Alaska has announced that a premium card is coming in the Summer of 2025. They’ve given us just little bits of information so far, but in this episode, we’ll talk about what those details are.
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Coffee Break: Alaska’s fascinating premium card (Coming Summer 2025)
(00:37) – Pre-register by 12/31/24. Get 500 miles now, 5K extra miles later if/when you sign up for card.
(01:18) – Basic details…annual fee of $395 and earn Global Companion Award Certificates
(04:54) – Receive waived award ticket fees ($12.50 partner award fee, not surcharges)
(05:16) – Earn 3x miles on eligible foreign purchases
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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does anyone know how long it takes for those 500 alaska miles to hit your account once you pre-register for the premium CC?
Today I am using AS miles to search flights between Paris and Seville for May of next year. I expect some IB flights connecting in MAD. To my utter surprise, no IB flights, but the following flights are available for 7.5k in economy and 15k in business:
Royal Air Maroc from Paris to Casablanca, overnight in Casablanca, then onward to Seville.
This is almost the replica of Virgin’s intra EU awards on AF/KL metal.
I am puzzled as how this pricing conforms to AS model. i thought their pricing is not just based on the distance between origin and destination, therefore the above shouldn’t be possible?
It is an interesting proposition. As others mentioned, waiting to see what the status benefits entail will probably be a good move. However, I find this interesting with respect to hotel spending. Would you rather put 60k through an Aspire for two uncapped FNCs or toward this type of companion cert? It might be a push in terms of value. For people that allocate spending to the Hyatt cards for status, would you rather have these certs or the Hyatt milestone benefits? Obviously spending for sign up bonuses is going to be better, but for people with a lot of spending, maybe this becomes more interesting than some of the other options?
The other potential consideration is the Bilt partnership. Right now, the BoA Alaska card can earn 3 miles per $1 on rent with a 3% fee. If you have 2k in rent every month, that would be $24000 pushed through the card already. If you only have to push another $36000 through the card to pick up a second Companion Cert, does that spend start to become much more reasonable and still leave room for sign-up bonus hunting?
any speculation on eligibility for the card? Considering applying for one or both of the Hawaian/Alaskan cards this month but don’t want to miss out on the premium card next year.
The way I look at $395 for 25K mile cert is from the angle of acquisition cost of AS miles. You are signing up for an annual miles subscription, not unlike what Avianca or Air France try to sell monthly. Now, that works out to 1.58cpp. Until the HA merger opens up a few back doors, the lowest purchasing price of AS miles is about 1.75cpp. Once AS shut the Amex transfer and HA miles sale, the 1.58cpp cost, adjusted for use-it-or-lose-it certificate form, probably will still be on par to 1.75 cpp.
And, if a person ends up not using the companion certificate, it takes about $7500 in non-US spending at 3X to break even on the annual fee.
For me, AA has an easy path to One World Emerald. Alaska currently doesn’t. In spite of what’s been revealed, this new card’s economics don’t excite me. But, if this new card provides an easier path to OWE, fine.
Hey Greg and Nick, if you forget about the annual fees, would you rather earn 3x AS miles on international purchases or 3x with US Bank Altitude Reserve using Apple Pay / Google Pay on international purchases?
Or 2x on Venture transferred to Emirates for a 6 CPP redemption? It all depends on the individual.
6 CPP? That sounds might nice. With very good availability and not hunting around the best I can think of for Alaska miles is 3 CPP or so with Condor in business class. Care to say where the 6 CPP comes from?
For AS miles, there is always CUN- SCL for 35K on LATAM business. That is 4.5 cpp. And it regularly has 6 available seats each flight!
Grant suggested using another card for potentially greater value . . . the US Bank Altitude Reserve to achieve (ultimately) 4.5 percent cash back on non-US purchases. Grant’s suggestion could be applied towards Alaska airfare or some alternative travel expenses. There’s flexibility.
Along the same line, I’ve suggested using the Capital One Venture (or Spark Miles) to achieve 2X on non-US purchases, which some people might transfer to Emirates. Certain redemptions on Emirates (and certain other airlines) can realize 6 cents per point. That’s a 12 percent overall reward rate. Not everyone is targeting such redemptions but some are. Try playing around with mock redemptions to find such routes.
Alternatively, transfer to Flying Blue with a 20 or 25 percent transfer bonus. I typically get 2.5 CPP or more on Air France. That’s a 6 percent overall reward rate. (Sometimes as high as 4 CPP.) Again, play around with mock bookings to find such routes.
Yes, it foregoes earning Alaska points. But, to some, there can be equal or greater earning potential. And, as Greg and Nick mentioned, there’s a certain (subjective) value to the flexibility of transferable points.
Just trying to add perspective.