The Alaska Mileage Plan moves on to unified award chart for partner airline redemptions, which becomes effective in March 2024. The Alaska Mileage Plan is a favorite among points & miles enthusiasts to book business class flights to Japan (e.g., JAL Business and First Class for 60K and 70K miles respectively). I still remember the fantastic JAL First Class Flight experience from the pre-pandemic days . Now you can forget about using Alaska miles to redeem a first class flight once the revised pricing takes effect.
Since Alaska miles are not transfer partners for any major credit card systems like MR, UR, Capital one or TY points, many people have no access to Alaska miles. Since many people don’t fly Alaska Airlines, the best way to earn these miles is by opening up multiple BOA Alaska personal and business credit cards. Alaska mileage plans offer frequent promotions to purchase miles with 50% bonus which is another good way to top up miles.
Can you churn Bank of America Alaska Mileage Cards?
The best way to do this is to open a checking account with Bank of America and transfer part of your paycheck as direct deposit or maintain a balance of 3K. Once you have a banking relationship with BOA, they are very generous approving these credit cards (you can even get approved for a second card while actively still holding the same card).
In this article, I will discuss the Alaska mileage plan business class redemptions that are easily available to book when traveling from the U.S. to overseas.
2024 Alaska Mileage Plan Sweetspots
| Partner Airline | Travel Path | Business Class in Miles | Notes |
| Iceland Air | U.S. to KEF | 30-35,000 | Semi recline seats |
| AA/British Airways | JFK/EWR/BOS to LHR | 45,000 | Very high taxes with BA |
| Aer Lingus | U.S. to Dublin | 45,000 | |
| Iberia Airways | BOS to MAD | 45,000 | Low taxes |
| Latam Airways | U.S. to Chile | 50,000 (45K-Lima) | Low taxes |
| Finnair | JFK/ORD to HEL | 55,000 | Low taxes |
| Royal Air Maroc | JFK/IAD/MIA to CMN | 55,000 | Moderate taxes |
| Singapore Air | JFK-FRA; IAH-MAN | 55,000 | Low taxes |
| Condor Air | JFK-FRA | 55,000 | Low taxes |
| Air Tahiti Nui | LAX, SFO and SEA to PPT | 60,000 | Low taxes |
| JAL | NRT-HEL | 60,000 | Low Taxes |
| JAL | NRT-HNL | 60,000 | Low Taxes |
| Royal Jordanian | U.S. to Amman | 70,000 | |
| El AL | U.S. to Tel Aviv | 70,000 | |
| Qatar Airways | U.S. to Doha | 70,000 | Low taxes |
| JAL | U.S. to Tokyo | 75,000 | Low Taxes |
| Korean Air | U.S. to Seoul | 75,000 | Low Taxes |
| Fiji Airways | LAX/SFO to NAN | 75,000 | Low taxes |
| Air Tahiti Nui & Fiji Airways | U.S. to PPT/NAN stopover then to AKL | 75,000 | Low taxes |
| Singapore Airways | U.S. to SIngapore | 85,000 | Low taxes |
| Cathay Pacific | JFK-HKG | 85,000 | Low taxes |
Asia Pacific Award Changes
Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways from LAX/SFO or YVR to Nadi (NAN) will fall under 5001-7000 miles distance band and will cost 75K Alaska miles (increase from 60K from the old chart).
Fiji Airways NRT-NAN (4419 miles) will cost 60K Alaska miles for business class.
Air Tahiti Nui
Air Tahiti Nui from LAX, SFO and SEA to PPT falls under 3001-5000 miles distance band and can be booked for 60K Alaska miles for business class redemptions. If you are planning a free stopover in Tahiti on your way to Auckland, the increase in the total distance necessitates a total of 75K Alaska miles (this redemption has not changed compared to the old charts).
JAL Flights
JAL flights from JFK to Tokyo fall under 5001-7000 miles distance band and the award requirement increases to 75K miles. JAL consistently releases business class award space ahead of time and the increase from 60 to 75K is bad but not a deal breaker (JAL first class redemption jump from 70K to 110K is a major devaluation).
