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Alaska Airlines began offering flights from Anchorage, Alaska in 1932. Today, the airline offers flights to over 115 destinations across U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica and is part of the Oneworld alliance and partnered with many other airlines operating all over the world.
Luckily for you, there are some great ways to earn lots of miles with Alaska’s Mileage Plan program, from flights on Alaska Airlines or its partners to credit cards and shopping.
The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program allows you to earn miles without signing up for an affiliated credit card. To earn points, you simply need to create an account.
The Mileage Plan account number you receive upon signing up will be used almost every time you want to earn miles. Make sure you keep this number within reach when you utilize the earning tactics below.
There are 2 paths to earning Alaska miles with credit cards. One involves 2 cards that earn Alaska miles directly, while the other 2 cards earn points that can be transferred to your Alaska account.
You might think earning Alaska miles directly is the best way to go, but stick with us — you might be surprised.
While it is possible to earn points without signing up for its co-branded credit cards, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card and Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card from Bank of America allow you to earn substantial miles simply for signing up for a card and using it on everyday purchases.
Hot Tip: If you want to apply for either of these cards, visit our article on credit cards and credit scores explained to learn more about getting approved!
The Alaska Signature card occasionally offers bonus miles for each referral you provide that is approved. All you have to do is get a friend or family member to sign up using the link you sent to them.
There isn’t a limit to how many times you can receive this referral bonus, so this is a great way to boost your Mileage Plan miles when these referral bonuses are offered.
You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points and transfer those to Alaska Airlines at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 Alaska Airlines miles bonus.
Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards
Points transfer from Diners Club International credit cards at a 10,000 to 11,825 transfer ratio.
As of the time of writing this article, Diners Club International is not accepting new consumer credit card applicants. We’re hopeful that this will change in the future.
We all spend plenty of money on shopping and dining out, so why not get some Mileage Plan miles in return for it?
Regardless of whether you sign up for the Alaska Signature card, as a Mileage Plan Account member, you have access to the Mileage Plan Shopping portal.
Through the shopping portal, you can earn miles on purchases regardless of which credit card you use.
Alaska Airlines has partnered with over 850 stores to offer a mileage bonus for each purchase made through the portal. All of the stores can be viewed on the portal website, but here are some of the top stores:
To earn Mileage Plan miles for your purchases:
Pay close attention during the holidays as the Mileage Plan Shopping portal often offers bonus miles on top of the miles you would normally earn.
Many airlines participate in a dining program to help customers earn extra miles on eating out at participating restaurants. Mileage Plan Dining has over 10,000 participating restaurants, bars, and clubs.
Signing up is free and you don’t have to use an Alaska-branded card to enroll.
To earn miles with the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Dining:
Usually, you will earn up to 5 miles per $1 you spend at participating restaurants, bars, and clubs. First-time members have the chance to earn up to 500 bonus miles.
These extra miles are given if you spend $30 or more at a participating restaurant within 30 days of joining the program and review your experience within 30 days after dining.
Find this new member bonus offer and other bonus offers under the section.
Hot Tip: You can only link a credit card to 1 dining portal at a time, so choose the one that is best for you. Remember that you’ll earn points on your credit card in addition to miles from the dining program.
There are other ways to earn even more Mileage Plan miles on everyday spending, including the following partnering retail offers:
| Retail Company | Bonus Miles |
| 1-800-FLOWERS.COM | 20 miles per $1 spent (use code AKA3) |
| CARRS/Safeway | Every 100 points gets you a Reward to clip for 100 Mileage Plan miles |
| GCI | 1 mile per $1 spent on phone, internet, and TV in Alaska |
| GetYourGuide | 4 miles per $1 spent |
| Laithwaites | Earn 2,250 miles with your introductory case and 1,000 miles with each subsequent subscription case you take. Plus, earn 3 miles per $1 spent on non-subscription purchases. |
| Rover | 3 miles per $1 spent on your first booking, 1 mile per $1 after |
| Teleflora | 10 miles per $1 spent (use code BAAAL10) |
| Vinesse | 5,000 miles upon initial sign-up, as well as 5 miles per $1 spent (use code ALASKA) |
With all of the interesting ways to earn Mileage Plan miles, it’s easy to forget that you can earn them when traveling.
As we mentioned above, the Alaska Signature card and Alaska Airlines Business card earn 3x miles per $1 on Alaska Airlines tickets.
You will also earn bonus Mileage Plan miles flying with any of Alaska’s Oneworld partners or other partner airlines when you attach your Mileage Plan number to your booking.
For the most part, your mileage earnings will be anywhere from 25% to 500% of the miles flown, depending on the partner and fare class you’re flying in.
Hot Tip: Here’s more information about crediting your miles to a partner airline.
Alaska Airlines offers a class of service/premium cabin bonus.
This means that you’ll earn 10% to 100% more miles depending on if you’re flying in first, business, and certain economy classes on Alaska Airlines and some partner airlines.
