New Alaska Airlines credit card offer – 40,000 miles, $100 credit and a companion fare

If you want to take advantage of the amazing partner award charts available through the Alaska Mileage Plan program, now is the time to start earning Alaska miles. Alaska Airlines has announced it will be joining the oneworld alliance by mid-2021. This will increase the number of partner airlines you can use Alaska miles with, but we don’t know what (if any) changes Alaska will make to its loyalty program.

Alaska is currently one of the few remaining airlines allows a free stopover on one-way award flights and you earn miles based on the distance you fly. That’s why I think this is a great the time to earn and burn Alaska miles. The quickest way to stock up on miles is with a cobranded airline credit card and right now the personal Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card has a great welcome offer of 40,000 bonus miles, a $100 statement credit and a companion fare, which you’ll earn after spending $2,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. Typically, this card offer doesn’t include the $100 statement credit.

Alaska Airlines credit card current offer

The Alaska Airlines credit card has a low $75 annual fee and with this new offer you’ll get a $100 statement credit after meeting the minimum spending requirements. So you’re getting paid $25 to try out the card. I’ll take that deal any day of the week.

On top of that, the companion fare you can earn as part of the intro bonus is also an ongoing benefit. So every year you keep the card you’ll get another companion fare to use that year. The Alaska Airlines companion fare is valid for any coach Alaska Airlines flight and you can bring your companion from $121 ($99 fare, plus taxes and fees from $22). Both travelers will earn miles for the flight and if you have Alaska status, you are still eligible for upgrades.

Even though the companion fare can save you hundreds, the real value in this offer is the 40,000 miles you can earn. It’s not hard to get more than 1.5 cents in value per Alaska mile, which makes this offer worth at least $600. But you can use those miles to book tickets that are more expensive. For example, it costs 30,000 miles for a round-trip award from the contiguous U.S. to Hawaii or a one-way economy flight on American Airlines from the U.S. to Europe. And you can book round-trip awards from anywhere in the U.S. (not including Hawaii) to Alaska for 25,000 miles round-trip or less.

And Alaska miles really get valuable when you have enough to book an international business or first-class award. You could book Qantas or Fiji Airways business class from the U.S. to Australia for only 55,000 miles. Or you could head over to Asia in business class for only 50,000 miles with Cathay Pacific or 60,000 miles with Japan Airlines.

Before you apply for the Alaska Airlines card, make sure you’re eligible. You aren’t eligible for this card if you currently have or have had the card in the previous 24 months. Bank of America also has what is unofficially known as the 2/3/4 rule where it will only approve you for two cards within 30 days, three cards in 12 months and four cards within 24 months. There are also reports that having an existing banking relationship with BOA can increase your odds of being approved.

If you want to learn more about the Alaska Airlines card, you can read our full review here.