Alaska Airlines Promotion - Double Miles and Fare Deals (And Why They're Useful!)

Alaska Airlines is my favorite airline that I never fly. Their friendly employees make travel almost civilized again. Sadly, I live on the east coast and they’re based out of Seattle, so our paths don’t often cross. Still, I pay attention to their emails and the recent Alaska Airlines Promotion because, well, I’m an airline nerd (and double miles).

Alaska Airlines Promotion – Fare Deals

This is the time of year that you’ll start to see promotions for the fall shoulder season (the time between the high and low-demand travel seasons). Airline promotions are targeted by geography for obvious reasons, so mine is based out of my hometown of Boston. $300 — $400 isn’t a bad deal for transcontinental travel, but it’s not enough to get me too excited.

Double Miles On Transcontinental Flights, Except…

Alaska Airlines awards miles based on how far you fly, rather than how much money you spend, so you’ll get a big chunk of points regardless of the ticket’s cost.

Okay, here’s what got me going: Alaska Airlines is running a double miles promotion through the end of the year. On many of their transcontinental flights, you get twice as many points for flights between now and the end of the year (Just don’t forget to register.). Two things caught my eye about this Alaska Airlines Promotion:

First and Second – DOUBLE MILES

First, it’s double miles. That goes without saying. Note that Alaska, unlike most airlines, awards miles based on how far you fly, rather than how much money you spend, so you’ll get a big chunk of points regardless of the ticket’s cost.

Second, they are doing double miles out of every city except Seattle, their hub. Seattle has been increasingly competitive since Delta made it a focus city a few years ago but, despite the added flights, demand is still strong. Instead, they’re connecting Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego with the east coast through this promotion.

Alaska has been one of the more passive airlines over time when it comes to competition, but the consolidation of the industry has changed their attitude. In particular, the merger between JetBlue and Virgin America has created a low-cost competitor on transcontinental flights and likely taken some market share. Combine that acquisition with the consolidation of the network carriers and Alaska has had to get more aggressive to maintain share. This Alaska Airlines Promotion is one way of doing so.

Why Do I Want Alaska Airlines Miles?

Not going to Seattle or Alaska? That’s okay. Alaska Airlines still has one of the most useful mileage programs, and it’s all about the partnerships. Alaska is frequently referred to as “the prostitute of the airline industry,” since they’ll partner with just about anyone.

Flying internationally? They’re the perfect currency to have. You can fly around the world on some of the classiest carriers in the world, including Cathay Pacific, Emirates and British Airways. Alaska isn’t in one of the formal airline alliances, but rather, picks and chooses who it works with. You’ll have some great choices to get around the globe.

There’s nothing like a good turf battle when it comes to earning miles. Remember Rule #1 from our eight rules of points and miles. You need to take every opportunity to earn points, even if you rarely use the provider.