While Alaska Mileage mile plan still one of the most valuable points and miles, recent show removed the partner-specific award leaderboard. This change allows for Alaska pricing partner awards to be flexible, and we’ve already seen the Mileage Plan increase the cost of some rewards operated by British Airways.
Although you may have to redeem more Alaska miles For some of today’s partner-operated awards, Mileage Plan still stands out with its unique stopover program. You can set a stopover on a one-way award.
Today, we’re going to take a quick look at the rules around Alaska Mileage Plan stops and how to book a stop under the Mileage Plan using the Alaska website.
Alaska Mileage Plan Stop Rules
A stopover is a connection point at an airport that is longer than the time normally allowed between connecting flights. Let’s say you’re flying from Seattle to Singapore. A stopover will allow you to stop for a few days (or longer) in the city where you connect. So, for example, a stopover might allow you to visit Tokyo on your way to Singapore.
Here are some rules to keep in mind when planning a stop with the Alaska Mileage Plan:
- You can fly up to one partner and Alaska Airlines. Using the example above, if you fly Japan Airlines from Seattle to Tokyo, you will have to fly Japan Airlines again from Tokyo to Singapore even if another partner airline has bonus seats.
- Not all partner flights can be booked. Do not assume that all available rewards are bookable through the Alaska Mileage Plan. Do a rewards search on the Alaska Mileage Plan website to see if your desired dates and routes are available.
- Stopovers are not available in international areas. You can’t add stops if you place your reward in an international region, such as Inner Asia or Inner Europe.
- International stops should usually be at partner hubs. On international awards, your stopover will usually have to be in the hub city of a partner airline. So when flying over Qantas or Iberia, look for stops in Sydney or Madrid instead of Melbourne or Barcelona.
- You can get to and from different airports as the airline serves multiple airports in a city. Here is an example of this in London and Tokyo.
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Arrivals and departures at different airports. ALASKAAIR.COM
Related: How to plan a free stopover on your next overseas trip
How to book a Mileage Plan stop
Now, let’s see the exact process to book a stop with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
As a reminder, alaska partner with the following airlines:
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- Aer Lingus.
- Tahiti Mountain Air.
- Alaska Airlines.
- American Airlines.
- Airline British.
- Cathay Pacific.
- guide.
- El Al.
- Fiji Airlines.
- Finland.
- Hainan Airlines.
- Iberia.
- Icelandic Airlines.
- Japan Airlines.
- Korean Airlines.
- LAT MAC.
- Malaysian Airlines.
- Mokulele Airlines and Southern Airways Express.
- Qantas.
- Qatar Airways.
- Ravn Alaska.
- Royal Moroccan Aviation.
- Jordan Royal.
- Singapore Airlines
- Sri Lankan Airlines.
You can book reward flights online on most of these partners. But let’s say you want to book a Finnair-operated bonus with a stop in Helsinki.
First, go to Alaska’s website and select “all search options”.
Enter your city pairs, number of tourists and dates on the next page. Select “multi-city” and “miles used.” You can leave the return flight fields blank if you only want to book a one-way flight.
After selecting “find a flight” you will (hopefully) see several options. In this case, I can choose a morning or afternoon flight for the last leg to Rome.
If the dwell time is not clear, select “details”.
From there, simply add the flight to your cart and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your award ticket.
Related: Maximize points redemption with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Extra tips
If you’re flexible about your travel dates or cities, consider searching each segment separately before creating your multi-city itinerary.
We recommend finding a room on your longest flight first. Then, learn together how to get to that departure gate. In some cases, you may find it best to book separately positioning flight on another airline.
Finally, keep in mind that there is little benefit to placing one round-trip bonus instead of two one-way rewards. You can even change Alaska miles one way and use another currency in another.
Related: The complete guide to maximizing stops and exploiting award tickets
How to Earn Alaska Miles
We have a complete guide to earn and redeem Alaska milesbut I will highlight some of my favorite ways to earn Alaska miles.
The Alaska Mileage Plan is one of the few programs that still rewards miles based on the distance you fly on Alaska-operated and marketed flights.
But I earned most of my Alaska miles by partners credit Oneworld tickets to the Mileage Plan. Overall, the Alaska Mileage Plan gives you more miles on a Oneworld ticket than you credit it with American or British Airways.
You can also earn Alaska miles on Lyft rides in the US and Canada. And the Alaska Mileage Plan has a shopping portal And food program you can use to earn extra miles.
In terms of credit cards, Alaska is not a transferee of any major credit cards transferable currency. However, you can Marriott Bonvoy point transfer to Alaska Mileage Plan at a ratio of 3:1, with 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 points you transfer.
If you don’t need to earn Alaska miles right away, you can add Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card or Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card into your wallet. Both cards offer substantial rewards for signing up and allow you to earn Alaska miles on purchases with your card.
Finally, Alaska occasionally offers bonuses and discounts for purchasing miles. Keep an eye on ours Current point of purchase and miles offer page to catch the next sale.
Related: Which credit card should you use for Alaska Airlines flights?
bottom line
Getting a free stop on a one-way award ticket is one of the best ways to maximize miles Alaska Mileage Plan.
Booking a stop on an Alaska award ticket may allow you to visit an additional destination. You can also use the Alaska Mileage Plan stop to break up another long trip between the US and Europe or Asia.
Also, adding a stop can make find prize space easier. After all, if you add a stopover, you’re no longer restricted to finding connecting flight options that depart shortly after your arrival flight.
Additional reporting by Ethan Steinberg.
