Alaska Airlines has just announced that they are partnering with American Airlines to expand their global reach to connect the West Coast to the rest of the world. So Alaska Airlines strengthens their relationship with American Airlines now and will culminate with them joining the oneworld alliance in the summer of 2021.
Here is a a timeline of how this will unfold…
This new alliance will mean you can earn and redeem on more domestic and international destinations. This includes the newly announced flights by American Airlines for the first nonstop flight from Seattle to Bangalore, India, starting October of this year, along with new service from Seattle to London in the Spring of 2021.
So whats changing right away?
– You can redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on all American Airlines flights (subject to award availability).
– You can access any of American’s nearly 50 Admirals Club locations worldwide with an Alaska Lounge membership.
Note: Alaska Lounge members do not currently have access to The Admirals Club in San Francisco International’s Terminal 2 due to space constraints. Alaska will be opening a new 8,500-square-foot, top-floor lounge in Terminal 2 this fall.
– Continue to earn and redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on Alaska’s current portfolio of 16 Global Partners.
Starting in Spring of 2020
– Earn Alaska Mileage Plan miles on any American Airlines flights, domestically and internationally.
Starting in Summer of 2021
– Earn and redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on all oneworld airlines (subject to award availability).
– As an Alaska elite you can enjoy privileges, including priority boarding, premium seating, baggage benefits and more when you fly on American Airlines or any oneworld airline.
– Access 650 lounges within the oneworld network as an MVP Gold or Gold 75k member.
So what does this really mean? To be honest, I always get worried everytime Alaska has a sale on the purchase of Alaska Miles. Currently Alaska has a promo where you can get upto 40% extra miles when you purchase over 15000 miles. This promo ends on February 16, 2020.
So I predict we will see devaluations on reward redemptions on Emirates, JAL, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific for starters. The generous stopovers on one way redemptions with Emirates may go away. Will we be able to redeem Alaska miles on AA partners like Qatar Airways to fly on Q Suites remains to be seen.
So what can we do? Churn those MBNA Alaska MC quickly and earn and burn this year and till summer of next year and book those awesome cabins on Emirates, Cathay, Singapore etc.
Your plans? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by Dominic Fernandes aka CanadaPointsGuy.
Image courtesy of alaskaair.com.