The percent bonus on actual miles flown with partnering airlines varies greatly.
The following is the bonus breakdown when flying in certain seats on Alaska Airlines:
Visit the Bonus Miles section to see more about this bonus.
Mileage Plan has an elite qualifying program called “Most Valued Passenger” or MVP. Reach MVP levels by flying often on Alaska Airlines or partnering airlines.
Here is a table outlining what you need to do to qualify for each MVP level:
| Annual Qualification Period January 1 to December 31 | MVP | MVP Gold | MVP Gold 75K | MVP Gold 100K |
| Miles on Alaska and Qualifying Partner Airlines | 20,000 | 40,000 | 75,000 | 100,000 |
| Segments on Alaska and Qualifying Partner Airlines | 30 | 60 | 90 | 140 |
| Minimum Number of Segments Flown on Alaska to Earn/Retain Status | 2 | 6 | 12 | 24 |
You’ll earn more miles each time you fly once you reach a given status level. Earn 50% bonus Mileage Plan miles as MVP, 100% bonus as MVP Gold, 125% bonus as MVP Gold 75K, and 150% bonus as MVP Gold 100K.
Those who fly enough to reach MVP Gold 75K status will also receive 50,000 Bonus Miles upon qualification!
If you have something to ship, Alaska Airlines has the biggest passenger airline cargo operation on the U.S. West Coast. All packages — small (16 ounces) up to large (ULD) — can be shipped on board Alaska Airlines flights.
You’ll earn extra miles when you use Alaska Airlines for your shipments. Simply book at the Alaska Air Cargo website and use your Alaska Signature card when you make your purchase.
You will earn 3x miles per $1 spent on your cargo shipment using your card.
Rent a car with a partnering car rental company and you will also earn mileage bonuses:
| Car Rental | Bonus Miles Offer |
| Alamo | 50 per day |
| Avis | Earn up to 1,250 miles |
| Budget | Earn up to 1,250 miles |
| Dollar | 50 per day; 150 per day on all rentals of 3 or more days |
| Hertz | 50 per day (up to 4 days); 500 per rental over 5 days |
| National | 50 per day |
| Thrifty | 50 per day; 150 per day on all rentals of 3 or more days |
Be sure to check the section of the Alaska Airlines website. The partnering car rental companies occasionally have promotions where you can earn even more miles per rental.
You can earn Alaska Airlines miles by using Lyft, earning 1 mile for every $1 spent. Just link your accounts and select Alaska Airlines as your earning preference.
The Mileage Plan has multiple hotel partners with which you can earn additional miles for your stay or per night booking.
Check out the bonus miles you could earn for your stay at one of the participating hotels:
| Hotel | Bonus Miles |
| Alaska Hotels | Up to 10,000 miles per night |
| Best Western | 250 miles per stay |
| Choice Hotels | 250 miles per stay |
| Coast Hotels | 250 miles per stay |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts | 2 miles per $1 spent or 500 per stay |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 to 2 miles per $1 spent, depending on hotel |
| Rocketmiles | 500 to 10,000 miles per night |
| Westmark Hotels | 2 miles per $1 spent |
Hot Tip: Be sure to choose “Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan” as the program for which you would like to earn miles when you make reservations and check in at the hotel.
Some hotel points can be transferred to your Alaska Mileage Plan account to earn more miles, but this should be avoided if at all possible because of the terrible transfer rate.
Save your hotel points for when you need hotel award stays.
If you have always wanted to go on a cruise to Alaska, look no further. You can earn bonus miles by booking through Alaska Airlines partner CruisesOnly (“America’s Largest Cruise Agency”).
You’ll earn 1 mile per $1 spent, and an additional mile per $1 spent if you’re an Alaska Signature cardholder.
Earning miles through your booking is simple. Visit ak.cruisesonly.com, search for a cruise, and enter your Mileage Plan number at checkout.
There are several other interesting ways to earn Mileage Plan miles from surveys to credit card partners to buying miles.
Alaska Airlines and finance company SoFi recently partnered to give new SoFi customers Mileage Plan miles when refinancing a student loan or taking out a new personal loan.
Currently, you can earn 1 Mileage Plan mile per $2 borrowed when refinancing a student loan or taking out a new personal loan through SoFi. Just note that there’s a 50,000-mile cap on mileage earning for both student loan refinances and new personal loans.
This option can make sense if you’re already considering refinancing a student loan or taking out a new personal loan. However, always make sure to shop around for the best interest rate before settling on SoFi.
Earning bonus miles is easy even without spending lots of money or owning one of the Alaska Airlines credit cards. Simply sign up for a free account with Mileage Plan partner The Opinion Terminal to start earning immediately — 400 miles when completing the first survey!
Surveys are often rather long (15+ minutes). Do this a few times a week, and the miles you earn from them will add up faster than you realize!
This can help you top off your account when you’re a few miles short of a free flight.
If you’re planning on redeeming miles for a certain value, you can calculate the cost to see if buying Mileage Plan miles is worth it.
