Master Chart: Here Are The Best Ways To Book Every American Or Alaska Award Flight Within The US And Canada!

The OneWorld alliance, which includes Alaska and American Airlines, is blessed with many distance-based mileage programs.

Traditionally, mileage programs were region based, which meant that short-haul flights within the US could be a poor value.

British Airways was an innovator in 2011 when they launched Avios. With just 4,500 Avios and $2.50, you could fly on short-haul flights on AA within the US. Combined with a credit card offer that broke the 100K barrier, it propelled many Americans into the mileage hobby.

Alas, inflation has hit hard and the cheapest BA Avios award is now 12,000 Avios+$5.60. But there are plenty of other OneWorld programs to focus on.

The point of a mileage ticket is to try to get outsized value compared to paid rates. You’ll always want to compare the paid rates versus the mileage rates to determine if you’re getting a good value for your miles.

Before you book an award ticket, you should always compare the rates that partner airlines charge. Each program charges a different amount of miles, based on their award charts.

Below is a guide for how many miles One World carriers charge to fly on partner American or Alaska flights. American has variable pricing, so they’re not included in this chart.

• A few notes and tips on the chart below:
  1. Pricing is one-way, however note that you must book round-trip to get the rates below when using JAL miles. All other airlines allow one-way travel for the same price as round-trip travel.
  2. Pricing in this chart is only valid within the US and Canada.
  3. Pricing is distance based for all programs except for Finnair. You can search distances between any airports on GCmap.com. For example, a flight between Los Angeles and Miami is 2,342 miles, so use the 2,101-2,400 mileage band to find what each airline would charge for that flight.
  4. Pricing is based on partner award space being released by the airline. Alaska has a mileage award calendar that can be helpful in finding dates with award space. You can also use the American calendar and dates that cost fewer miles are more likely to have award space that can be booked by partner airlines. The BA site is also a good place to search for award space.
  5. If you have AA miles, be sure to check what they charge as well, as that number will be variable.
  6. You can combine Avios via this link via the BA site between BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair, and Qatar.
  7. Qatar’s site can be tricky to use for partner awards. See this post for instructions.
  8. Qatar’s site doesn’t show space on American Eagle regional flights. You can search for that space on the BA site and then call Qatar to book it. If the phone agents won’t book it after a couple of tries, you can book a mainline flight online and call to change it to a regional flight for a $25 (optional) fee.
  9. You will have to contact Finnair to book awards on American. Readers report better success chatting on the Finnair site rather than calling them.
  10. Awards on American and Alaska always book into standard economy, there are no basic economy awards.
  11. Changes and cancellations must be done more than 24 hours before flight time for many partner airlines. Fees listed have been converted into USD at current exchange rates.
  12. Always check for transfer bonuses, which can change the math for which partner to use.
  13. Iberia charges the same rates as British Airways, but they don’t allow changes or cancellations on partner travel, so there’s no reason to ever use that program for partner awards and they have been excluded from the chart below.
  14. BA and Qatar charge a separate mileage fee for each flight segment, while others allow connecting flights at no additional charge. If you are taking a connection, that will change the math between flight options significantly.

