Why You Need to Collect Alaska Miles

The Atmos Rewards loyalty program offers still-attractive rates for partner flights to create a compelling reason for you to accrue Alaska miles.

For this post, I’m not going to get into the details of the elite status aspect of the program and instead focus on the redemption side of the program.

Updated October 14, 2025. Now reflects the combined Atmos Rewards loyalty program. Also reflects the unannounced devaluation of domestic flights.

The combined Alaska & Hawaiian loyalty program is Atmos

I’m not one for made-up words for loyalty programs (hello, Marriott Bonvoy). Thus, I’m not all that thrilled with the name Atmos to describe the new Alaska Airlines loyalty program. I’m guessing they’re thinking of the word atmosphere because you’re up there in it while on a plane, but to me the word just sounds rather brutish.

Anyways, back on topic, when Alaska Airlines purchased Hawaiian Airlines, we knew the combined loyalty program would be coming. Then, in the summer of 2025, the new combined program was announced, and it represented a bit of a simplification. The old Mileage Plan program charged different rates by partner but the new program is based primarily by zone and distance.

There is only one bank that transfers to Alaska miles

If you’re in the mood to accumulate Alaska miles in your Atmos Rewards account, you only have one bank program to turn to: Bilt. Bilt points transfer at a 1:1 rate into your Alaska Airlines account. Hey, at least you have something to use to build up your balance?

The program has historically also sold miles at a discount, in the range of 1.8 cents/point. If you’re looking to accrue a lot of points quickly and don’t have Bilt points, your main alternative would be to straight-up purchase the points. Of course, always weigh the cost of the flight in cash with the cost in points to make sure you’re getting a good deal.

Award flights booked with Alaska miles can be booked 330 days in advance

As a planner, I love being able to book awards well far in advance. I feel like I can lock down my preferred dates of travel before the majority of other award seekers. And so the earlier the schedule is released, the better it is.

Unfortunately, Alaska only allows award bookings 330 days in advance. That might seem like plenty of time to book awards, but the problem is if you’re looking for partner flights. Those same partner flights might open 350 days or more in advance, giving those members access to more options. By the time the awards are up for sale on Alaska’s website, they might be gone. This is definitely the case for many high-value awards.

Award cancel fees are friendly

Thankfully, if you need to make a revision to your award flights, it’s quite reasonable. First of all, there is no fee to reinstate your miles if you decide to cancel your award. There are only two nonrefundable fees to be aware of:

$15 call center fee if you cannot book your award flight at alaskaair.com
$12.50 partner booking fee if flying on an airline other than Alaska or Hawaiian

In both cases, these fees will not be refunded to you should you cancel your award. You can kind of think of them as a cancel fee in that sense if you want.

Alaska Atmos Rewards award charts are based on zone and distance

Flights on Alaska/Hawaiian

Alaska maintains an award chart for flights on either Alaska or Hawaiian, or at least they label it as an award chart. I think it’s more important to just consider it as a floor for what prices might be. The chart is distance-based. ~~but it also has unique pricing for Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean~~ (Update 10/14/25 – there is no longer any breakout by region within North America)

It should be noted that if you need to connect, the total distance of all flights is considered for the purposes of award pricing. That can be a nuisance given the decent likelihood of needing to connect in Seattle to get where you want to go–it’s not all that efficient having their main connecting hub in the corner of the contiguous USA.

Given the existence of a minimum price, you’re going to need to do your own research and check out the cash prices on the routes to make sure you’re getting a good deal by using miles to purchase your trip.

Stopovers are not allowed on trips only including Alaska and Hawaiian.

*Hawaiian is now under the Alaska umbrella*

Partner Award Chart

Alaska maintains an award chart includes all oneworld carriers (such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and others) as well as other airline partners (like Condor, Icelandair, and others). A full list of eligible partners on which to redeem miles can be found on Alaska’s website.

The award charts are separated by region and include both travel within that region and from the USA to that region. Award prices listed in the charts below represent the starting point for pricing. Alaska has special pricing with some partners that allows for extra award space beyond just saver flights. That might not represent the best use for your Alaska miles, but at least the option is available.

Also, first class partner pricing is generally cheaper with AA miles, so you might want to consider using those first instead of your Alaska miles.

Americas (think of this as the American Airlines and LATAM award chart)

Europe, Middle East, Africa

Asia Pacific

So what happens if the trip crosses multiple regions (i.e., a flight between Europe and Asia)? It would appear that the higher award chart is used (Asia). In the example below, the flight from London Heathrow to Haneda is just under 6,000 miles in distance and the price given corresponds to the Asia chart, not the Europe chart.

What are the sweet spots?

Short-distance Asia flights in premium economy

This includes routes like Tokyo to Taipei (we loved the Starlux product offered on the route) and Hong Kong to much of Southeast Asia. Why premium economy specifically? Because airlines will fly aircraft that legitimately offers great service and an awesome experience on these routes in that cabin. If you find routes under the 1,500 mile threshold, it’s only 10,000 Alaska miles to fly the route in premium economy. That’s cheap for what you get in return.

Short-distance Europe flights in economy

You’re going to want to look at the European airline options like Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia. Rates on these short European hops can be as cheap as 7,500 miles in economy. Alaska allows for travel as long as 1,500 miles in length to price out at the 7,500 price, which is great. However, we’d ask you to note a couple of caveats:

Check the pricing with British Airways, which might be less, depending on the route.
Train travel is more prevalent in Europe and might be more efficient (both based on cost and time of travel).
Intra-Europe business class isn’t anything to write home about, and the upcharge from economy might not be worth it.

