Alaska Airlines officially joined oneworld alliance on 31 March 2021.
After allowing members to earn Alaska miles on Qatar Airways flights in Dec 2020, Alaska Airlines has now added Qatar Airways’ award chart.
This simply means that you can now:
- Redeem Alaska miles for flights on Qatar Airways without hefty fuel surcharges
- Earn Alaska miles for Qatar Airways flights that are paid in cash
Alaska’s award chart for Qatar Airways
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan maintains separate award charts for each partner airline.
How many Alaska miles are required for each route on Qatar Airways? Here’s how Alaska’s award chart for Qatar Airways looks like:
| Route | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Middle East – Asia | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| Middle East – Europe | 25,000 | 65,000 |
| Middle East – South Pacific | 45.000 | 100,000 |
| Middle East – Indian Subcontinent | 17,500 | 40,000 |
| Middle East – Middle East | 17,500 | 40,000 |
| Middle East – North America | 42,500 | 85,000 |
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Dynamic award rates
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is adopting dynamic award rates for redemptions on Qatar Airways and Japan Airlines. This means that you may see higher amount of miles required on some dates.
Is it good value to redeem Alaska miles for flights on Qatar Airways?
Absolutely not.
Alaska miles are only great for Business and First Class flights on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines and nothing has changed since I shared the sweet spots last year.
The best way to fly from Singapore to the Middle East is with 49,000 Krisflyer miles on Singapore Airlines Business class.
Benefit of Alaska’s partnership with Qatar Airways
The key benefit of this partnership, for members of Alaska Airlines Mileage plan, is the ability to earn Alaska miles on Qatar Airways flights.
Consider the following scenario:
- You do not have elite status with any frequent flyer programs (FFPs)
- You are paying cash to fly round trip on Qatar Airways from Singapore to Oslo, with a total distance of 13,900 miles
Here’s what you can earn with each FFP:
| FFP | Economy (N) | Business (I) |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | 6,950 (worth S$153) | 31,275 (worth S$688) |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 6,950 (worth S$139) | 24,325 (worth S$487) |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 3,475 (worth S$63) | 17,375 (worth S$313) |
Earning large amounts of miles for flights paid in cash is a fantastic way to “offset” the total cost and should never be ignored!
The winner is very clear, for now. However, this can change very quickly if/when Alaska decides to devalue their award charts with Cathay and Japan Airlines!
Bottom line
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan takes their loyalty program very seriously and to me, it is the only FFP in the world right now that is worthy of my loyalty. The FFP has also promised to give at least 90 days notice before any award chart devaluations.
There are uncertainties in the coming months as the airline complete its entry to oneworld alliance. But for now, with the ability to earn Alaska miles on Qatar flights, we are enjoying a net gain from this new partnership.
Alaska miles remain as the most valuable mile currency to me.