A overview of the Alaska Airways Visa bank card

The Alaska Airways Visa® bank card is among the greatest playing cards for incomes Alaska miles. Even if you happen to do not reside on the West Coast, Alaska Airways miles are exceptionally worthwhile since you need to use them to e-book flights on Oneworld associate airways together with Cathay Pacific, Japan Airways, Qantas and American Airways. You may additionally get a free checked bag and precedence boarding if you happen to use the cardboard to pay on your flight. Card Ranking*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

*Card Ranking is predicated on the opinion of TPG’s editors and isn’t influenced by the cardboard issuer.

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Alaska Airways miles have lengthy ranked as essentially the most worthwhile airline miles in TPG’s month-to-month valuations, because of Alaska’s intensive community of companions and membership within the Oneworld alliance.

The Alaska Airways Mileage Plan program has very beneficiant guidelines with regards to reserving award flights: You are allowed so as to add stopovers at no cost on most awards and even on one-way awards. I’ve used this to e-book business-class flights on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airways and add stopovers in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Whereas there are various candy spots within the Alaska Airways program, these miles are troublesome to acquire. Solely one of many main transferrable factors applications (Marriott Bonvoy) presently companions with Alaska Airways.

Making use of for the Alaska Airways Visa® Enterprise card and the Alaska Airways Visa bank card are your most important choices for simply incomes a giant chunk of Alaska miles. So let’s dive in to see if the Visa Signature card is an efficient match for you.

Signal-up bonus miles

Proper now, the Alaska Airways Visa bank card is providing 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Well-known Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23) with this supply. To qualify, make $3,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of opening your account.

Card advantages and perks

Clearly, this card is a superb alternative if you happen to continuously fly Alaska Airways. With a $95 annual charge, this card gives elite-like perks with out Alaska Airways elite standing. Cardholders get one piece of free checked baggage for themselves and as much as six different passengers on the identical reservation once they pay with the cardboard, saving $30 per individual every manner on checked luggage. You may additionally get pleasure from Alaska-related reductions, together with 20% again on Alaska Airways inflight purchases.

Should you fly Alaska with a buddy or member of the family at the least every year on paid fares, this card’s most profitable ongoing profit is more likely to be the annual companion fare, which you will earn yearly in your account anniversary if you happen to spent $6,000 or extra throughout the prior anniversary 12 months. (Nevertheless, if you happen to had been a cardholder previous to Jan. 18, 2023, it is our understanding that this new spend requirement would not impression your annual Companion Fare.)

The companion fare is simply legitimate for coach journey, however it’s eligible for upgrades if you happen to maintain Alaska’s elite standing. TPG’s Summer time Hull has taken benefit of a standing match to earn Alaska MVP Gold 75k standing, then used a few of the 4 one-way upgrades that include that standing to improve flights to Hawaii that had been booked utilizing the companion fare.

For extra data on the companion ticket and how you can get essentially the most worth out of it, see our tips about maximizing the Alaska Airways Visa Companion Fare. Do not forget that round-trip flights will usually supply a greater worth for this perk and you will have to pay for the ticket together with your Alaska Airways Visa.

As beforehand talked about, the cardboard additionally provides a free checked bag for the cardholder and as much as six different vacationers on the identical reservation while you use the cardboard to pay on your flights. There are not any international transaction charges, so you need to use the cardboard wherever across the globe with out incurring additional fees.

Cardholders will even get pleasure from precedence boarding, just like Group 4 or 5 boarding on American Airways for its cobranded credit score cardholders. You’ll board after top notch, veterans, of us who want additional time, Oneworld and Alaska elite members and people within the premium cabin. Once more, to entry this profit, it’s worthwhile to pay on your flight together with your card.

Lastly, you will get pleasure from a ten% rebate on miles earned yearly when you’ve got an eligible account at Financial institution of America.

