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In one simple word…points. In 2016 I hit AA’s top tier status, Executive Platinum. Well, it was the highest published at the time – nowadays, Concierge Key is top tier, but I was operating under cognitive dissonance then that I was, in fact, top tier 😉 When AA gutted their program, turned it Revenue based, I looked elsewhere. Of the big three, these days, I tend to think United offers the best perks for their 1ks when compared to Executive Platinum, but that’s for another post. I knew I wanted to get the best earn for my time in the air, and I status matched to Alaska’s Top Tier, MVPG75. What I didn’t know at the time, was that Alaska would introduce some absolutely incredible earn rates on their partners. Specifically, British Airways, and as a result, I’ve consistently opted to fly their inferior business class to earn a ton more miles.
Here’s a look at Alaska’s current earn rate for British Airways flights.
Since I have MVPG75, I earn an additional 125% on top of the rates below.
In discount biz this equates to 375% earn rate for me. If I get rescheduled, I’ll hit 475%. Those are unbeatable earn rates.
I position myself for better prices
I’ve written in the past about how British Airways often prices their flights originating from mainland Europe far cheaper than those out of London. Often times in the $1500-$1700 range, vs $4000+ out of London. So when I’m in England, which I am several times a year, I hop on a little positioning flight and earn some extra miles. I’d had several instances where my flight has been cancelled, or changed, resulting in me changing my flight to one that works better for me…those price as full fare J tickets. On most roundtrips, I’m earning somewhere between 40k and 50k miles. Since you can often buy Alaska Miles for 2 cents, if we used that same valuation, I’m getting back somewhere in the range of $800 to $1000 in points, which almost cover a one way flight to Europe in biz. You can do the math – it’s an outstanding deal.
Currently, there are dates where you can just go to Edinburgh or Glasgow and price between $1500 and $2k in biz to select US cities. That’s almost equidistant to London if you live in the north.
Routes also open up whereby I can upgrade into First Class with points.
Like I did from Chicago to London on the 747 for just 20k points.
Earning credit card points on top of it
What’s better yet, if I use my Amex Platinum to buy the tickets from an airline directly or via Amex Travel, I’m earning somewhere between 7500 and 10k Amex points as well. That reduces the out of pocket cost even more.
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This won’t last forever, and when the promotion finally ends, I’ll reassess. But for the time being, I’m perfectly happy to earn a lot of Miles while still flying flat, albeit in inferior seat to say AA.
On a lot of the routes, one of the options is to fly on American’s planes between the US and Europe for the same price.
I love Alaska Miles because they put me in products like Cathay First Class. Just 70k miles between the US and Asia.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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.
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