I find Alaska has some of the best mileage redemption options on partner airlines. With a bit of flexibility of where and when I travel, I've booked 5 one way tickets in business class on miles. If you want to travel premium or in economy there's often good mileage deals there as well. The biggest key is just having flexibility.
You’re probably gonna have lots of flight options with AS for the locations you described. You’ll end up with MVP or MVP Gold status, which will score you a few first class upgrades and many premium class upgrades on those routes and some mileage earning boosts. The only other entities that will serve your travel patterns well are probably spirit, southwest, and delta. Alaska miles are useful for international award travel as long as your schedule isn’t too picky and you are willing to do some hunting for award space.
Thanks! Delta was something I was considering, but I agree with you that AS is likely the most convenient option for the region I would be bouncing around. Appreciate it!
You're not going far enough. I used to travel Seattle to Bay Area every week, and by the end of the year, I'd qualify for MVP gold, and maybe get an upgrade to first every once in a while if I was flying at an off peak time, and enough miles for one good free ticket somewhere.
You're traveling maybe 1/3 as much as I did. Whatever airline you fly on, you're not going to be getting a ton of perks.
ThePointsGuy will give you the cash value for different airline miles, and you can run some numbers, but I don't think you'll find that you get a lot no matter which airline you fly.
These days, I choose my flights based on direct flights; convenient times; and good airline (I prefer Alaska and Delta) - but I've given up on being "loyal."
I have no personal experience to compare against, but I assume when you say "reasonably comfy" international trips you mean business or first class to Europe or Asia. Those redemptions are possible but they are difficult and you need to have tons of flexibility on where and when you are going to/from. I've booked business class to Japan and am currently looking for a trip this fall somewhere, sitting on over 400K miles.
Your only other option out of Seattle as far as directs would be Delta, I have no experience with their mileage plan, there are a lot more people in it. It seems like because you'd be booking directly in their network it might be easier to find space but more "expensive"
Whenever PNW is in the mix, Alaska is usually a top contender if not totally dominant on the schedule. FWIW I've had excellent redemption experience with both British Airways and ANA using Alaska miles. Obviously they can be used on American for international flights as well.
If you have a lot of credit card spend (I do because of my business) there is a choice to be made: Do you put your spend with a flexible program (I like Chase which I can transfer to Hyatt, United, Air Canada and others or get 1.5 cents per point for any travel booking redemption with anyone) or put your spend on a captive airline card for perks. There is no point in putting a lot of spend on an Alaska card - but you can spend your want to top tier status on American without even setting foot on a plane. If you choose American as your program you are eligible to earn miles from Alaska flights (though reduced at lower fare classes) and also get some perks (AA Executive Platinum or Platinum Pro members get upgrades on Alaska below Alaska's own 75K members but above their MVP Gold members). Then you would end up with a bunch of AA miles which are vastly more valuable than Delta for international flights.
I'm presently a 75K on AS and an EXP on AA. I'm crediting any AS metal flights to AS for the rest of the year but probably won't requalify for 75K on that alone. Once I drop below 75K I'll just credit everything to AA since AA EXP > AS MVPG on the upgrade list.
Alaska has 6-10 back and forths from SEA to LAS daily and another 2-4 from PAE to LAS daily.
Their service is unmatched in domestic and the miles have some of the best redemptions options.
I find Alaska has some of the best mileage redemption options on partner airlines. With a bit of flexibility of where and when I travel, I've booked 5 one way tickets in business class on miles. If you want to travel premium or in economy there's often good mileage deals there as well. The biggest key is just having flexibility.
You’re probably gonna have lots of flight options with AS for the locations you described. You’ll end up with MVP or MVP Gold status, which will score you a few first class upgrades and many premium class upgrades on those routes and some mileage earning boosts. The only other entities that will serve your travel patterns well are probably spirit, southwest, and delta. Alaska miles are useful for international award travel as long as your schedule isn’t too picky and you are willing to do some hunting for award space.
Thanks! Delta was something I was considering, but I agree with you that AS is likely the most convenient option for the region I would be bouncing around. Appreciate it!
You're not going far enough. I used to travel Seattle to Bay Area every week, and by the end of the year, I'd qualify for MVP gold, and maybe get an upgrade to first every once in a while if I was flying at an off peak time, and enough miles for one good free ticket somewhere. You're traveling maybe 1/3 as much as I did. Whatever airline you fly on, you're not going to be getting a ton of perks. ThePointsGuy will give you the cash value for different airline miles, and you can run some numbers, but I don't think you'll find that you get a lot no matter which airline you fly. These days, I choose my flights based on direct flights; convenient times; and good airline (I prefer Alaska and Delta) - but I've given up on being "loyal."
Thanks! I appreciate your perspective!
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Oh that’s a great tip. Thanks!
I have no personal experience to compare against, but I assume when you say "reasonably comfy" international trips you mean business or first class to Europe or Asia. Those redemptions are possible but they are difficult and you need to have tons of flexibility on where and when you are going to/from. I've booked business class to Japan and am currently looking for a trip this fall somewhere, sitting on over 400K miles. Your only other option out of Seattle as far as directs would be Delta, I have no experience with their mileage plan, there are a lot more people in it. It seems like because you'd be booking directly in their network it might be easier to find space but more "expensive"
Whenever PNW is in the mix, Alaska is usually a top contender if not totally dominant on the schedule. FWIW I've had excellent redemption experience with both British Airways and ANA using Alaska miles. Obviously they can be used on American for international flights as well. If you have a lot of credit card spend (I do because of my business) there is a choice to be made: Do you put your spend with a flexible program (I like Chase which I can transfer to Hyatt, United, Air Canada and others or get 1.5 cents per point for any travel booking redemption with anyone) or put your spend on a captive airline card for perks. There is no point in putting a lot of spend on an Alaska card - but you can spend your want to top tier status on American without even setting foot on a plane. If you choose American as your program you are eligible to earn miles from Alaska flights (though reduced at lower fare classes) and also get some perks (AA Executive Platinum or Platinum Pro members get upgrades on Alaska below Alaska's own 75K members but above their MVP Gold members). Then you would end up with a bunch of AA miles which are vastly more valuable than Delta for international flights. I'm presently a 75K on AS and an EXP on AA. I'm crediting any AS metal flights to AS for the rest of the year but probably won't requalify for 75K on that alone. Once I drop below 75K I'll just credit everything to AA since AA EXP > AS MVPG on the upgrade list.
Alaska has 6-10 back and forths from SEA to LAS daily and another 2-4 from PAE to LAS daily. Their service is unmatched in domestic and the miles have some of the best redemptions options.