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Why you should consider buying Alaska miles when booking.

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1.9 cents per points is very solid

Alaska, like many other airlines, offers miles for purchase when you buy a ticket. However, the big difference is that their miles are actually quite attractive. We’re not talking 3 or 4 cents a point, but rather, less than $0.02, and that’s as good or better than when they offer them 40 or 50% off. I haven’t jumped at the offer myself because I’ve been earning a healthy amount of points in my quest for elite status, but if you’re not, and you book with Alaska, this is a very good opportunity to add 10k points to your balance at a great price.

If you need miles, keep an eye out for this notification.

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Why you should consider buying Alaska miles when booking.

Why would you want Alaska Miles? They are some of the best points out there.

They can be used to fly all around the world in some of the greatest business and first class seats. Japan Airlines? Check. Cathay Pacific? Check.

This is a list of some of the best redemptions

Check out Cathay Biz and First to Africa and Australia – unreal deals.

  • To Asia
    • Cathay Biz is 50k One way
    • Cathy First is 70k One way
    • AA Biz to China is 55k
    • AA Biz to Japan is 50k
    • AA First to China is 67.5k
    • AA First to Japan is 62.5k
    • Japan Biz to Asia is 60k
    • Japan First to Asia is 70k
    • Japan Biz to S.E. Asia is 65k
    • Japan First to S.E. Asia is 75k
  • Europe
    • Air France biz is 62.5k
    • AA Biz is 50k,
    • AA First is 62.5k
    • BA Biz is 60k
    • BA First is 70k
  • Middle East
    • BA Biz is 70k
    • BA First is 80k
    • Cathay Business is 62.5k 
    • Cathay First is 70k
  • Australia
    • Qantas Biz is 55k
    • Qantas First is 70k
    • Cathay Biz is 60k
    • Cathay First is 80k
    • Fiji Biz is 55k
  • Africa
    • Air France Biz is 70k
    • British Airways Biz is 70k
    • British Airways First is 80k
    • Cathay Biz is 62.5k
    • Cathay First is 70k

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
    • Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

5 Comments

  • LDub February 27, 2018

    Do you know if Alaska still allows flights to be booked with Cathay to Africa?? I’ve been looking for biz class from Washington DC to JNB and have not found Cathay even listed on the results. I switched it to LAX-JNB and still no results from Cathay. I’m using the calendar view and can easily tell Cathay isnt there since the “lowest” awards has a huge co-pay meaning it’s on British Airways.

    • Miles February 27, 2018

      LDUB – good question. Still avail but alaska can’t search the inventory so you’ll need to search segment by segment on BA Qantas or CX

  • Jay December 16, 2017

    Serious question: What are the odds of actually being able to get an award seat? One blogger gave up on Alaska Airlines miles because of how difficult it was to get the award seats.

    Correct me if I am wrong, but I heard that for CX, AA and BA get the award seats before Alaska does. So while the redemption rates are great, the probability of actually getting the award seats is very low.

    • Miles December 16, 2017

      Jay – It’s true Alaska doesn’t have the same CX access, but with that said, if you have some flexibility on travel dates you should be in decent shape. The hardest is CX First, especially if the cabin is slim on avail seats. Although I’ve been able to redeem for CX first, biz, JAL first/biz multiple times without a problem. AS is a great search tool for JAL as well…I’ve also aligned my loyalty with Alaska so it’s not just lip service.

  • Duane December 16, 2017

    Air France will no longer be an Alaska partner after April 2018.

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