For months, we urged travelers to take advantage of a clever workaround: Transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines, then move them over to Alaska Airlines.
That window officially slammed shut at the end of June. Hawaiian cut ties with Amex ahead of launching a joint loyalty program with Alaska later this fall. But before that happened, I made one last transfer – leaving myself with a not-so-insignificant stash of Alaska miles.
Now what?
Unlike HawaiianMiles, Alaska miles are incredibly valuable, with economy class award flights starting at just 4,500 miles and business class redemptions to Europe from 45,000 miles each way. But nothing lasts forever in the world of points and miles – the next big loyalty program devaluation is always lurking right around the corner. That means it’s time to start spending.
Here’s what I have in mind.
Related reading: Sick of Your Miles & Points Losing Value? You Can Thank The Banks For That
How I Plan to Use My Alaska Miles
Having a big stash of Alaska miles is the definition of a high-quality problem. With reasonable redemption rates and a long list of world-class partners, there’s no shortage of good ways to put them to use.
Historically, the biggest problem was amassing a meaningful amount of miles, which meant flying a ton with Alaska or swiping a co-branded credit card for all your purchases. Without a big bank transfer partner (yes, you can transfer from Bilt), there just wasn’t an easy way to get a lot of them.
That’s what made this opportunity so exciting and worth taking advantage of (for me), even without a concrete plan in place to use them. But now that the dust has settled and this loophole has closed, it’s time to start booking.
Short-Haul Domestic Flights
Let’s start with the cheapest, and potentially most useful, option for U.S. travelers like me.
Just last year, Alaska reshuffled its award chart, and with it came new opportunities … as well as some higher prices. The best news is that the shortest flights now cost fewer miles: as low as 4,500 miles in economy for flights under 700 miles in distance.
Here’s a short flight from Seattle (SEA) to San Francisco (SFO) as an example.
But this doesn’t just work for flights on Alaska’s planes. You can also score these rock-bottom rates when flying Oneworld partner American Airlines, which is especially useful for me since my small regional airport isn’t served by Alaska Airlines.
Take this flight from my home airport of Sioux Falls, SD (FSD) to Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) for example. I can book economy for just 4,500 miles one-way or even first class for a reasonable 9,000 miles.
This kind of pricing makes Alaska Mileage Plan miles some of the best for domestic travelers from coast to coast – even if you never plan to step foot on an Alaska airplane.
For myself, I plan to save some of my Alaska miles to book positioning flights to airports like Chicago ahead of a big international trip across the pond.
Even longer flights, like this one to Phoenix (PHX), can be had for just 7,500 miles in economy or twice that in first class.
Since my parents spend their winters in Arizona, I’ve already booked this flight to go see them over the holidays and will likely try to make another trip work later in the winter. Even quick weekend trips aren’t out of the question at that rate!
Business Class to Europe from 45K
Those short domestic flights are a great value and will help me stretch my pool of Alaska miles even further, but they’re not all that fun. For that, I have something different in mind: Europe … in the comfy seats.
Even though Alaska recently added Rome (FCO), London-Heathrow (LHR), and Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) to its list of destinations, backtracking halfway across the country to get to the airline’s hub in Seattle wouldn’t be the most efficient way for me (or many others) to get to Europe.
Instead, I plan to use my Mileage Plan miles to book partner airlines like American, Aer Lingus, and Condor … all of which serve a handful of cities on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
For example, you can fly in a lie-flat, business class seat on the Aer Lingus route from Newark (EWR) to Dublin (DUB) for just 45,000 Alaska miles and $19 in taxes and fees one way.
This route, and others from the Northeast, clock in at under 3,500 miles in total distance, so you’ll get that 45,000-mile price no matter the airline you’re booking.
Even longer flights like the non-stop between Chicago and Dublin can be had for just 55,000 miles and the same $19 in taxes and fees one way in business class. You’ll find that same price in West Coast cities like Seattle and Los Angeles (LAX), too.
