Alaska Airlines Offers Bonus for Partner Flights

Alaska Airlines is justly lauded for its Mileage Plan loyalty program, which among other features boasts 17 airline partners, allowing program members to earn and redeem miles for flights throughout the world.

That extensive partner network is the focus of its upcoming mileage promotion.

Offer Details

Between June 1 and September 15, Mileage Plan members can earn 1,000 bonus miles for each Mileage Plan airline partner flown internationally.

The bonus applies to flights on Aeromexico, Air France, American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, KLM, Korean Air, LAN, and Qantas. Missing from that list are Delta, which is engaged in a nasty battle with Alaska for dominance at Seattle, and Japan Airlines, which becomes a program partner on June 29.

Registration is required, and must be completed by September 1.

Deal or No Deal

A 1,000-mile bonus for an international flight that’s probably several thousand miles roundtrip? That’s a pittance, as incentives go.

The promotion is intended, no doubt, more to highlight Alaska’s robust partner network than to generate a ton of additional traffic. Fine, point made.

For next time, though, a helpful hint: A more generous bonus would do both—shine a light on the partnerships and incent extra business for the partners.

Reader Reality Check

How compelling is a 1,000-mile bonus for an international flight?

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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.