Flight Distance	Sample routes	Coach	Business	First
1-500	Cleveland-NYC Pittsburgh-NYC Toronto-NYC	Alaska 4,500 Etihad 6,000 JAL 6,000 Qantas 8,000 Qatar 9,500 Finnair 11,000 BA 12,000	Alaska 9,000 JAL 12,000 Qantas 18,400 Qatar 20,000 Etihad 20,000 BA 24,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000	-
501-600	Cincinnati-NYC	Alaska 4,500 JAL 7,500 Qantas 8,000 Qatar 9,500 Finnair 11,000 BA 12,000 Etihad 12,000	Alaska 9,000 JAL 15,000 Qantas 18,400 Qatar 20,000 BA 24,000 Etihad 25,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000	-
601-650	Dallas-Denver	Alaska 4,500 JAL 7,500 Qatar 9,500 Finnair 11,000 BA 12,000 Etihad 12,000 Qantas 12,000	Alaska 9,000 JAL 15,000 Qatar 20,000 BA 24,000 Etihad 25,000 Qantas 27,600 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Finnair (Alaska flights) 40,000	-
651-700	Chicago-Philadelphia New Orleans-Miami	Alaska 4,500 JAL 7,500 Finnair 11,000 Etihad 12,000 Qantas 12,000 Qatar 13,000 BA 16,000	Alaska 9,000 JAL 15,000 Etihad 25,000 Qatar 27,000 Qantas 27,600 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 BA 32,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000	-
701-1,000	Chicago-NYC Houston-Miami	Alaska 7,500 JAL 7,500 Finnair 11,000 Etihad 12,000 Qantas 12,000 Qatar 13,000 BA 16,000	Alaska 15,000 JAL 15,000 Etihad 25,000 Qatar 27,000 Qantas 27,600 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 BA 32,000 Finnair (Alaska flights) 40,000	-
1,001-1,151	Miami-NYC Miami-Cleveland	Alaska 7,500 Finnair 11,000 JAL 11,500 Qantas 12,000 Qatar 13,000 Etihad 15,000 BA 16,000	Alaska 15,000 JAL 21,000 Qatar 27,000 Qantas 27,600 Etihad 30,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 BA 32,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000	-
1,152-1,200	Miami-Chicago	Alaska 7,500 Finnair 11,000 JAL 11,500 Qantas 12,000 Qatar 14,500 Etihad 15,000 BA 18,000	Alaska 15,000 JAL 21,000 Qantas 27,600 Etihad 30,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Qatar 34,000 BA 40,000 Finnair (Alaska flights) 40,000	-
1,201-1,400	NYC-Dallas Miami-Kansas City	Alaska 7,500 Finnair 11,000 JAL 11,500 Qatar 14,500 Etihad 15,000 BA 18,000	Alaska 15,000 JAL 21,000 Etihad 30,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Qatar 34,000 BA 40,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000 Qantas 41,500	-
1,401-1,500	Dallas-Hartford Seattle-Anchorage	Finnair 11,000 JAL 11,500 Alaska 12,500 Qatar 14,500 Etihad 15,000 BA 18,000 Qantas 18,000	JAL 21,000 Alaska 25,000 Etihad 30,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Qatar 34,000 BA 40,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000 Qantas 41,500	-
1,501-2,000	Chicago-LA	Finnair 11,000 JAL 11,500 Alaska 12,500 Qatar 14,500 BA 18,000 Qantas 18,000 Etihad 23,000	JAL 21,000 Alaska 25,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 Qatar 34,000 BA 40,000 Etihad 40,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000 Qantas 41,500	-
2,001-2,100	Phoenix-Philadelphia	Finnair 11,000 Alaska 12,500 Qatar 16,000 Qantas 18,000 JAL 18,500 BA 20,000 Etihad 28,000	Alaska 25,000 Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 JAL 30,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000 Qantas 41,500 Qatar 43,000 BA 50,000 Etihad 50,000	-
2,101-2,400	NYC-Phoenix	Finnair 11,000 Qatar 16,000 Alaska 17,500 Qantas 18,000 JAL 18,500 BA 20,000 Etihad 28,000	Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 JAL 30,000 Alaska 35,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000 Qantas 41,500 Qatar 43,000 BA 50,000 Etihad 50,000	-
2,401-2,500	NYC-LA NYC-Seattle	Finnair 11,000 Qatar 16,000 Alaska 17,500 JAL 18,500 BA 20,000 Qantas 20,300 Etihad 28,000	Finnair (AA flights) 30,000 JAL 30,000 Alaska 35,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights) 40,000 Qatar 43,000 BA 50,000 Etihad 50,000 Qantas 57,000	Finnair 30,000 JAL 45,000 Alaska 52,500 Etihad 67,000 Qatar 70,000 BA 80,000 Qantas 85,500
2,501-3,000	LA-Honolulu Phoenix-Honolulu Chicago-Anchorage NYC-San Francisco	Finnair (US49/Canada) 11,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights Hawaii) 13,500 Finnair (AA flights Hawaii) 15,000 Qatar 16,000 Alaska 17,500 JAL 18,500 BA 20,000 Qantas 20,300 Etihad 34,000	Finnair (AA flights US49/Canada) 30,000 JAL 30,000 Alaska 35,000 Finnair (AA flights Hawaii) 38,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights US49/Canada) 40,000 Qatar 43,000 BA 50,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights Hawaii) 50,500 Qantas 57,000 Etihad 60,000	Finnair 30,000 JAL 45,000 Alaska 52,500 Qatar 70,000 BA 80,000 Etihad 80,000 Qantas 85,500
3,001-3,600	Dallas-Anchorage	Finnair (US49/Canada) 11,000 Finnair (Hawaii) 15,000 Alaska 17,500 Qantas 20,300 BA/Qatar 20,750 JAL 22,500 Etihad 45,000	Finnair (AA flights US49/Canada) 30,000 Alaska 35,000 Finnair (AA flights Hawaii) 38,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights US49/Canada) 40,000 JAL 40,000 Qantas 57,000 BA/Qatar 62,000 Etihad 80,000	-
3,601-4,000	Dallas-Honolulu Dallas-Maui	Finnair (US49/Canada) 11,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights Hawaii) 13,500 Finnair (AA flights Hawaii) 15,000 Alaska 17,500 BA/Qatar 20,750 JAL 22,500 Qantas 25,200 Etihad 45,000	Finnair (AA flights US49/Canada) 30,000 Alaska 35,000 Finnair (AA flights Hawaii) 38,000 JAL 40,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights US49/Canada) 40,000 Finnair (Alaska Air flights Hawaii) 50,500 BA/Qatar 62,000 Qantas 68,400 Etihad 80,000	-

