You Can Still Use Alaska Miles to Book American Airlines Flights
Alaska Airlines today announced a new “West Coast International Alliance” with American Airlines, an alliance that will bring significant benefits to its customers.
If the partnership sounds familiar, it’s because Alaska and America previously had an arrangement that allowed customers to share benefits (and miles) between both airlines.
Most of the benefits of this partnership have already been terminated, and it should have ended completely on March 1st. As someone who has used it a lot, it’s nice to see it rise from the grave in a new form.
Going forward, you will be able to use Alaska Mileage Plus miles on all American Airlines flights. If you have an Alaska Lounge membership, you can also use it to access any of the American Admirals Club locations.
In some cases, you may even get a better deal with another airline. For example, while looking for an award ticket in Alaska this morning, I was able to find a first class ticket on an American flight for only 25,000 Alaska miles, while a ticket to the main cabin in Alaska will cost me half.
Beginning in the spring, you will be able to earn Alaska Miles while traveling in America, which may be preferable if you prefer to fly more in Alaska than in America and want to combine your miles in one place.
Alaska also plans to join the oneworld alliance next year, which means customers will be able to receive these benefits as well. This means you can earn and redeem Alaska miles on any oneworld airline, as well as benefits such as priority boarding, premium seats and baggage allowances if you have an Alaska status and fly with any other. by oneworld, including the American one.
The oneworld alliance currently includes 13 airlines: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Latam, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines.
If you are currently splitting your time between two airlines, then it is definitely worth picking one to start earning those miles. And if you’re sitting on some of the Alaska miles, keep in mind that they’ll be a lot more good starting next year, so you might want to stick with them.