It's a common desire among travelers to maximize their airline miles by transferring them between different loyalty programs. However, when it comes to American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, there's a crucial point to understand right from the start: You cannot directly transfer American Airlines miles to Alaska Airlines miles, or vice versa.
This might sound disappointing, but don't close this guide just yet! While a direct transfer isn't possible, both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are part of the oneworld alliance, and this partnership opens up a world of possibilities for how you can still use your miles to fly on the other airline. This guide will walk you through exactly how to do that, ensuring you get the most out of your hard-earned miles.
The Reality of Airline Mile Transfers: Why Direct Transfer Isn't Possible
Let's begin by understanding why a direct transfer isn't an option. Airline loyalty programs, like American's AAdvantage and Alaska's Mileage Plan, are designed to encourage loyalty to their own brand. Allowing seamless transfers between entirely separate programs would undermine this goal. Each program maintains its own independent mileage earning and redemption structures.
Think of it like this: Your American Airlines miles are like currency valid only at the "American Airlines store," and your Alaska Airlines miles are valid only at the "Alaska Airlines store." While these stores might have a joint promotion or allow you to use your currency to buy items from the other store, you can't just convert your American store currency into Alaska store currency.
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| How To Transfer American Airlines Miles To Alaska |
Navigating the Partnership: Using Your Miles on Partner Airlines
The good news is that both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines are key members of the oneworld alliance. This alliance is a global network of airlines that cooperate to offer a broader range of destinations, lounge access, and reciprocal benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles on partner flights.
This means that while you can't transfer your miles, you can redeem your American Airlines AAdvantage miles for flights operated by Alaska Airlines, and similarly, redeem your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for flights operated by American Airlines. This is the core strategy we'll explore.
Step 1: Understand Your Mileage Balance and Program Rules
Before you do anything, you need to know what you're working with.
Sub-heading: Check Your American Airlines AAdvantage Balance
First things first, let's see how many AAdvantage miles you have!
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Log In to Your AAdvantage Account: Go to the American Airlines website (aa.com) and log in to your AAdvantage account. Your current mileage balance will usually be prominently displayed on your account dashboard.
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Review Mile Expiration: American Airlines AAdvantage miles generally expire if there's no activity (earning or redeeming) for 24 months. Make sure your miles are active and won't expire soon. If they are, consider a small earning or redeeming activity to reset the clock.
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Sub-heading: Understand AAdvantage Award Chart for Partners
American Airlines has different award charts for flights on their own metal and for flights on their oneworld partners. Since Alaska Airlines is a oneworld partner, you'll be referring to the oneworld and partner airline award chart. This chart will tell you how many AAdvantage miles you need for a given route and cabin class on Alaska Airlines.
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Locate the Award Chart: You can typically find this on the "Redeem Miles" or "Award Travel" section of the AAdvantage program pages on aa.com.
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Familiarize Yourself with Regions and Zones: Award charts often break down redemption rates by geographical regions (e.g., North America, Europe, Asia). Understand which regions your desired Alaska Airlines destinations fall into.
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Note Peak vs. Off-Peak Pricing: Some award charts have different mileage requirements depending on the travel date (peak vs. off-peak seasons). Keep this in mind when planning your travel.
Step 2: Searching for Alaska Airlines Award Availability on American Airlines' Website
This is where the magic happens! You'll use American Airlines' booking engine to find flights operated by Alaska Airlines that are available for AAdvantage mile redemption.
Sub-heading: Access the American Airlines Award Search Tool
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Start Your Search on AA.com: On the American Airlines homepage, when searching for flights, make sure to select the option to "Redeem miles" or "Use miles" (the exact phrasing might vary slightly).
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Enter Your Flight Details: Input your desired origin and destination cities, along with your travel dates.
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Specify "One World or Partner Airlines" (if applicable): While American's search engine generally includes partner availability automatically, sometimes there's an option to specifically search for oneworld or partner flights. If you see it, select it to narrow down results.
Sub-heading: Filtering for Alaska Airlines Operated Flights
Once your search results load, you'll need to look for flights operated by Alaska Airlines.
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Look for "Operated by Alaska Airlines": In the search results, each flight segment will typically display the operating airline. You'll want to find segments that clearly state "Operated by Alaska Airlines" or similar.
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Utilize Filters (if available): Some online search tools allow you to filter results by operating airline. If this option exists, it can significantly simplify your search.
Sub-heading: Be Flexible with Dates and Times
Award availability, especially for partner airlines, can be limited. Being flexible with your travel dates and even times can greatly increase your chances of finding a suitable flight.
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Use the Calendar View: Many airline websites offer a calendar view for award availability, showing you which dates have award seats at different mileage levels. This is incredibly useful for finding the best deals.
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Consider Connecting Flights: Don't limit yourself to direct flights. Often, connecting flights on Alaska Airlines (or a combination of American and Alaska flights) might be available for fewer miles or on more convenient dates.
Step 3: Booking Your Alaska Airlines Flight with American Airlines Miles
Once you've found an award flight that works for you, it's time to book!
QuickTip: Use CTRL + F to search for keywords quickly.
Sub-heading: Select Your Desired Flight
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Confirm Details: Double-check the flight details, including dates, times, and routing, to ensure it matches your travel plans.
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Review Mileage Cost and Fees: The system will display the total AAdvantage miles required for the booking, plus any applicable taxes and fees. These fees are usually minimal for domestic flights but can be higher for international itineraries.
Sub-heading: Complete the Booking Process
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Proceed to Payment: You'll be prompted to enter your payment information for the taxes and fees.