 

How do you book or get these miles? What will it cost to change a ticket? Find that info below:

Mileage program	Booking method	Mileage transfer options	Award fees
American	Online	Marriott 60K:20K	Booking fee: $0 Change fee: $0 anytime before departure Cancel fee: $0 anytime before departure
Alaska	Online	Marriott 60K:25K	Booking fee: $12.50 each way, non-refundable Change fee: $0 anytime before departure Cancel fee: $0 anytime before departure
British Airways	Online	AMEX, Chase, Capital One, or Citi 1:1 instantly. Marriott 60K:25K Transfer instantly between BA, Finnair, Iberia, or Qatar.	Booking fee: $0 Change fee: $5.60 each way on domestic awards, up to 24 hours before departure (Up to $55 international) Cancel fee: $5.60 each way on domestic awards, up to 24 hours before departure (Up to $55 international)
Etihad	Online	AMEX, Capital One, or Citi 1:1 instantly. Marriott 60K:25K	Booking fee: $14-$24 each way Change fee: $27 Cancel fee: 25% of miles used >21 days, 50% of miles used 8-21 days, 75% of miles used 1-7 days before departure.
Finnair	Chat or call	AMEX, Chase, Capital One, or Citi 1:1 instantly. Marriott 60K:25K Transfer instantly between BA, Finnair, Iberia, or Qatar.	Booking fee: $0 Change fee: $5.60 each way on domestic awards, up to 24 hours before departure (Up to $55 international) Cancel fee: $5.60 each way on domestic awards, up to 24 hours before departure (Up to $55 international)
Iberia	Online	AMEX, Chase, Capital One, or Citi 1:1 instantly. Marriott 60K:25K Transfer instantly between BA, Finnair, Iberia, or Qatar.	Booking fee: $0 Change fee: Not allowed Cancel fee: Not allowed
JAL	Online	Marriott 60K:25K	Booking fee: $0 Change fee: Not allowed Cancel fee: $21, up to 3 hours before departure
Qatar	Online for Alaska or AA mainline flights, call for American Eagle regional flights	AMEX, Chase, Capital One, or Citi 1:1 instantly. Marriott 60K:25K Transfer instantly between BA, Finnair, Iberia, or Qatar.	Booking fee: $5 Change fee: $25 up to 24 hours before departure (Optional) Cancel fee: $25 up to 24 hours before departure, $100 within 3-24 hours before departure
Qantas	Online	AMEX, Capital One, or Citi 1:1 instantly. Marriott 60K:25K	Booking fee: $0 Change fee: 5,000 points Cancel fee: 6,000 points up to 24 hours before departure

 

Want to earn miles? Pick up a credit card or 3 to get on your way!

