119. Alaska Airlines Sweet Spots: Amazing Ways to Use Alaska Miles (That You Might Be Missing)

Point Me To First Class

Devon Gimbel MD

Finances, Education, How To, Travel, Credit, Expenses, Card, Cards, Society & Culture, Professionals, Tips, Personal, Places & Travel, Business, Points, Rewards

5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 June 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have Alaska miles—or thinking of transferring your Amex points before the June 30 deadline?

In this episode, I’m breaking down some of the most valuable ways to redeem Alaska Airlines miles right now. From low-cost domestic redemptions to hard-to-find international business class flights, this guide walks you through the sweet spots that make Alaska’s program one of the most valuable in points travel.

You’ll also learn what not to do with your Alaska miles (even if it looks like a good deal), plus a few rare redemptions that are great in theory—but nearly impossible to actually book.

Whether you already have Alaska miles or you're considering a speculative transfer, this episode will help you use those points with confidence and strategy.

Want more help using your Alaska miles wisely?

Join me for a live workshop on June 21st at 10am CDT where I’ll walk you through the best Alaska Airlines sweet spots and the tools I use to find them fast—so you can stop second-guessing and start booking. Click here to reserve your spot - https://points.pointmetofirstclass.com/offers/g9uBpeJK

Want to shape the show? Take the Point Me To First Class listener survey and share what you love and want more of! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAPfb3wIaphMn_NoQzm_fljydsivTELQwh7pYoxrI2uTFoKQ/viewform?usp=header

Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher than average expenses to travel the world.
0:10.7	I'm your host, Devin Gimble, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset, if you know how to leverage them.
0:17.8	Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel more, travel better, and travel often. Let's get started. Hello, everyone, and
0:31.1	welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode is a bit of a continuation of episode number 117,
0:37.0	which aired two weeks ago
0:38.4	when I talked about speculative points transfers in the context of the American Express
0:43.4	Transfer Partnership with Hawaiian Airlines ending soon on June 30th, 2025, to be exact.
0:49.5	In that episode, I mentioned that I would be covering high value uses of Alaska Airlines
0:54.0	miles in a separate podcast episode, which is exactly what we be covering high value uses of Alaska Airlines miles in a
0:55.0	separate podcast episode, which is exactly what we're going to be talking about today.
0:59.9	I wanted to be sure to get this episode aired before the transfer partnership between American
1:04.6	Express and Hawaiian Airlines ends in just a few weeks on June 30th. For those of you who have
1:09.6	already transferred, Amex points to Alaska
1:12.1	Airlines before this transfer pathway disappears, or for those of you still considering whether
1:17.5	you want to speculatively transfer points from Amex to Alaska, I hope this episode will help
1:23.1	highlight some potential uses of Alaska miles so that you can feel confident that your transferred
1:28.5	miles will be put to good use at some point. But even if you currently have no plans to transfer
1:34.0	Amex points to Alaska, or if you found this episode weeks or months after it airs when we no
1:39.0	longer have the option to transfer Amex points over to Alaska, don't worry. Today's episode can still help you plan an
1:45.5	upcoming award trip by highlighting award sweet spots in the Alaska Airlines program as long as
1:51.0	you have other methods of accruing Alaska Airlines miles. It's my goal that by the end of today's
1:55.8	episode, you'll walk away with a better understanding of just how valuable Alaska Miles can be and where
	...

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