Find out how to earn Alaska miles

With the Alaska Airways Visa card, you will earn 3 miles per greenback on eligible Alaska Airways purchases, 2 miles per greenback on gasoline, EV charging stations, native transit, ride-sharing, cable and a few streaming companies, and 1 mile per greenback on all different eligible purchases.

Should you continuously journey on Alaska Airways for work or pleasure and wish to construct up your Mileage Plan steadiness, this card is an apparent alternative for airline purchases. Contemplating that TPG values Alaska Airways extremely at 1.8 cents apiece, that is a 5.4% return.

You need to possible use one other journey bank card for non-Alaska purchases since you are able to do higher than the cardboard’s incomes charge of 1 mile per greenback. Nevertheless, if you happen to actually wish to rack up Alaska miles for associate award flights, then that recommendation could not apply, since Alaska miles are so worthwhile and difficult to in any other case get with out flying Alaska.

Find out how to redeem Alaska miles

There are various methods to slice and cube bonus miles, even contemplating the devaluation of Alaska’s award charts in December.

Quick-haul Alaska awards (equivalent to Seattle to San Francisco) begin at simply 5,000 Alaska miles every manner. Many longer flights (equivalent to Seattle to New York Metropolis) are 12,500 miles in financial system. If you’d like top notch, it is usually 40,000 miles on longer home flights, however can begin as little as 15,000 miles every manner on shorter flights. If you wish to head to Hawaii, these awards begin at 15,000 miles every manner in financial system and 40,000 every manner in top notch.

Alaska’s companions will even cowl your travels throughout a lot of the globe. These companions embody British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Singapore Airways. You will not essentially get the bottom mileage reserving charge for all of those companions (relying on the route) when redeeming by Alaska. However by benefiting from Alaska’s allowance of 1 stopover on one-way award tickets, you possibly can construct some nice itineraries.

A few of our favourite methods to maximise Alaska Airways redemptions embody reserving Cathay Pacific top notch from the U.S. to Asia for 70,000 miles one-way, Japan Airways top notch one-way from the U.S. to Asia beginning at 70,000 miles and Fiji Airways from the U.S. to Fiji one-way in enterprise class for 55,000 miles.

You could possibly even fly to Australia on Fiji Airways and add in a free stopover in Fiji for a similar 55,000 miles in enterprise class.

However you do not have to lap the planet to maximise Alaska miles. Reserving awards across the U.S. and Canada from simply 5,000 Alaska miles every manner can be a fairly nice deal.

Which playing cards compete with the Alaska Airways Visa bank card?

Should you’re all in favour of reserving premium-cabin awards, incomes transferable rewards factors might be higher since you will not be caught with rewards connected to a single loyalty program.

Versatile rewards factors, equivalent to Chase Final Rewards and Capital One miles, are simpler to earn. Plus, many of those playing cards supply greater sign-up bonuses or better-earning bonus charges in numerous spending classes. Listed here are just a few nice playing cards for incomes transferrable factors if you happen to’re not in particular want of Alaska miles:

Associated: Chase Sapphire Most well-liked vs. Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card

Should you can qualify for a enterprise card (and there are various methods to take action with out proudly owning a bodily retailer), you need to take into account opening the Alaska Airways Visa® Enterprise card as an alternative. It provides a sign-up bonus of fifty,000 bonus miles and Alaska’s Well-known Companion Fare; ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23) after you make $3,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of opening your account.

Backside line

Whether or not you are an Alaska loyalist or wish to diversify your factors and miles portfolio with worthwhile Alaska miles, the Alaska Airways Visa is a superb alternative. Because of a good incomes charge for Alaska Airways purchases and the precious annual companion ticket, the cardboard’s $95 annual charge pales compared to the advantages.

Official software hyperlink: Alaska Airways Visa® bank card out there with a restricted time supply of 60,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Well-known Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23) with this supply. To qualify, make $3,000 or extra in purchases throughout the first 90 days of opening your account.