Alaska Airlines is currently running a promotion which could be of interest to savvy Australian flyers. You can currently earn double Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles on Qantas trans-Pacific flights between the United States and Australia.
With this promotion, even an Economy class ticket to the United States could earn you enough Mileage Plan miles to fly from Australia to Hong Kong in Business class.
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are particularly valuable as a redeemable currency. In fact, many Australians buy Mileage Plan miles outright from Alaska Airlines. So if you’re planning a trip to the United States this year – and don’t mind forgoing the points and status credits with Qantas or Velocity – this promotion could make a lot of sense.
To earn double Mileage Plan award miles, you would need to register for the promotion on the Alaska Airlines website and book by the end of April. Qantas flights taken between 1 May and 6 December 2019 will earn double Mileage Plan miles if you credit to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
The following Qantas routes are included in this promotion:
- Sydney-Los Angeles
- Sydney-San Francisco
- Sydney-Dallas/Fort Worth
- Sydney-New York
- Melbourne-Los Angeles
- Melbourne-San Francisco
- Melbourne-New York
- Brisbane-Los Angeles
- Brisbane-New York
Qantas’ Sydney-Honolulu route is not included in this promotion. The promotion ends before Qantas’ seasonal Sydney-Vancouver flight returns, so this route is also not included.
The following Mileage Plan earn rates apply to Qantas flights:
Note that with this offer, double miles are only earned on the base miles. They aren’t earned on top of the class of service bonus (which counts towards status qualification), the additional bonus or extra bonuses for those with Alaska Airlines status (which don’t count towards status qualification). The double miles don’t count towards status attainment; they are only award miles.
Beware that “E” fare class on Qantas is ineligible to earn Mileage Plan miles. Some of the cheaper Economy sale fares may book into E class, so be sure to check this before booking!
With this promotion, you’d earn at least the following miles on an eligible round-trip Qantas ticket from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth:
- Economy – 34,312 Mileage Plan miles (200% of miles flown)
- Premium Economy – 36,026 Mileage Plan miles (210% of miles flown)
- Business – 55,756 Mileage Plan miles (325% of miles flown)
- First – 77,202 Mileage Plan miles (450% of miles flown)
Qantas-operated flights marketed by either Qantas or Alaska Airlines are eligible for this promotion, and you can book on either the Qantas or Alaska Airlines websites. Different earn rates may apply if you book an Alaskan marketed flight with an “AS” flight number.
It costs 12,500 Mileage Plan miles to book any Qantas domestic award, or 20,000 miles in Business. This includes long domestic routes such as Brisbane-Perth and Melbourne-Broome! Cathay Pacific Business awards from Australia to Hong Kong cost only 30,000 miles one-way. And Qantas award flights from Australia to North America cost just 47,500 miles in Premium Economy or just 55,000 miles in Business. (Award availability is limited, however.) Given the high value of Mileage Plan miles, this offer is particularly generous.
Read more: How to Buy & Redeem Alaska Airlines Miles
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Double Alaskan miles on Qantas flights
