While not part of the 3 major airline alliances and only operating a route network in North America, Alaska Airlines has great award redemption opportunities. They still use an award chart and have numerous award partners across the globe. This makes the program idea for redeeming award travel on international itineraries. The published award chart varies depending on the airline and region of travel. As with all award travel, planning, flexibility, and booking early all can make booking flights more successful.

To book an Alaska Airlines award ticket, first visit their site to begin the process. It’s helpful to have a general idea of the travel plans when conducting a search for flights. Enter in the departure and arrival airports, date of travel, and make sure to check “use miles†and “one-way†(Searching one-way award tickets makes finding which segments have the most availability easier).

With over 15 partner airlines, there can be lots of flight results for your desired trip. Alaska awards can be redeemed for economy, business, and first-class cabins. Depending on the partner airline and route will determine the taxes and fees. Award tickets can only contain one partner airline and Alaska Airlines in the itinerary (Flying American Airlines and Cathay Pacific on the same routing would not be valid).

When reviewing itineraries, make sure to look out for the small blue seat icon next to the cash amount owed. This means the award is mixed cabin and you can click it seat for more details

After selecting your desired flight, click check-out to be brought to the final summary page. This will show the exact number of miles, details of the trip, and the exact amount of taxes and fees. If you are planning a round-trip award. Repeat the process again with the reverse origin and destination to find the return segment. After you have found both outbound and inbound available flights, repeat the search one final time as a round-trip to book as a single ticket.

The Alaska Airlines search is quite easy to use, and the calendar option is helpful when considering different days. Additionally, award tickets booked on Alaska have a free cancellation within 24 hours of purchase. Award tickets can be mixed cabins and the rules for routings are generous allow one-stopover for per one-way award. What trips have you redeemed Alaska award miles for?

If you’re looking to redeem your Alaska Airlines miles for partner flights, we recommend using the Juicy Miles award booking service, who can help you redeem for the lowest amount of miles while searching availability on partner airlines.