Rarely is buying miles worth it. Leave it for topping off an account when you don’t have time to earn the last few miles for your next award flight.
For those without Alaska elite status, you are now limited to purchasing 150,000 miles per calendar year. Elite status holders can continue to buy miles without limit. Keep an eye out for any promotional sales!
The above strategies for earning Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles will help you earn tons of miles.
Whether through the credit card sign-up bonuses or the many partnering airlines with which you can fly, your options for earning miles are endless!
As soon as you start applying the strategies above, you’ll be rolling in tons of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles. Then, when you’re itching for a vacation, you can begin researching ways to use them!
The information regarding the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, click here.
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Always a fan of flying, it was only natural that Spencer was drawn to finding a way to improve the travel experience.
Like many, he started this journey searching for cheap flights to take him around the world. This was fun for a while, but Spencer was intrigued by the idea of flying in business and first class!
Throwing himself into what became an extensive research project, Spencer spent 3-4 hours per night learning everything he could about frequent flyer miles over the course of several months (he thinks this is normal). He runs Straight to the Points, an award-seat alert platform.
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20 comments
OR97
June 07, 2018
Rocketmiles.com for hotel reservations. Often some high bonuses. Upcoming hotel reservation with a Marriott will net 11k AS miles.
anita
August 15, 2018
Rocketmiles charge you a big fee (equivalent to cost of the free miles they give you) which is not broken down in detail and which includes in the tax amount.
Judith Manuel
June 11, 2018
Just need clarification – the above indicates that Delta is a partner w/Alaska Airlines yet Alaska’s website does not list Delta?
Michael McHugh
June 12, 2018
Hi Judith!
Alaska and Delta ended its partnership. I’ve updated the article to reflect that. Thanks for letting us know.
JohnB
July 28, 2018
Buying Starpoints can be a less expensive way to get Alaskan miles. It remains to be seen if the combined program with Marriott will be an easy way to get Alaskan miles. My suspicion is that Marriott, being the cheapo organization they are, will eventually end the transfer program.
DaninMCI
March 13, 2019
Alaska has some flights with partners that can only be booked as awards and not available for cash. That is another scenario where buying miles or transferring can make slight sense
Stephen Au
March 19, 2019
Hey Danin,
You bring up a great point. Check out our guide for the best ways to redeem Alaska Airlines miles:
/how-to-redeem-alaska-mileage-plan-miles/
John
May 14, 2019
Does purchasing Alaska airmiles move you closer to Elite status, or are elite miles only miles ‘flown’ that year?
Christine Krzyszton
May 14, 2019
Hi John. Unfortunately purchasing miles does not move you closer to elite status. You would be purchasing only redeemable miles. And yes, elite qualifying miles are flown miles.
Paul Roschke
July 12, 2019
I flew on Alaska Air on 4 July 2019 and read in the flight magazine that Alaska Air has an agreement with a company to award frequent flyer miles for walking. That is, so many steps equals a flyer mile. Could you please tell me the name of the program that offers Alaska Air miles for walking?
Thank you.
Christine Krzyszton
July 13, 2019
Hi Paul. This was a challenge but I found a copy of the Alaska Airlines in-flight magazine online and scanned through the pages. On page 142 you’ll find the offer from Semler Heart. Here’s a link to the online publication for July. https://www.paradigmcg.com/digitaleditions/abm-0719/
Sonny
July 28, 2019
Hi there. I’d like to know if buying miles is considered activity and extends the life of miles in my account for another 24 months?
Thanks!!
Christine Krzyszton
July 28, 2019
Hi Sonny. Yes, purchasing Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles will be considered activity and keep your account active.
Mary
August 06, 2019
Do segments flown on an award ticket count toward elite status? (I know the miles flown wont count.)
Christine Krzyszton
August 06, 2019
Hi Mary. Just as the miles flown on award tickets do not count toward elite status, neither do the number of segments flown on an award ticket.
Toan
August 27, 2019
With the lack of a transfer partner, i.e. a bank, earning a lot of Alaska miles will take either forever or cost you a lot of money. Compare that to ways to earn united, American or even delta miles (the worst of all three) and you’ll see how tough it is to earn Alaska miles.
Toni Silverman
June 30, 2021
I want to fly to Europe in the next few months. I would like to apply for the credit card to start earning points. What do you suggest on the best way to achieve the maximum benefits assuming I qualify? Thank you
Jarrod West
June 30, 2021
Hi Tony,
Which credit card are you referring to?
Victor V
July 23, 2022
Question:
If I buy family tickets (wife and kids) with my Alaska Credit card and set my mileage account for my ticket only (I can’t add it for the other tickets as web complains about it is the same), and leave the other tickets empty, will I get miles for those tickets?
Or do I need to create mileage account for each ticket and then try to transfer?
Jarrod West
July 26, 2022
Hi Victor,
Unfortunately not. You would need to create separate mileage accounts for your wife and children.
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