How to find award seats on any Alaska Airlines partner flight

Did you know that Alaska Airlines miles are useful for much more than flights on Alaska Airlines?

Alaska Airlines has built a unique and valuable alliance with key airlines around the world to help you reach just about anywhere. You can find and book award seats on most partners directly on alaskaair.com. Simply enter your route and travel dates and you’ll see if an award flight is available on its partner airlines, including American Airlines, Japan Airlines and Emirates.

Unfortunately, you can’t use the Alaska Airlines website to find award seats on every single partner — but it’s still possible to redeem your miles for award flights on these airlines, too. I’ll show you how to find award seats you can book using Alaska Airlines miles.

Redeem Alaska Airlines miles for award flights on partner airlines

Alaska Airlines will enter the oneworld alliance by mid-2021. But they’ve already got a You can redeem Alaska Airlines miles for award flights on these partner airlines:

How to search for available seats on most Alaska Airlines partner award flights

Step 1. Go to the Alaska Airlines website and enter flight details

Visit alaskaair.com and enter your origin, destination, travel dates, and number of passengers. Be sure to check “Use Miles” to search for award flights.

I typically recommend searching for one-way award flights to make things simpler. And you don’t need to be logged into your Alaska Airlines account (free to join!) to search for awards.

Step 2. View available partner flights

Alaska will show a list of available award flights for your itinerary and dates. Filter by airline and number of stops to narrow down your results. For example, on a sample search from Los Angeles to Dubai, the results show an Emirates flight with available award seats in coach, business class, and first class.

Step 3. Select flights and book

Once you find the flight you want, select it and book as you normally would for any other Alaska Airlines award flight. If you prefer to book by phone, call Alaska Airlines at 800-252-7522. But keep in mind, if the award flight is bookable online, you’ll pay a $15 call center ticketing fee.

Find award seats on Cathay Pacific LATAM

You can’t see award seats on LATAM flights through the Alaska Airlines website. Instead, use the British Airways website (sign-in required). Then, call Alaska Airlines to book the flight. Here’s a guide to checking for award seats on Cathay Pacific and LATAM.

Step 1. Log into your British Airways Avios account

Log into your British Airways account. It’s free to sign-up if you don’t already have an account.

Step 2. Search for award flights

Next, search flight routes operated by Cathay Pacific or LATAM to see if award seats are available.

For example, I searched for flights from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. And the results show plenty of Cathay Pacific flights with open award seats.

I also found award seats on LATAM flights between Miami to Lima.

The award flight cost using British Airways Avios points can be more or less than what you’ll pay booking with Alaska Airlines miles. It’s a good idea to check the Alaska Airlines award charts to confirm the cost and compare.

Step 3. Call Alaska Airlines to book the flight

If the British Airways website shows there are available award seats on Cathay Pacific or LATAM, you can book them using Alaska Airlines miles. Just call Alaska Airlines at 800-252-7522 and provide them with the flight details you found from your search.

Because these seats can’t be booked online, you can ask them to waive the phone ticketing fee. You might have to pay anyway, but it never hurts to ask.

Want more Alaska Airlines miles?

A quick way to earn Alaska Airlines miles is to sign-up for:

• Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card – Limited-time offer: Get a $100 statement credit, 40,000 Alaska Airlines miles, plus Companion Fare™ from $121 ($99 fare, plus taxes and fees from $22) after making $2,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.
• Alaska Airlines Visa® Business credit card – 40,000 Alaska Airlines miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from just $22) with this offer. To qualify, make purchases of $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of opening your account

You can also transfer Marriott points to airlines, Alaska included. Alaska Airlines doesn’t partner with points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards points or Amex Membership Rewards points, but you can transfer Marriott points at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000 mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer.

Read our full guide to learn how to earn Alaska Airlines miles.

Bottom line

Use alaskaair.com to search and book award seats on most of Alaska Airline’s partner airlines. This includes flights on Emirates, Icelandair, Japan Airlines and many others. For the time being, you won’t find available award seats on Cathay Pacific or LATAM using the Alaska Airlines website. Instead, search on the website of another oneworld airline, such as British Airways. When you spot available seats, call Alaska Airlines at 800-252-7522 to redeem miles for your flight. Have your flight number, dates, times, etc. ready to feed the phone agent.

Before you search for award flights, check the Alaska Airlines award charts to confirm the cost.

If you’re looking to earn Alaska Airlines miles, you can sign-up for the Bank of America Alaska Airlines card or transfer transfer Marriott points to your Alaska Airlines account.