But there’s a sneaky way to drop it even lower. If you add a connection on either side of the pond, like this one to London-Heathrow (LHR), that 55,000-mile redemption magically becomes a 45,000-mile sweet spot … with minimal taxes and fees added. Plus, Alaska allows free stopovers on award tickets, so you could even stop in Dublin for a taste of Guinness straight from the source on your way to another European destination.
But I’ve flown Aer Lingus business class before (and mostly loved it!). For my next trip, I’m ready for something new. And what’s newer than American Airlines’ flagship suites?
The Dallas-based airline has just a handful of these premium-focused Boeing 787s with fully enclosed suites and new cabins in its fleet so far. They fly between Chicago and London, as well as Philadelphia (PHL) and Zurich (ZRH) – those are the flights I’m targeting.
Ordinarily, a flight from Chicago to London would cost 55,000 Alaska miles each way in business class. But using the same workaround highlighted above, I can drop the cost further by adding a flight to or from my airport. In this case, it would cost me just 45,000 miles each way to book a domestic first class flight from Sioux Falls to Chicago, with the long haul business class flight to London in American’s new suite.
Fly further and save 10,000 miles? It makes no sense, but I’m here for it. Even at the cheaper price point, booking a roundtrip to Europe for my wife and me will take up a significant portion of my Mileage Plan balance.
Starlux Business Class for 75K
What I’m really hoping for is a comfy ride to Asia with the new, Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines. Using Alaska miles to book Starlux flights is one of the best deals to get from the West Coast to Taipei (TPE) and other destinations in Asia.
For example, a one-way business class flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei on Starlux costs just 75,000 miles each way.
The only problem? Finding award space can be tough. But if I can make it work, this is an unbelievable deal to get to Asia in business class, considering these flights typically cost over $3,000 one-way.
I’m really hoping that Starlux’s new route to Phoenix comes with a whole bunch of added award space! In that case, I could use just 7,500 more Alaska miles to fly American Airlines down to Phoenix ahead of my big trip across the Pacific.
Other Options I’m Considering
While I currently have more Alaska miles than ever before, my stash isn’t endless. Those are the flights I’m (most) hoping to book with the Amex points I transferred to Hawaiian Alaska, but I do have a few other options in mind.
Fly LATAM Business Class to South America (Again!)
Earlier this year, my family took a bucket list trip to Peru, flying LATAM business class from New York (JFK) to Lima (LIM) for just 35,000 miles each way. While we barely scratched the surface on Peru, I’m already itching to see more of South America.
Under Alaska’s current award chart, flights under 6,000 miles cost just 50,000 miles each way for business class. And that’s the rate you’ll pay whether you’re flying from Miami (MIA) to Santiago (SCL) … or even the longer route from New York (JFK) to Santiago.
With a little luck, I might even get to fly on one of LATAM’s new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, equipped with “mini-suites” and fully-closing doors.
Fiji Airways Business Class to Fiji, Australia, or New Zealand
Another incredible deal I’m considering is using Alaska miles to fly Fiji Airways nonstop to Fiji, or continue all the way down to Australia or New Zealand, starting from just 75,000 miles one-way in business class!
This is about as cheap as it gets to fly in business class to Australia – and unlike nonstop flights on Qantas and American, finding award space to book it is actually relatively easy. Add in the fact that I could add a stopover in Fiji for some island time on my way for free, and this is one of the best deals you can book with any mileage program.
If my balance gets too low to make this trip, economy class flights to Fiji (and beyond) actually got cheaper under Alaska’s new award chart, now at just 37,500 miles each way.
Bottom Line
A clever (but short-lived) workaround to turn Amex points into Alaska Airlines miles is now gone – but not before I made one final transfer. With a hefty stash of valuable Alaska miles in hand, it’s time to put them to use before any future devaluations take hold.
From short domestic flights for just 4,500 miles to lie-flat business class seats to Europe from 45,000 miles (or even a dream trip to Asia or the South Pacific for 75,000), Alaska’s award chart is packed with sweet spots.
If you’re in the same boat, hopefully, this will help you see what’s possible – just don’t book all the flights I want before I can get to them!
