With amazing partner airlines and low redemption rates, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are among the most valuable in the travel world – but also some of the hardest for many travelers to earn. Luckily, that has changed.
Right now, Bank of America and Alaska Airlines are out with a welcome offer bonus on the card_name: You can now earn a buy one get one Alaska companion fare and 40,000 bonus miles. To qualify, you must make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
No matter if it requires spending $15,000 or just $3,000, keep in mind: Credit cards are serious business. You should never open or spend on a credit card to make purchases you can't afford to pay off immediately.
But if you can do so responsibly, these valuable miles are worth earning even if you never plan to set foot on an Alaska Airlines jet. Let's take a deeper look.
Full Benefits of the Alaska Airlines Visa® Credit Card
Welcome Offer Bonus
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Free Checked Bag + Priority Boarding
Alaska Airlines Visa® credit cardholders will get a free checked bag when they purchase airfare with their card.
You'll also get free checked luggage for up to six additional guests traveling on the same reservation.
Cardholders who pay for their flight with their Alaska card will also get priority boarding on Alaska-operated flights.
Alaska's Famous Companion Fare
In addition to the companion fare you'll receive as a part of the welcome bonus offer, cardholders will get another companion fare each year on their account anniversary after spending $6,000 or more on purchases within the prior year.
This allows you to add a companion to an Alaska flight you book for $122, ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23).
Earn Miles with No Milage Cap
Alaska Airlines Visa credit cardholders will earn 3x miles per dollar spent on Alaska Airlines purchases.
You'll earn 2x miles per dollar spent on gas, cable, streaming services, and local transit purchases, and 1x point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
20% Back on Alaska Airlines Inflight Purchases
Get 20% back on Alaska Airlines inflight purchases when you pay with your card.
$100 Off An Annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership
Get $100 off an annual Alaska Lounge+ Membership when you pay with your Alaska Card.
This gets you access to all nine Alaska Airlines lounges plus 90+ partner lounges for you and up to two guests.
Alaska Lounge+ memberships cost $550 for those with Alaska elite status (MVP, MVP Gold, Gold 75k, Gold 100k) and $650 for those without status.
Get a 10% Rewards Bonus
If you have an eligible Bank of America checking or savings account, you'll also get a 10% bonus on all miles earned from card purchases.
For example, that means for every 1,000 miles you earn from purchases on your card, you'll receive 1,100 miles.
Annual Fee
The Alaska Airlines Visa® card has a annual_fees annual fee, which is not waived in the first year.
Why Alaska Miles are So Valuable
They may be hard to earn since they are not a transfer partner of any of the major credit card programs, but Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are some of the most valuable on the planet thanks to low award rates booking partner airlines like Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and more.
That said, Alaska miles have lost a bit of their shine recently. Alaska rolled out a new award chart at the end of 2022, opening the door to start charging more miles for some of the best redemptions. That's already begun, as Alaska raised award rates on some Japan Airlines flights by as much as 42%.
Still, there are some other amazing deals that are bookable with Alaska miles. Let's have a look at a few of our favorite options.
This is just the start – check out our full list of the best Alaska Mileage Plan sweet spots!
Fly Cathay Pacific First or Business Class to Asia & Beyond
It doesn't get much better than this deal. Using Alaska miles, you can book premium cabins on Cathay Pacific for much less than Cathay charges using its own Asia Miles – or even redeeming American AAdvantage miles for the same trip.
Here's a look at some of the fantastic rates where you can fly this top-notch product when redeeming Alaska miles.
- Fly from the U.S. to Asia for 50,000 miles in business class or 70,000 miles in first class each way!
- Fly from the U.S. to India or the Middle East for 62,500 miles in business class or 70,000 miles in first class one way!
- Fly to Australia or New Zealand for just 60,000 miles in business class or 80,000 miles in first class each way!
For comparison, American and Cathay Pacific charge between 70,000 and 85,000 miles in business class and 110,000 to 125,000 miles in first each way for these same exact flights. This means you could save nearly 30 to 45% by booking Cathay Pacific flights using Alaska miles.
