Great Rewards 70,000 Miles: Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card Review

The Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card is one of the best cards to earn Alaska miles. Even if you don’t live on the West Coast, Alaska Airlines miles are especially valuable as you can use them to book flights on Oneworld partner airlines including Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Qantas and American Airlines. You’ll also get one free checked baggage and priority boarding if you use the card to pay for your flight. Card Rating*:

*Tag ratings are based on the opinions of TPG editors and are not influenced by the card issuer.

Alaska Airlines miles have long been ranked as the most valuable airline miles in TPG . Monthly Valuationthanks to its extensive partner network and Alaska’s membership in the Oneworld alliance.

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan there are very generous rules when booking reward flights: You are allowed more free stops on most awards and even on one-way prizes. I’ve used this to book Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines business class flights, and add stops in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

While there are many sweet spot in the Alaska Airlines program, these miles are hard to come by. Only one of the major transferable points programs (Marriott Bonvoy) is currently partnering with Alaska Airlines.

Apply for Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card and Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card are your main options for ease Earn a huge amount of Alaska miles. So, dive in to see if the Visa Signature card is right for you.

Right now, the Alaska Airlines Visa Credit Card is offering 70,000 bonus miles, plus popular Alaska™ Airfares from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23), after you spend $3,000 or more within First 90 days from account opening. TPG . value 70,000 Alaska miles at $1,260, making this one of the best welcome deals in recent memory.

Obviously, this card is a great choice if you frequently fly Alaska Airlines. With one $95 annual feeThis card offers the same privileges as the elite without the Alaska Airlines Elite Status. Cardholders receive one free piece of checked baggage for themselves and up to six other passengers on the same booking when they pay by card, saving $30 each way on checked baggage. You’ll also enjoy Alaska-related discounts, including a 20% cashback on Alaska Airlines in-flight purchases.

If you fly Alaska with a friend or family member at least once a year with a paid fare, the most lucrative ongoing benefit of this pass is likely to be the annual companion fare, which will earn you thousands of dollars. year on your account anniversary if you spent $6,000 or more in the previous anniversary year.

The companion fare is only valid for the bus ride, but it’s eligible for an upgrade if you hold Alaskan elite status. TPG’s Summer Hull took advantage of a status match to earn Alaska MVP Gold status 75kthen used some of the four one-way upgrades that came with that status to upgrade flights to Hawaii that were booked with the companion fare.

For more information on companion tickets and how to get the most out of it, check out our tips on maximize Alaska Airlines Visa companion fares. Keep in mind that return flights will often offer better value for this privilege, and you’ll have to pay for the fare with your Alaska Airlines Visa.

As mentioned earlier, this card also offers a free checked bag for cardholders and up to six other travelers on the same booking when you use the card to pay for your flights. Have No foreign transaction feesso you can use the card anywhere in the globe at no extra charge.

Cardholders will also receive priority boarding, similar to American Airlines Group 4 or 5 boarding for co-branded credit card holders. You’ll board after first class, veterans, those who need more time, Oneworld and Alaska elite members, and those in premium. Again, to use this benefit, you need to pay for the flight with your card.

Finally, you’ll get 10% off your annual mileage if you have a qualifying account at Bank of America.

If you regularly travel for business or pleasure on Alaska Airlines and want to accumulate the balance on your Mileage Plan, this card is an obvious choice to purchase airline tickets. Consider that TPG . value Alaska Airlines is as high as 1.8 cents per person, which is a 5.4% profit.

You should probably use another travel credit card for purchases outside of Alaska because you can earn more than the card’s 1-mile-per-dollar rate. However, if you really want to earn Alaska miles for partner rewards flights, that advice may not apply, as Alaska miles are valuable and hard to obtain without flying Alaska.

There are many ways to split 70,000 bonus miles, even consider the devaluation of Alaska’s prize rankings in December.

Alaska short distance awards (such as Seattle to San Francisco) start at just 5,000 Alaska miles each way. Many longer flights (such as Seattle to New York City) are 12,500 miles in economy class. If you want first class, it’s usually 40,000 miles on longer domestic flights, but can start as low as 15,000 miles each way on shorter flights. If you want to go to Hawaii, those rewards start at 15,000 miles each way for economy class and 40,000 miles each way for first class.

of Alaska partner will also include your travels around the world. Those partners include British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Singapore Airlines. You won’t necessarily get the lowest mileage booking rate for all of these partners (depending on route) when redeeming through Alaska. But by taking advantage of Alaska’s subsidies one stop on a one-way award ticketyou can build some amazing itineraries.

Some of our favorite ways to maximize Alaska Airlines redemption reservation included Cathay Pacific First Class from America to Asia 70,000 miles one way, Japan Airlines First Class one way from USA to Asia starting at 70,000 miles and Fiji Airlines from the US to Fiji one way in business class for 55,000 miles.

You can even fly to Australia on Fiji Airways and add a free stop in Fiji for the same 55,000 miles in business class.

But you don’t have to run around the planet to maximize Alaska miles. Pre-booking prizes across the US and Canada from just 5,000 Alaska miles each way is also a pretty great deal.

If you are interested in booking a premium cabin bonus, earn transferable rewards Points could be better because you won’t be stuck with the rewards tied to a loyalty program.

Flexible bonus points, such as Chase the ultimate reward and Capital One mile, easier to find. In addition, many of these cards offer Bigger signup bonus or percentage of bonus earn more money in different spending categories. Here are a few great cards to earn Points are transferable if you have no specific need for Alaska miles:

Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

If you can qualify for a business card (and have many ways to do so without owning a physical store), you should consider opening Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card instead of, replace. It offers signup bonus of 40,000 bonus miles plus Popular Alaska™ Companion Fare from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22) with this after purchase from $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of opening your account.

Whether you are an Alaska loyalist or want to diversify your portfolio of points and miles with valuable Alaska miles, the Alaska Airlines Visa is a great choice. Thanks to a good income rate on Alaska Airlines purchases and valuable annuals companion ticketThe card’s $95 annual fee is negligible compared to the benefits.

Official app link: Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card available with 70,000 bonus miles, plus Alaska Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23), after you spend $3,000 or more in within the first 90 days of account opening.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Stella Shon and Benét J. Wilson.