Alaska Airlines Miles Value Calculator

Frequent Flyer Miles
Alaska Miles have an average value of about 1.5 cents each which means that 10,000 miles are roughly worth $150 towards air travel.
Last Updated 2022-07-09 By R.Flowers III

Alaska Miles will have the best value when redeemed towards award flights with Alaska Airlines, oneworld partners, and other airline partners. Miles can also be redeemed for hotels, magazine subscriptions, and be donated to non-profits.

How much are Alaska miles worth?

The Point Calculator values Alaska Miles at 1.5 cent each when used towards award flights with Alaska and their airline partners. Miles can also be used for hotel bookings and magazine subscriptions.

Alaska miles value

Redemption option Redemption value in cents
Redeeming miles for award flights 1.5
Redeeming miles for hotel stays 0.8

Redeeming Alaska miles for flights

Alaska's miles are worth around 1.5 cents each when redeemed for award travel with Alaska airlines and their airline partners. This is easily the best use of Alaska Miles.

Alaska gives you the ability to pay with all miles or use the Money & Miles option. You can also upgrade your seat to first class using miles. You can check out Alaska's Award Chart for a full list of flight redemptions.

Alaska Award Chart
Use the Alaska Airlines Award Chart to find great deals to destinations worldwide.

Using Alaska miles to book hotel stays

Alaska Miles can also be used to reserve hotels through the Alaska Airlines Hotels portal which is powered by Rocketmiles. Redeeming Alaska Miles for hotels will drastically reduces the value to about 0.8 cents per mile.

The portal shows you the different options you have when redeeming.

When redeeming for hotels, 10,000 miles will get you about $80 off a hotel reservation. That same 10,000 Mileage Plan miles could be worth $150 to $200+ in airfare which is about double the value when compared to hotel redemptions.

Using Alaska miles for magazines

Alaska Miles can be redeemed for magazines using the MagsforMiles site. This option allows you to get several issues of a magazine for a set amount of Alaska miles. The value of these redemptions will range and usually be fairly high since magazines do not cost that much.

Transfer Alaska miles to other members

Alaska Miles can be transferred to other Alaska Mileage Plan members. Transferring Alaska Miles will cost you $10 per 1,000 miles which is not "bad" but it's the $25 processing fee per transaction that makes it costly.

This means a transfer of 1,000 miles will cost you $10 plus a $25 fee for a total of $35. You can buy 1,000 Alaska Miles for $29.56 at the standard rate so you'll want to make sure that you transfer at least 2,000 miles to make it "worth" it.

Why would you transfer miles?

Transferring miles is the cheaper option over buying and gifting miles. If you know another Mileage Plan member willing to part with some (or all) of their hard earned Alaska Miles or you want to transfer your miles to another member, this is a decent path to take.

To make this worth it, you will need to transfer at least 2,000 miles. Buying or gifting 2,000 miles would cost $59.13 whereas transferring 2,000 miles would only cost you $45. Do not transfer 1,000 miles as it will cost you more than buying or gifting 1,000 miles.

buy 1000 alaska miles
Buying/Gifting 1,000 miles is cheaper than transferring 1,000 miles.

How to transfer Alaska miles to other members

In order to be eligible to transfer Alaska Miles, you'll need to have at least 1,000 miles in your Mileage Plan account. You will need to know the Alaska Mileage Plan account number and name of the person you're transferring the miles to.

  1. Head to Alaska's Share/Transfer Miles page.
  2. Log into your Alaska Mileage Plan account.
  3. Enter how many miles you want to transfer and the info of the person you're buying them for.
  4. Enter your payment information.
  5. Review the details and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
  6. Click Pay Now.

If you don't plan on redeeming your Alaska Miles and you don't want to pay the cost to share/transfer them, you can donate them to over 10 different programs.

donate alaska miles
Alaska Miles can be donated to support important causes.

How to donate Alaska miles

Donating miles to any of the above originations can be done in very few steps. Do note that you'll need at least 1,000 miles in your Mileage Plan account in order to donate.

  1. Head to Alaska's Donate Miles page.
  2. Select the organization you wish to donate to.
  3. Enter how many miles you want to donate.
  4. Click Send.

Miles will be deducted from your account and sent to the organization you selected.

Convert Alaska miles to dollars

Use the Alaska Miles Value Calculator to determine the average cash value of your Alaska Miles. This will help give you an idea of how much your miles are worth.

Enter any amount of Alaska Miles to calculate the dollar value.
Miles
Redemption Estimated Value
Award Flights $0
Hotels $0

Credit cards that earn Alaska miles

The easiest way to learn lots of Alaska miles is by using Alaska Airlines credit cards. There are two co-branded credit cards offered by Bank of America.

Credit Card Benefits
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card
Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card
  • Earn 3 Alaska miles per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines purchases
  • Earn 2 Alaska miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, cable, streaming services and local transit including ride share purchases
  • Earn 1 Alaska mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Enjoy Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ every year on your credit card account anniversary which allows you to book a companion flight from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22)
  • Free checked bag and priority boarding
  • $95 annual fee
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card
  • Earn 3 Alaska Miles per $1 spent on Alaska Airlines purchases
  • Earn 1 Alaska Mile per $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Each year on your credit card account anniversary you'll receive a companion fare which allows you to book a companion flight from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22)
  • Free checked bag for you and up to 6 guests on the same reservation
  • Enjoy 20% back on Alaska Airlines inflight purchases when you pay with your card
  • $70 for the company, $25 per card
Other credit card options

Alaska Airlines is not a direct transfer partner of any major U.S. credit card rewards program, but there are still credit cards that offer rewards in which you can use to book travel with Alaska airlines. Here's a few of our favorites.

Capital One miles

Capital One Venture Miles and Spark Miles can be redeemed for any kind of travel at a value of 1 cent per mile. This means you can use Venture Rewards and Spark Rewards credit cards to pay for your Alaska Airlines travel and then apply those miles to wipe away the charges. The miles can also be used for hotels, car rentals, tolls, parking, and much more.

Here are the credit cards that earn Capital One miles:

Credit Card Highlights
Best Premium Card For Unlimited Miles
  • Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
  • Earn 10X Miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Earn 5X Miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
  • Earn an unlimited 2X Miles on all other purchases
  • Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel
  • 10,000 bonus miles annually starting on your first anniversary (worth $100 towards travel)
  • Access to Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass Lounges
  • Up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee
  • $395 annual fee
Best For Unlimited 2X Miles
  • Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
  • Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Earn an unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
  • Two complimentary lounge visits per year to Capital One Lounges or Plaza Premium Lounges
  • Up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee
  • $95 annual fee
Best For No Annual Fee
  • Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel.
  • Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Earn an unlimited 1.25X miles on all other purchases
  • No annual fee
Best Business Card For Unlimited 2X Miles
  • Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Earn unlimited 2X miles on every card purchase
  • Up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee
  • $0 the first year, then $95
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business Card
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business Card
Best For 1.5X Miles At No Annual Fee
  • Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Earn unlimited 1.5X miles on every card purchase
  • No annual fee
Calculate Total Rewards & Credit Card Value For 200+ U.S. Credit Cards
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Maximize your credit card rewards!
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the credit cards that will earn you the most points, miles and cash back based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let our tool do the work for you!