Open a new Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card and you can get Buy One, Get One + 50,000 Bonus Miles! Buy one ticket, get one for just the taxes and fees ($0 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) and get 50,000 bonus miles with this offer. To qualify, make $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account.

 

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 90K signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• Limited time offer: Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a $900 in the form of 90K point signup bonus for spending $6K in 3 months, and earns 1.5 points per dollar on business purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a 35K signup bonus for spending $3K in 3 months and another 40K signup bonus points for spending another $3K in 6 months for a total of 75,000 Chase Ultimate points, plus if you have a Chase business checking account open on the card's first anniversary you will get a 10% points bonus on all earnings from card spending, this card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus that earns an extra 1.5% cash back in the form of 1.5 points per dollar everywhere on up to $20K of spending during your first year, on top of at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through  Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points to miles include, select benefits require enrollment via your AMEX account. Terms apply to offers on this page:

• AMEX Blue Business Plus is offering a rare bonus to earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership and offers 2 points per dollar spent on up to $50K spending annually 1 point per dollar thereafter, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive.  Read more here.
• AMEX Platinum Business is offering a 150K bonus for spending $20,000 in 3 months and offers over $1,000 in annual credits, lounge access, and much more. Read more here.
• AMEX Gold Business Card is offering a 100K bonus for spending $15,000 in 3 months and offers up to $240 in annual business credits, Walmart+ membership, up to 4 points per dollar spent with a $150K annual spend cap, and more benefits. Read more here.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express is offering a 80K bonus for spending $8,000 in 6 months and offers over $1,000 in annual credits, lounge access, and much more. Terms apply. Read more here.
• American Express® Gold Card is offering a 60K bonus for spending $6,000 in 6 months, 20% back in statement credits for restaurants worldwide, up to $100 back-Complete Offer: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, receive 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants worldwide within the first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $100 back. Limited time offer. Offer ends 11/6/24. Terms apply. Read more here. 
• AMEX Green Consumer Card is offering a 40K bonus for spending $3,000 in 6 months and offers up to $189 in annual CLEAR Plus® credits, $100 LoungeBuddy credit, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive.
• AMEX Everyday Preferred Consumer Card is offering a 15K bonus for spending $2,000 in 6 months and offers 4.5 points per dollar on up to $6K in annual groceries when you use card 30 times that month, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive.
• AMEX Everyday Consumer Card is offering a 10K bonus for spending $2,000 in 6 months and offers 2.4 points per dollar on up to $6K in annual groceries when you use card 20 times that month, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. All information about the AMEX Green, AMEX Everyday Preferred, AMEX Everyday has been collected independently by DansDeals.

Capital One cards with transferable points include:

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, Hertz President's Circle status, free lounge access and status for free additional cardholders, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
• Capital One Venture X Business is offering 150,000 bonus miles for spending $30K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Enhanced Priority Pass Lounge membership, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
• Limited time offer: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus get a $250 Capital One travel credit for use in your first cardholder year, plus 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, transfer points to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $95 annual fee. Read more here. 
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is offering 20,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in 3 months, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No annual fee.
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business is offering 50,000 bonus miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, Global Entry/PreCheck, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• New offer: Capital One Spark Cash Plus is offering $2,000 cash back (convertible to 200,000 miles) for spending $30,000 in 3 months, plus get another $2,000 cash back for every $500K spent in your first year, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, annual fee refund when you spend $150K/year, and more. $150 annual fee.

Marriott AMEX cards include:

• Limited time offer: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is offering 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. Read more here.
• Limited time offer: Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card is offering 155,000 point bonus offer for spending $5,000 in 6 months. Read more here.
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is offering 3 Free Night Awards after you spend $6,000 in 6 months.

How do you book AA or Alaska award travel?