Alaska Airlines has long been one of many frequent flyer's favorite airline loyalty programs (and for good reason). Being able to earn miles based on distance traveled is very favorable to many consumers versus earning based on revenue spend, since we are all trying to save money where we can!
On top of this, Alaska Airlines used to have some of the best award redemptions in the business, boasting some incredible rates to Asia, Africa, and more. However, in less than 24 hours, Alaska is set to devalue its award pricing for the first time in several years.
Summary Of The Devaluation
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan has always had some incredible redemption opportunities. However, the upcoming devaluation seeks to unify all their previous, more complicated award charts into three simplistic, distance-based award charts.
Here are some notable changes by route that captured my attention:
BRAND
Example Route
Class
Operating Carrier
Distance (Miles)
Old Price
New Price
U.S. <> Japan
Biz
Partner
5,001–7,000
60k miles
75k miles
U.S. <> Fiji
Biz
Partner
5,001–7,000
55k miles
75k miles
U.S. <> Hong Kong
First
Partner
7,001-10,000
70k miles
130k miles
U.S. <> Australia
Biz
Partner
7,001-10,000
65k miles
85k miles
U.S. <> Taipei
Biz
Partner
5,001–7,000
85k miles
85k miles
U.S. <> Europe
Biz
Partner
5,001–7,000
85k miles
85k miles
Northeast U.S. <> Europe (some routes)
Biz
Partner
1,501–3,500
57.5-70k miles
45-55k miles
Northeast U.S. <> Doha
Biz
Partner
5,001–7,000
85k miles
70k miles
Here are the three Alaska Airline charts that we'll be seeing moving forward:
Includes travel from US to Americas and within Americas. Americas include North America, Caribbean Islands, Central America and South America
Includes travel from US to EMEA and within EMEA. EMEA includes Europe, Middle East and Africa
Includes travel from US to Asia Pacific, within Asia Pacific and between Asia Pacific–Europe, Middle East, Africa. Asia Pacific includes SE Asia, Indian Subcontinent, South Pacific, Japan/Korea.
Partner Award Sales
After this change takes place, Alaska Airlines plans to run global partner award sales where they will feature special award pricing up to 50% off for certain routes/partners. Although this sounds exciting in principle, we will see how it goes.
Stopovers Remain
Alaska has always had one of the most generous stopover policies around, enabling you to easily book free stopovers on your award redemptions. However, one big change is that award pricing is going to based on the cumulative distance, so a stopover may push you into a new pricing band.
Mixed Airline Awards Coming Soon
In late 2024, Alaska plans to introduce multi partner ticketing on a single award ticket. For example, you should eventually be able to book a single award ticket with both Alaska and Japan Airlines. This will help consolidation of repositioning tickets and make it a little bit easier to use your miles.
Our Thoughts
Devaluations are sad moments for everyone in the award space, as they mean our hard-earned points and miles are worth slightly less than before. However, there's some good things to takeaway from this particular change:
- Some of Alaska's best award redemptions (before the devaluation) are basically theoretical at this point, so changing the prices on those doesn't really do much
- The award chart is going to become extremely simple
- Some of the pricing changes were inevitable given market demands and general inflation over the last few years
- Short haul flights may offer tremendous value
So, at the end of the day, the prices are still going to be competitive and Alaska should remain as a top choice for folks looking to fly on cheap business/first class fares or on short-haul flights where the make sense.
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