers unbeatable value.
Downsides of Alaska Mileage Plan For Australians
There are two main downsides of the Mileage Plan for the Australian traveller.
Firstly, no Australian-issued credit cards offer Alaska Mileage Plan as an earning option so you will not be able to build up a points balance quickly by applying for cards. This is offset by the ability to purchase miles at a discount several times per year.
Secondly, they aren’t a member of any alliance so the normal elite benefits such as priority check in and lounge access on airlines other than Qantas (which offers access to Alaska MVP Gold and above) is spotty.
Alaska Mileage Plan Summary
Regardless of the partner airline that you fly, Alaska Mileage Plan allows you to put all your miles into one program.
Combined with the generous award charts, it will also get you to your goal of a First or Business Class award much sooner.
Alaska Mileage Plan offers superb value for the Australian frequent flyer.
