Buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles at a Discount in January 2025

Buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles at a discount to save on Business Class flights.

Current promotion to buy Alaska miles

Click here to check if you are targeted for a bonus/discount to purchase Alaska miles.

Things to note about Alaska miles

• Alaska Mileage Plan members can usually buy miles for 2.75 cents each, before any bonuses or discounts
• Alaska miles do not expire, as long as there is account activity at least once every 24 months
• Non-elite members can purchase up to 150,000 miles per year, pre-bonus
• Each member can purchase up to 100,000 miles pre-bonus, per transaction. If you want to purchase more than that, you will need to make 2 purchases. Note the minimum miles required to unlock bonus miles.
• Mileage Plan members have the freedom to redeem miles for anyone. If you’ve reached your annual cap, get a family member or friend to redeem their miles for you.
• MVP members and above can purchase unlimited amount of miles
• Alaska Airlines does not impose fuel surcharges on award tickets
• Alaska Airlines allows free change and cancellations on award tickets
• Alaska Airlines charges a US$12.50 non-refundable fee per award booking

Previous Alaska miles offers

Here’s a quick look at the recent history of Alaska miles sales:

What if you are not targeted for a higher bonus?

In this case, it is probably best to get some close friends or family members to sign up for a mileage plan account and see if they are targeted for a higher bonus/discount.

With their account, they can book award flights for you or gift miles to you.

Is this a good deal to buy Alaska miles?

Historically, the best Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles sales are those labelled “70% bonus”.

I only recommend buying Alaska miles if you plan to redeem them immediately on alaskaair.com, after the purchased miles are credited into your account.

Best ways to redeem Alaska miles

Unfortunately, Alaska Mileage Plan underwent a brutal award devaluation in March 2024, that killed most of Suitesmile’s sweet spots. Because of the high cost of Alaska miles (even during promotions), only the following short flights on STARLUX are good ways to redeem Alaska miles.

All bookings must be made on alaskaair.com or via the reservations hotline.

Region 1	Region 2	Airline	Economy Class	Business Class
Taipei	Hanoi, Manila, Ho Chi Minh, Seoul, Tokyo, Okinawa, Osaka, Fukuoka		7.5k	15k
Manila	Okinawa		7.5k	15k

Things to consider before buying Alaska miles

Although Alaska miles do not expire as long as there is account activity every 24 months, we do not recommend purchasing these miles if you do not plan to use them in the next few months.

Although Alaska miles purchases are usually credited into a member’s account within hours, it can sometimes take up to a week.

Best credit cards for buying Alaska miles

Singapore-based readers may use one of the following cards to receive maximum rewards/savings when buying Alaska miles in a foreign currency.

^{Note: Miles/Points purchases are processed by points.com, which falls under MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified). This is NOT a travel-related spending, and should get you bonus miles/cashback with Citi cards.}

Citi Rewards

Earn 4 mpd on online spending, except travel-related

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi Rewards Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you a strong earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on online spending, up to $1,000 per statement month. This covers a wide range of spending categories like online shopping, ride-hailing, food delivery and even phone/internet bills.

Cardholders can also earn 4 mpd on in-person shopping at stores that sell shoes and bags and clothes as their main business activity.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on travel-related categories (e.g. flights and hotels) and spending above $1,000 per statement month.

Having many transfer partners and up to 5-year expiry term gives you fantastic flexibility. However, take note that your points’ expiry term starts from the date the card is opened (i.e. not from the transaction date).

Pro tip: Link this card to Amaze and use the Amaze card to also earn 4 mpd on general spending categories like online/offline shopping, dining and groceries! This pairing turns all your offline transactions “online” (to earn 4 mpd on some cards) and lowers your foreign currency charges.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%
(Lower this fee by linking this card to Amaze)

⏰ Points expiry
Every 5 years from card opening date (+3 months grace period)

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
Krisflyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points (10,000 miles)

💲 Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base point per dollar spent, plus 9 bonus points for online spending (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base and bonus points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Citi SMRT

Get 5% cashback on online spending, groceries and transportation

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi SMRT Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you 5% cashback on Online (except travel-related), Groceries, Ride-hailing and Public Transport spending upon meeting the minimum spend of $500 per statement month.

