Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Ranked Among Best Frequent Flyer Program Of 2024

As first reported by Wallethub, a website targeting individuals who want to make the most out of their spending. Each year, they rank the best frequent flyer programs in the US. Last year’s top program was United’s MileagePlus. The winner of this year’s edition is Mileage Plan, the scheme belonging to Seattle-based oneworld carrier Alaska Airlines.

Related

How To Use Alaska Airlines Miles On Partner Flights: The Simple Flying Guide

Alaska Airlines is famous for having an excellent loyalty program that can be used to book and earn flying on many partner flights.

How are the airlines ranked?

According to the WalletHub website, this is how they rank the US’s best schemes :

Airline Coverage (total score: 15 points)

• Number of US destinations (max score: 10 points)
• Number of International destinations (max score: 5 points)

2. Partner Coverage (total score: 10 points)

• Partner airline earning and redemption (max score: 3 points)
• Number of US destinations of partner airline (max score: 4 points)
• Number of International destinations of partner airline (max score: 3 points)

3. Rewards Value (total score: 20 points) based on

• Amount Spent
• Miles Earned
• Redemption Value:
• Value Per $100 Spent:

4. Earning Policies (total score: 15 points)

• Earning limits (max score: 3 points)
• Earn miles booking through third-party websites (max score: 7 points)
• Retroactive flight credit for members (max score: 4 points)
• Retroactive flight credit for non-members (max score: 1 point)

5. Redemption Policies (total score: 20 points)

• Booking blackout dates (max score: 6 points)
• Booking (max score: 3 points)
• Short-notice booking fee (max score: 3 points)
• Layovers in award flight (max score: 5 points)
• Award-ticket redeposit/cancellation fee (max score: 3 points)

6. Other Features (total score: 20 points)

• Miles expiration (max score: 6 points)
• Expired-mile reactivation (max score: 1 point)
• Ease of achieving elite status (max score: 3 points)
• Transferring miles between accounts (max score: 1 point)
• Valuable membership perks (max score: 6 points)
• Purchasing Miles (max score: 3 points)

Leaderboard

The personal finance website released a table showing the TOP 5 frequent flyer schemes this year in the USA. United Airlines only dropped one position, going to number 2.

Bottom Line

Organizing a comprehensive ranking scheme to determine the best frequent flyer programs is very useful. Especially coming from a personal finance website as frequent flyers, especially those who hold status, can spend tens of thousands of dollars on the carriers each year. However, it is essential to note that even though comprehensive, these rankings are subjective, as customers may prefer AAdvantage over MileagePlus for personal reasons. They are to be used as an indicator to help choose the best program for each reader.

Have you heard of this ranking? What are your thoughts on it? Which airline do you believe should have the top spot? Let us know in the comments.