Premium transcontinental USA flights on American Airlines in business class

It’s not often that I feel there is a better deal paying for an award flight on American that doesn’t involve using American miles. But the premium transcon routes (between LAX/SFO and JFK) could potentially come as cheap as 35,000 miles. On top of the flight, booking business class on that route (must be nonstop) will give you lounge access and a lie-flat seat. The real problem is just finding availability.

West Coast USA to Japan/Taiwan/Korea in business class

Flying from the west coast of the United States to Northern Asia can be a cost-effective exercise with Alaska miles. Think of exotic destinations like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, R.O.C. Expect these routes to run as low as 75,000 Alaska miles, which is a solid price to pay for business class on this route. It’s even better if you manage to book this in conjunction with a stopover, giving you the ability to check out two cities on one trip without raising the price of the flights.

Northeast USA to Dublin (or Western Europe) in business class

Aer Lingus is one of Alaska’s oneworld partners based in Ireland. If you have hopes of traveling to Dublin and want to be in business class, you’ll pay just 45,000 miles and minimal taxes. That’s pretty cheap and a can be considered a steal these days.

Have hopes of connecting from Dublin to other parts of Western Europe? You might want to check out a route like Boston to Dublin (stopover) to Paris, which sneaks in under 3,500 miles in length. That means you won’t pay any extra miles to fly the extra leg to Paris (aside from airport taxes). Can’t get much better than that!

USA to Iceland in premium economy

Iceland is a popular destination, whether it’s to check out the Northern Lights or to see the natural beauty of the country. Flying between the US and Iceland will cost you as little as 30,000 or 35,000 miles in premium economy, depending on your originating airport. That’s actually not a bad deal at all. However, Icelandair has been stingy with releasing award space lately, which means it can be a tricky award to find.

Flying between New Zealand and Los Angeles in business class

If you find business class on the route between Auckland and Los Angeles, it would only cost you 75,000 miles in business class. That’s not a bad price to pay and it’s actually cheaper than flying between Australia and Los Angeles (85,000 miles). Of course, this only matters IF you find award space. Whether going to Australia or New Zealand, it’s tough to find award space in premium cabins. These are perpetually attractive places to travel.

*Starlux A350-900 business class cabin, bookable with Alaska miles*

Stopovers are allowed with Alaska miles

First of all, stopovers are not allowed on awards entirely on Alaska or Hawaiian.

But, assuming that you’re flying on partner awards, stopovers along the way (defined as a stay longer than a day) are absolutely allowed. You will want to follow a few rules to make sure there are no issues:

One stopover is possible on a one-way journey (two is fine on a roundtrip)
The stopover must be less than 14 days in length

You don’t need to call up customer service to get it done. The Alaska website even gives some tips on how to research and plan the routes yourself online. The important thing to do is to first plan out if each route individually is available for an award, then you can pair them together using the “multi-city” option to make your life easier.

Infant awards aren’t allowed on partners currently

Back when we flew internationally with an infant, we ended up sometimes paying a pretty penny to allow our child to sit in our lap. Without getting into the debate on the safety of the lap child, I can say it sometimes got expensive.

With most airlines, you would be forced to pay 10% of the cash price of the ticket. Say you found a flight for 75,000 miles in business class one-way. But if you want to bring your lap infant, you’d have to pay 10% of the cash fare, which could be thousands of dollars. A one-way flight is painfully priced high, and you might pay less if doing a roundtrip, but it’s still quite a dent. I’d say the rough average of what we paid for an infant was around $600 for the ticket.

Alaska currently doesn’t allow for infant awards on partner flights. That’s a bummer, but they’re saying they’re currently looking into this to potentially improve it.

If you’re flying on Alaska, lap infants are free on domestic awards, but international journeys may require you to pay 10% of the cash fare.

How to Best Search for Availability?

Alaska maintains a pretty useful website for searching award availability that offers the ability to search for a whole month’s results all at once, with the ability to generally distinguish between class of service. Just note that it shows the cheapest price on the calendar (which might not be the flight you’re looking for) and it doesn’t separate mixed cabin results, which can be misleading if connecting.

If you’re looking to take advantage of a free stopover, it can be done online. It’s best to first check point-to-point flights for each segment you want to fly to ensure they are available for award travel.

Simply go to Alaska’s website and enter the details of each flight segment you’re interested in flying. Be sure to click the “Use miles” button to ensure only award flights are shown. If I’m first exploring flights over a wide range of dates, I also like to check the “Award calendar” button as well.

You’ll see on the left that the class of service is selectable if it’s available. You can also choose the month to observe the lowest priced flight in that class available each day.

Once you have all segment availability, you can choose the “Multi-city” option and enter the flight details as necessary for the flights you found. Make sure the “Use miles” button is clicked. I found that sometimes it takes a couple of tries to work.

Assuming you were successful in jotting down the correct flight availability (and if there is no married segment logic at play), you should see results for the multi-city itinerary desired.

Clicking the “Details” link shows that this particular itinerary does indeed have the free stopover baked into the pricing.

Additionally. you can use the free point.me tool to research award space if you’d prefer.

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