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Confirm Your Reservation: After payment, you'll receive a confirmation email with your itinerary and ticket number. It's a good idea to keep this handy.
Sub-heading: Link Your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Number (Optional but Recommended)
While you're redeeming AAdvantage miles, if you have an Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account, you can often add your Mileage Plan number to the reservation after booking. This won't earn you Alaska miles on an award ticket, but it might help with recognizing your status (if any) for benefits like preferred seating or lounge access on the Alaska-operated segments.
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Call American Airlines or Alaska Airlines: After you've booked, you can call American Airlines or, preferably, Alaska Airlines, provide your American Airlines confirmation code, and ask them to add your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan number to the reservation. Not all systems allow this seamlessly, but it's worth a try for potential benefits.
Step 4: Alternative Strategies (When Direct Redemption Isn't Ideal)
Sometimes, direct redemption might not be available or might not be the best value. Here are a couple of alternative strategies to consider.
Sub-heading: Transfer Points from Hotel Loyalty Programs (Limited Option)
While direct airline transfers are rare, some hotel loyalty programs offer transfers to various airline partners.
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Marriott Bonvoy: Marriott Bonvoy is one of the most prominent programs that allows transfers to both American Airlines AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
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Transfer Ratio: Generally, Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio to most airline partners, including American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
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Bonus for Bulk Transfers: Marriott often offers a bonus (e.g., 5,000 bonus miles) when you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, effectively giving you 25,000 airline miles for 60,000 points.
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Consider Value: Carefully evaluate if transferring hotel points is a good value for your specific travel goals, as hotel points are often best used for hotel stays.
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Sub-heading: Earn Miles on American Airlines for Alaska Flights (and vice versa)
Remember, because they are partners, you can earn miles on one program when flying the other.
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Crediting Paid Flights: If you pay for a flight on Alaska Airlines, you can choose to credit those miles to your American Airlines AAdvantage account. Similarly, if you pay for an American Airlines flight, you can credit it to your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account.
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Ensure Proper Crediting: When booking, make sure to enter your preferred frequent flyer number (AAdvantage or Mileage Plan) to ensure the miles are credited correctly.
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Check Earning Rates: Earning rates can vary based on the fare class of your ticket and the specific partnership agreement. Always check the earning charts on both airlines' websites.
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Important Considerations and Tips:
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Award Availability is Dynamic: Award seats are limited and can change frequently. If you don't find what you're looking for immediately, check back periodically.
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Book in Advance: For the best selection of award seats, especially in premium cabins, try to book as far in advance as possible.
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Be Aware of Change/Cancellation Fees: While some programs offer flexibility, be mindful of any change or cancellation fees associated with award tickets.
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Taxes and Fees: Remember that while the mileage covers the base fare, you'll still be responsible for government-imposed taxes and fees.
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Consider ExpertFlyer or Award Nexus: For advanced users, tools like ExpertFlyer can help you search for specific award availability across various airlines, including partners.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
How to transfer American Airlines miles to another person?
You can generally transfer American Airlines AAdvantage miles to another AAdvantage member, but there is usually a fee associated with this service, and it's often not a good value. Look for the "Share Miles" or "Transfer Miles" option on the AAdvantage website.
How to use American Airlines miles for international flights on Alaska?
You cannot use American Airlines miles for international flights on Alaska Airlines because Alaska primarily operates within North America. However, you can use American Airlines miles for international flights on other oneworld partners (like British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, etc.), and you can use Alaska Airlines miles for international flights on their partners.
How to find Alaska Airlines award availability using American Airlines miles?
You search directly on the American Airlines website (aa.com) by selecting "Redeem miles" and entering your desired route and dates. The search results will show available flights, including those operated by Alaska Airlines, which you can identify by the "Operated by Alaska Airlines" notation.
How to credit Alaska Airlines flights to my American Airlines AAdvantage account?
When booking a paid flight on Alaska Airlines, or at check-in, provide your American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer number. The miles will then be credited to your AAdvantage account according to the partnership agreement.
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How to determine the value of American Airlines miles when booking on Alaska?
The value of your miles varies based on the specific redemption. Generally, using miles for flights provides the best value. Compare the cash price of the flight to the mileage cost to determine your cents-per-mile value.
How to combine American Airlines and Alaska Airlines miles?
You cannot directly combine or merge American Airlines AAdvantage and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles into a single account. They remain separate loyalty programs.
How to avoid mileage expiration for American Airlines AAdvantage miles?
To prevent AAdvantage miles from expiring, you need to have qualifying activity (earning or redeeming miles) at least once every 24 months. This can be as simple as making a small purchase through the AAdvantage eShopping portal or earning miles from a partner hotel stay.
How to upgrade on an Alaska Airlines flight using American Airlines miles?
Generally, you cannot upgrade a flight operated by Alaska Airlines using American Airlines AAdvantage miles, or vice versa. Upgrades are usually restricted to the operating airline's own mileage program or paid upgrades.
How to book a multi-city itinerary involving both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines with miles?
You can book a multi-city itinerary on the American Airlines website using your AAdvantage miles. As long as both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines segments are available for award redemption and fit within the AAdvantage award chart rules, you can combine them in one award booking.
How to earn Alaska Airlines miles from credit card spending to use on American Airlines?
You can earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles through co-branded Alaska Airlines credit cards. Once you accumulate enough Mileage Plan miles, you can then use them to book flights operated by American Airlines through the Alaska Airlines website or app.
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