Cashback is capped at $600 per card membership year. This annual limit gives you the opportunity to get 5% cashback on $12,000 worth of eligible spending, making this card fantastic for large purchases!

Get just 0.3% cashback for all other spending categories.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First 2 years waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

❓How cashback is credited
Cash rebates are credited in the form of SMRT$. Cardholders are required to redeem them via SMS (min. $10).

📜 Terms & conditions

Trust Cashback

No FX fees, 1% cashback and free overseas ATM cash withdrawals

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonusUse code V1WB7T8A during the application to get a scratch card worth up to $1,000.

A one-time spend (any amount) is required. Pro Tip: Adding this card to your Grab app would trigger as first spend, due to the verification hold.

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Trust Cashback Visa Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you unlimited 1% cashback, great foreign exchange rates and no foreign currency fees; and it does not come with an annual fee!

The existence of this card also means that the opportunity cost of using Miles cards for foreign currency spending is now over 4%, as those cards come with around 3.25% in FX fees, and no 1% cashback.

To avoid interest charges on overseas ATM cash withdrawals, follow these easy steps:

1. Apply for the Trust card with code V1WB7T8A
2. Apply for a Trust Savings Account through the Trust app (instant approval). There is no minimum balance, monthly fee or lock-in period to worry about!
3. Deposit enough money into your Trust Savings Account
4. When withdrawing cash from an overseas ATM, be sure to select Savings Account on the ATM screen (i.e. not Current, not Credit Card), and of course, never let the ATM do any currency conversion for you, as the markups are insane

The card also has a highly-complicated and misleading benefit, claiming to offer “up to 15% cashback” on your chosen spending category:

• Dining (e.g. restaurants, bakeries, food deliveries)
• Shopping (e.g. department, clothing, watch stores)
• Travel (e.g. airlines, hotels, travel agencies)
• Wellness (e.g. beauty shops, spas, gyms, pharmacies)
• Transport (e.g. ride-hailing, car rental, petrol)
• Entertainment (e.g. bars, movies, streaming services)

Why misleading? The cashback cap is a lot lower than the minimum spending requirement. Examples here.

To summarize the cashback mechanics:

To receive “15% cashback” on the chosen category, one would need to spend at least $2,000 per month, for 3 consecutive months in a quarter (total of at least $6,000). The cardholder would then be credited with $250 in cashback; that is, IF he/she had spent an average of at least $555 per month, on the chosen category.

This also means that, to unlock the “15% cashback” on $555 worth of spending, one would need to spend $1,445 per month on other things, and only earn 1% cashback on them. So, there’s a huge opportunity cost of not using other superior cards on this amount.

Essentially, this card gives you an effective cashback amount of around 4 to 4.9% on your preferred category, when spending $1,000 or $2,000 per month, for 3 consecutive months in a quarter, far lower than the advertised amount.

Cardholders can choose their preferred bonus category in the Trust mobile app.

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💸 Annual fee
No annual fee, ever

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
No foreign currency fee

📜 Terms & conditions

UOB Visa Signature

Earn 4 mpd on foreign currency and/or contactless spending

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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UOB Visa Signature Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you a strong earn rate of 4 miles per dollar on foreign currency (online or offline) and/or contactless spending. This covers most spending categories like dining, groceries, flights, hotels, retail shopping, food delivery and ride-hailing.

A minimum spending of $1,000 per statement month is required, with a $2,000 cap during the same period.

Take note that cardholders will only earn 0.4 mpd on other categories and spending below $1,000 and above $2,000 per statement month.

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💸 Annual fee
$218
(First year waived)

💼 Income requirement
$50,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
2 years from transaction

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer and Asia Miles

💯 Transfer ratio
1 UNI$ = 2 miles

🧮 Transfer block
5,000 UNI$ (10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
UNI$ from this card can be combined with those from other UOB cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Earn 1 base UNI$ per $5 dollar spent, plus 9 bonus UNI$ for eligible online and mobile contactless transactions (equivalent to 4 mpd in total). Base and bonus points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

HSBC TravelOne

Earn 1.2 mpd on local spend, 2.4 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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HSBC TravelOne Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2.4 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

This is a great backup card, if you have exhausted all your specialized cards with better earn rates.