JAL from Tokyo to Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul fall and <1500 miles band and costs just 15000 Alaska miles for business class.
JAL from HNL to NRT/HND (3810 miles) will cost 60K Alaska miles for business class.
JAL from NRT to BNE (4439 miles) will cost 60K Alaska miles for business class.
JAL from NRT to Helsinki (4862 miles) will cost 60K Alaska miles for business class which is a good redemption.
JAL from NRT to Frankfurt (5817 miles) will cost 75K Alaska miles for business class.
Korean Air Flights
Korean Air flights from JFK to Seoul fall under 5001-7000 miles distance band and the award requirement increases to 75K miles. If Korean Air one-way bookings are allowed with the new revised chart, this may represent a good value since they also have good business class award availability.
Singapore Air
Singapore Air from JFK-SIN in business class will cost 85K Alaska miles (compared to 100K from the old chart).
Cathay Pacific
JFK to Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) falls under 7001-10,000 miles distance band requiring 85K miles for business class awards. Cathay Pacific flight business and first class award space has been nonexistent to partners since the pandemic and you are better off trying your luck on the Asia Miles website for these flights (expanded availability).
Qantas
I never found any business class availability on Qantas flights to Australia or New Zealand (despite their recent promise to make more award space available) so there is no disappointment in this aspect.
Europe, Middle East & Africa
British Airways
Boston, JFK and EWR to LHR British Airways business class flights fall under 1501-3500 miles distance band and can be booked for 45K Alaska miles, albeit with high taxes.
Iberia
Boston to Madrid (3400 miles) will make it a great Iberia business class Sweetspot for 45K miles and very low taxes on the upcoming award chart. Iberia flights from other U.S. cities (e.g., JFK, ORD) are over 3500 miles and will cost 55K Alaska miles. This is a welcome development compared to the old award chart.
Finnair
Finnair from JFK, ORD to Helsinki falls under 3501-5000 miles distance band and a business class booking requires 55K Alaska miles and very low taxes. This is another good redemption from the new award chart.
Finnair flights from DFW and Miami to Helsinki will cost 70K Alaska miles since they exceed 5000 nautical miles.
HEL to Dubai and Doha will fall under 3500-mile distance band and will cost 45K Alaska miles for business class.
Royal Air Maroc
JFK, IAD, MIA – Casablanca, CMN by Royal Air Maroc (RAM) falls under 3501-5000 miles distance band and a business class booking requires 55K Alaska miles ($230 in taxes). This is an excellent Sweetspot in the revised award chart since RAM consistently releases business class awards and offers one of the best business class flights to Casablanca. The current requirement for the same redemption is 100K miles in the old award chart (see below).
Qatar Airways
Boston, JFK, Washington and Philadelphia to Doha via Qatar Airways falls under 5001-7000 miles distance band and can be booked with 75K Alaska miles (better than the current chart).
Singapore Air
Singapore Air from JFK-FRA or IAH-MAN for 55K business class will be another great redemption Sweetspot from the revised Alaska mileage chart.
Condor
JFK to Frankfurt (3844 miles) by Condor Air is my favorite business class redemption of Alaska Mileage Plan, which is unchanged from the new award chart. Condor offers excellent flights to Frankfurt with consistent award space. The Alaska Mileage Plan one-way stopover feature can be used to travel to other countries served by Condor like Canary Islands, Mauritius and Maldives (new distance based charts will increase the award mileage requirements).
Summary
Alaska Mileage Club’s revised award charts will make several people angry, but one has to pay close attention to the new Sweetspots, especially from airlines that release consistent business class award space. I was initially disappointed to see the increase in business and first class JAL redemptions, but the new award chart also opened a lot of new possibilities to book business class flights to Europe with very few taxes. Most discussed Alaska Sweetspots from the old charts (50-70K in business/First to Sydney and HKG) are rarely available to book and it is time to explore new redemption possibilities.