Ending Soon: Buy Alaska Miles With A 50% Bonus

buy alaska miles

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Alaska Airlines has been selling miles with a bonus of up to 50% since the end of August and this deal has now nearly run its course. If you were fortunate enough to be targeted for the 50% bonus you have until 11:59pm ET on 5 October 2017 to buy Alaska miles with that bonus.

Usually I’m negative about buying miles from airlines (the recent promotions from American & United were a joke) but, when it comes to Alaska Miles, I’m a little more positive.

Alaska Mileage Plan Bonus Miles Offer

As with previous Mileage Plan “buy Alaska miles” bonus offers the specific offer differs from person to person. The best offer is for a 50% bonus but there are lower offers floating around too (Joanna got the 50% offer while I was only offered a 35% bonus).

You can check what offer you were targeted for via this link 

buy alaska miles

The Headline T&Cs & Important Info

  • The promotion is valid through 11:59pm on 5 October 2017
  • Your Mileage Plan account must have been open for at least 10 days in order for it to be eligible for this promotion.
  • Although you can only purchase a maximum of 60,000 miles per transaction, Mileage Plan doesn’t impose any yearly limits so you can put through as many separate transactions as you like.
  • All Mileage Plan Miles purchases are processed by Points.com so there are no credit card category bonuses to be had with this deal – you should use whichever credit card offers you the best return on your spend.
  • Miles must be purchased in increments of 1,000.

So, is the promotion any good?

The Math

If you weren’t targeted for the 50% promotion you should do what I did – walk away. With a bonus of under 50% miles cost over 2 cents each and become a lot harder to use economically. There will be another bonus at some point in the future so maybe you’ll get luckier next time.

If you’ve been targeted for the maximum 50% bonus this is the offer you’ll see:

  • Buy 10,000 – 19,000 miles and get a 20% bonus
  • Buy 20,000 – 39,000 miles and get a 35% bonus
  • Buy 40,000 – 60,000 miles and get a 50% bonus

If you purchase 60,000 miles it will cost you $1,773.75 and you will net 90,000 Alaska Miles after the bonus.

a screenshot of a screen

Thank brings the cost per mile to almost exactly 1.97 cents.

Note: you can buy any number of miles between 40,000 and 60,000 and you’ll still only pay 1.97 cents each.

1.97 cents/mile may not sound like an amazing deal but there are times when Alaska Miles purchased at this rate can book you a great trip and for a very good price.

What Can You Do With Alaska Miles At 1.97 Cents Each?

As I mentioned earlier, Alaska Mileage Plan doesn’t impose a limit on how many miles you can purchase in a single promotion or in a calendar year – this is key to why these deals can be so useful as it means that you can buy as many miles as you need for an award (or multiple awards).

Alaska may not be part of a global alliance but it does partner with a number of significant airlines and its awards on these airlines that can be great value.

a group of images of a city

Here are a few I’ve picked out a few roundtrip awards and shown how many miles you’ll need to book them and how much those miles would cost you in this promotion.

American Airlines

  • USA to Europe Business Class: 100,000 miles = $1,970 in this promotion

American Airlines would charge you 115,000 miles for the same award so 100,000 miles is a great deal….but there is an issue.

Finding saver awards on American Airlines (the awards you’ll need to find to book this kind of trip) is hard so, unless you can see availability online right now, I wouldn’t buy miles with the expectation of booking this award easily.

a row of seats in an airplaneAmerican Airlines 777-200 Business Class

Cathay Pacific

  • USA to Asia Business Class: 100,000 miles = $1,970
  • Europe to Asia Business Class: 85,000 miles = $1,675

a seat with a pillow and a pillow on itCathay Pacific Reverse Herringbone Business Class

  • USA to Asia First Class: 140,000 miles = $2,758
  • Europe to Asia First Class: 120,000 miles = $2,364 

Emirates

  • USA to the Middle East Business Class: 165,000 miles = $3,251

Korean Air

  • USA to Asia Business Class: 105,000 – 120,000 miles(depends on the country in Asia) = $2,069 – $2,216

korean air business class

Qantas

  • USA to Australia Business Class: 110,000 miles = $2,167

Out of these examples my favorites are the Cathay Pacific redemptions. The cost for the Europe to Asia redemptions is fantastic and are cheaper than any Cathay fares you’ll find on the same routes…and it helps that Cathay First class can be a sublime experience,

Bottom Line

If you were targeted for a 50% bonus you’re in luck because, if you’re able to find awards, you’re unlikely to be able to find Cathay Pacific Business Class or First Class cash fares (for example) as low as they effectively are if you buy Alaska miles and book an award.

Korean Air is also a great option for getting to Asia and if you can find Business Class awards on Qantas then $2,167 + taxes for a roundtrip fare to Australia is a very good deal.

You can check your offer and buy Alaska Miles via this link