Having many transfer partners gives you fantastic flexibility. For this reason, I recommend using this card over other General Spending cards with similar earn rates.

Cardholders are also entitled to 4 free airport lounge visits (via DragonPass) per calendar year! For example, if you apply for the card in March 2023, you will get 4 free visits for the current year, plus 4 more free visits from 1 January the following year.

Cardholders also get complimentary access to the ENTERTAINER with HSBC app, where there are over a thousand 1-for-1 deals on dining, entertainment and hotels.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(Get 25k points (10k miles) when you pay the annual fee from the 2nd year onwards. Get first-year waiver, if you don’t want the sign-up bonus.)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
3 years from transaction
(37 months to be exact)

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
Asia Miles, Infinity MileageLands, Executive Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
25,000 points
(10,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
Free

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other HSBC cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How/When points are credited
Base points are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Citi PremierMiles

Earn 1.2 mpd on local spend, 2.2 mpd on foreign currency

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Citi PremierMiles Mastercard

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
This card gives you an uncapped earn rate of 1.2 miles per dollar on SGD spending and 2.2 miles per dollar on foreign currency spending.

This is a great backup card, if you have exhausted all your specialized cards with better earn rates.

Having many transfer partners and miles that do not expire gives you fantastic flexibility. Because of these 2 key factors, I recommend using this card over other General Spending cards with similar earn rates.

Cardholders are also entitled to 2 free airport lounge visits (via Priority Pass) per calendar year! For example, if you apply for the card in March this year, you will get 2 free visits for the current year, plus 2 more free visits from 1 January the following year.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First year waived, get 10,000 miles with subsequent annual fee payments)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

🛋️ Airport lounge access
2 free visits per calendar year via Priority Pass

⏰ Points expiry
Miles earned on this card do not expire!

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Miles&Smiles, Privilege Club and more!

💯 Transfer ratio
1 Citi mile = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer block
10,000 miles

💲 Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points/Miles pooling
Miles from this card cannot be combined with those from other Citi cards and can only be transferred out separately.

❓ How/When points are credited
Base miles are credited immediately when the transaction is posted.

📜 Terms & conditions

Maybank Horizon

Earn 2.8 mpd on flights and foreign currency spending

Apply now

🎁 Sign-up bonus

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Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Card

Suitesmile rating:

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✍️ Short summary
Cardholders can receive an uncapped earn rate of 2.8 miles per dollar on foreign currency transactions, when spending at least $800 per calendar month.

On top of that, cardholders can also receive 2.8 miles per dollar on flight bookings, when spending at least $800 per calendar month. However, this bonus earn rate is capped at $10,000 per calendar month.

Other whitelisted transactions in SGD earn 1.2 mpd, and non-whitelisted ones just 0.24 mpd.

Miles earned on this card expire after just 1 year, and can only be transferred to 3 Frequent Flyer Programs. Because of its poor flexibility and minimum spending requirement, I recommend using this card only for school fees in foreign currency and more-expensive flight bookings in Singapore Dollars.

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💸 Annual fee
$196.20
(First 3 years waived)

💼 Income requirement
$30,000/year

🤑 Foreign currency fee
3.25%

⏰ Points expiry
1 year from transaction

🫱‍🫲 Transfer partners
Krisflyer, Asia Miles and Enrich

💯 Transfer ratio
2.5 points = 1 mile

🧮 Transfer blocks
KrisFlyer: 12,500 points (5,000 miles)
Asia Miles: 5,000 (2,000 miles)
Enrich: 2,500 (1,000 miles)

💲Transfer fee
$27.25 per transfer

🤗 Points pooling
Points from this card can be combined with those from other Maybank cards and transferred out together at once.

❓How points are credited
Earn 5 base point per $5 dollar spent, plus 45 bonus points for eligible online transactions (equivalent to 3.2 mpd in total).

📜 Terms & conditions

Buy miles and points from other loyalty programs

Click here to buy miles and points from other loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.