If you're traveling beyond Cathay Pacific's hub in Hong Kong (HKG), you can add in a free stopover when booking with Alaska miles. This can be a great way to break up a trip to Australia or India flying fancy on one of the best airlines in the world and getting to see two cities for one low price.
Best of all, Cathay Pacific first class has finally returned to the states with nonstop flights to Los Angeles (LAX). Award space for these seats is still tough to come by – and nearly impossible if you're looking for two or more passengers. But it's easily among the best ways to fly to Asia.
Fiji Airways Business Class to Fiji, Australia, or New Zealand
Another incredible deal you can book using Alaska miles is to fly Fiji Airways nonstop to Fiji, or continue all the way down to Australia or New Zealand for just 55,000 miles one-way in business class!
This is about as cheap as it gets to fly in business class to the land down under – and unlike nonstop flights to Australia, finding award space to book it is much easier. Add in the fact that you can stopover in Fiji for some island time on your way to or from (or both) for no extra miles, and this is one of the best deals you can book with any mileage program.
Read more: 7 Sweet Spots to Use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles
Are You Eligible for the Alaska Airlines Visa® Credit Card?
When it comes to credit card application rules from Bank of America, there are three rules you will want to know.
The Bank of America 2/3/4 Rule
The Bank of America 2/3/4 rule states that you can only be approved for two Bank of America credit cards in a rolling two-month period. You can be approved for three Bank of America cards in a rolling 12-month period, and four cards in a rolling 24-month period.
This rule is specific to Bank of America credit cards (both business and personal), and applications from other banks will not be factored into this rule.
The Bank of America 3/12 & 7/12 Rule
Similar to Chase's 5/24 rule, Bank of America has something called the 3/12 & 7/12 rule. It works like this:
- If you have a bank account with Bank of America and have opened seven new cards (from any bank) in the past 12 months, your application for a new Bank of America card will likely not be approved.
- If you don't have a bank account with Bank of America and have opened three new cards (from any bank) in the past 12 months, your application for a Bank of America card will likely not be approved.
There may be some exceptions, but these are good rules of thumb to follow.
The Bank of America 24-Month Rule
Bank of America allows you to earn the welcome offer bonus on the same card multiple times. They will, however, restrict how often you can earn it.
You are not eligible to open a Bank of America Card and earn a welcome bonus if you've earned the bonus on that card in the past 24 months. You also can't have the card currently open if you want to get approved.
If you aren't impacted by any of these rules, you should be eligible to open the card_name and take advantage of the big limited-time welcome offer bonus.
Related Reading: Master Guide to Credit Card Applications: All of the Rules You Need to Know, Bank by Bank
Bottom Line
Bank of America and Alaska Airlines are currently offering the ability to earn a $100 statement credit, 50,000 bonus miles, and Alaska's famous companion fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23). To qualify, you must make $2,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
It's one of the best ways we've ever seen to easily and quickly pile up Alaska miles.
In Nov 2022, I cancelled my personal Alaska card and I still have my Alaska Biz. At the beginning of Feb, I was approved for the Alaska personal and business, again. I applied bc of datapoints were indicating that maybe the revamped Alaska cards are now considered a new product. This seems to confirm it.
About a month ago, I discovered your blog during the ANA first class sale and heard about you. Fortunately, I was able to snag 3 First ANA seats for June, which aligned perfectly for our tour date in Japan! This was on the second round of a unicorn on ANA First. We are super duper exited, to say the least!!!
Anyways, your websight provides a strong background for miles/points and most importantly, unicorns and other business deals, to say the least! I now constantly following you bc and i can’t stress enough, how informative it is. You also have an incredible team!!
BTW – Your websight is a unicorn, to say the least!! Thanks you and keep up the awesome work!!
now you have 1 personal and 2 business Alaska card?
Also, I posted on your article for the new Allegris about how I am seeing First on A340-600 MU=>LAX/SFO/MEX for 3/28 and 3/29.
Is the April 3rd expiration for both the business and personal BOA Alaska cc’s or just the business one? I have read conflicting accounts- thank you!
We haven’t heard about an official end date for the offer on the business card.