Alaska Airlines to Join Oneworld Alliance in 2021 - What Does It Mean for Members Based in Asia?

Just hours ago, Alaska Airlines announced plans to join the oneworld alliance in Summer 2021. They will also be expanding their global reach with American Airlines (which was initially scheduled to end in March 2020) and improving their rewards for members when travelling on either airline in phases. Back in October 2019, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can finally utilise their miles on SQ-metal and even though that came with a number of implementation issues at the start (e.g. loopholes where members could exploit), I have concluded that it was still a good idea to credit revenue Business Class flights into the program as MVP Gold status with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan can still offer plenty of benefits for someone based in Asia.

Click HERE to find out how to double-dip on PPS Value and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Status when flying on Singapore Airlines!

If you are interested in acquiring Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, they have been running a bonus on purchased miles a handful of times each year. Most of these bonuses average out at 40%, but the highest that I have seen is 50% so do look out for that if you are interested in purchasing some. At the time of writing, you can purchase Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles with a 40% bonusand this brings down your cost of redemption significantly if you use it wisely (think Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines!). Since Alaska Airlines does not currently belong to an airline alliance, it has a wide variety of partners which makes it an interesting programme to be invested in. As mentioned previously, Singapore Airlines is currently a partner with Alaska Airlines - you can earn and redeem miles when flying on either airline - and I have been crediting all my revenue Business Class flights into the program since it not only gives me more miles (which are worth more on certain redemption routes), but also allows me to double-dip in earning both PPS Value and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles on my flights.

There are a handful of existing Alaska Airlines partners that belong to the oneworld alliance so if everything goes according to plan, members should be able to continue earning and redeeming miles on these partners. Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines is part of Star Alliance and even though award space redemption started only late last year, it is highly likely that the partnership will be discontinued (as least on where award spaces are concerned).

Photo Credit: Alaska Airlines

There are currently three elite status levels on the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan programme and you will be able to qualify either by flying on Alaska Airlines, a combination of Alaska Airlines and elite-qualifying partners or by flight segments. When Alaska Airlines joins oneworld alliance in Summer 2021, eligible elite members will also get to enjoy reciprocal benefits when flying on an alliance partner airline and it is highly likely that the following oneworld status will be accorded:

• MVP = oneworld Ruby

• MVP Gold = oneworld Sapphire (Business Class Lounge Access)

• MVP Gold 75K = oneword Emerald (First Class Lounge Access)

Photo Credit: oneworld

For now, it really depends on how many and how quickly existing non-oneworld airline partnerships end with Alaska Airlines. I would personally still credit all eligible revenue Business Class flights to the program as I do have quite a number of flights planned with airline partners. While I do not typically travel on oneworld partners from Singapore, I would be interested to see how it all pans out. Besides, if I were to hit MVP Gold this year with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan once again, I should be able to enjoy my oneworld Sapphire benefits for the whole of 2021 (whenever it joins oneworld alliance officially) which should be interesting.