Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Guide: Earn & Use Miles Easily

Do Alaska Airlines Miles Expire?

No, Alaska Airlines miles do not expire as long as your Mileage Plan account remains open and active. So, whether you have taken many years or a couple of months to earn the miles or whether you fly rarely, the miles in your Alaska Airlines mileage plan account are precious in every way.

However, if you haven't flown anywhere recently, you might wonder how long those miles can survive without any use before they disappear completely. To answer your question, do Alaska Airlines miles expire? You need to stay till the end of this guide to learn about this very policy. 

Coming back to the question, the Alaska Airlines miles never expire for both frequent and infrequent travelers. Nevertheless, keep in mind that Alaska miles don?t really expire, but your account can be locked. The thing is, if your account is inactive for longer than two years, it may be frozen. This is done for security reasons, so in case you are being locked out after 24 months, you can very easily you can reverse the action. Just reach out to the Alaska Airlines customer care department and confirm your identity, following which your ID will be unlocked. And when that happens, all of your miles will be reactive for your use. 

Does Alaska Airlines Close My Account?

Be aware that Alaska Mileage Plan members have a year only after the account inactivation, that is, a total of three years' time after your last account activity to reactivation. And after that tenure, if your account is still locked and there has been no activity and no action you have taken to unlock the account, your account will be closed and you will lose your unused miles. So be alert and keep on checking your email ID for deactivation mail from the airlines to act quickly against it. 

If you don't want to deal with the headache of an inactive or closed account, keep your Mileage Plan account active. The only requirement is that you redeem or earn miles at least once every 24 months.

You can do so by flying with Alaska or one of its airline partners (one-way tickets start at 5,000 miles, according to Alaska's reward system), but there are numerous more ways to keep your points active.

This includes using Alaska's Mileage Plan shopping or dining portal, booking a qualifying hotel stay, or renting cars from partner firms. It is likely that you will be able to maintain your account operating with minimal effort against the Alaska miles expiration.

How Do I Keep My Alaska Airlines Miles From Expiring?

Now, to keep your Alaska Airlines miles active, one has to either earn or redeem the earned miles at least once every 24 months when you book your tickets with Alaska Airlines or even with its partner airlines as well. Another way is that you can use the Money and Miles option to book a ticket with a combination of cash and miles and save up to 50% on most fares (except the cheapest Saver fares), use miles to upgrade to first class starting at 15,000 miles, or buy miles for yourself or share them with someone else who has a Mileage Plan account. 

How Long Are Alaska Airlines Miles Good For?

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles will not expire as long as your account is valid and active. Be mindful that your account may be suspended after two years of inactivity and canceled after three years of no action, such as earning or redeeming, which might result in Alaska Airlines miles expiring. Alaska Airlines may also terminate your account if you breach the program's terms. 

The Perks of Earning Alaska Miles

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles come with a myriad of valuable benefits for travelers, enabling them to create an enjoyable experience on domestic or international trips. The major perk is the wide scope of redemption options. Alaska Airlines has been allied with global premium carriers such as Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, and British Airways, with miles usable for flight tickets to over 800 destinations worldwide. This gives one-way earnings on miles that can actually travel far beyond Alaska Airlines." 

Second is a rewarding system. Compared to a number of other airline loyalty programs, the Alaska Mileage Plan program rewards you with more miles per flight, especially on premium class and partner airline tickets. Moreover, throughout the year, there are certain promotions and exclusive discounts on mileage redemptions available for Mileage Plan members.

Frequent flyers can establish elite status that allows benefits such as priority boarding, free checked bags, preferred seating, and free upgrades. The less frequent flyers get their benefits via redeeming miles for hotel stays, car rentals, or magazine subscriptions.

Conclusion

By now, you must have no confusion about Alaska miles expiration. However, your account will be deactivated if it has not been active via earning or redeeming miles in two years' time, and then it will be closed after three years. Every scenario has been explained. If you have some doubts, then feel free to connect with the airlines directly at 1-800-ALASKAAIR (1-800-252-7522).

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