Alaska Airlines is currently offering another “mystery bonus” of 35%, 40% or 50% when you purchase miles in their MileagePlan rewards program. This can be a great opportunity to fill up your account if you are short for a great redemption. 50% is the best bonus I have seen Alaska Air offer, so check out your personal bonus to see if it makes sense to strike!
I became an Alaska Airlines MileagePlan member through the acquisition of Virgin America. I only have a small number of miles, not enough for a valuable redemption, so I have been looking for a sale with a good bonus to come through. And I got lucky – my “mystery bonus” is up to 50%!
As you can see, the bonus is staggered, with a 20% bonus starting at 10,000 miles, a 35% bonus starting at 20,000 miles and the maximum bonus of 50% starting at 40,000. At the maximum bonus, the purchase price for 40,000+20,000=60,000 miles is $1,182.50 with a price per mile of 1.97US cents. While that’s more than I’d value an Alaska Airlines mile on average, it can still be a great deal for Business or First Class redemptions on Alaska Airlines partners like Cathay Pacific!
A one-way Business Class ticket from the US to South East Asia on Cathay Pacific is 50,000 miles, a First Class one-way ticket is 70,000 miles. Compare that to 88,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket on Singapore Airlines and it’s a steal!
Cathay Pacific Business Class Seat
Alaska Airlines does not set a maximum number of miles for you to purchase, so you can do multiple transactions. They are processed through points.com and they do enforce a limit of 4 transactions per credit card and account.
I do not recommend to purchase points speculatively – award seat availability is limited and miles tend to loose value over time, so I would only purchase miles with a clear plan in mind! You can check award availability by calling Alaska Airlines or get an approximation by checking online through other partners, for example British Airways for Cathay Pacific. Keep in mind that online availability may not be accurate. In my case, British Airways showed 5 available First Class seats on Cathay Pacific for my target dates, but Alaska Airlines could only see one available seat.
Also, the miles do not post instantly and can take up to 48h, so there is the risk of those available seats being filled between the time of your purchase and the points posting, allowing you to book the award ticket.
Keep your fingers crossed, I’m hoping for my first Cathay Pacific First Class flight and have purchased miles to complete an around-the-world trip with deal fares & mileage bargains! Stay tuned for a full report of that trip and the unique airlines and loyalty programs involved!
You can check your own Alaska Airlines “Mystery Bonus” here.
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