Travel

How to avoid wasting a whole bunch on flights with the Alaska Airlines Companion Fare

January 25, 2023

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A choose group of airline bank cards tout companion certificates advantages. Generally talking, these perks will let you carry a good friend or member of the family alongside at a steep low cost (or in some circumstances, practically free) once you guide a qualifying ticket. They are sometimes issued yearly for renewing the relevant card.

But are these perks actually as nice as they appear?

In this information, we’ll deal with one such profit and share precisely find out how to use the Alaska Airlines companion fare provided on the Alaska Airlines Visa® bank card and the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business card, together with some methods for benefiting from it.

Alaska companion fare overview

The companion fare on these playing cards is comparatively easy. For a set greenback quantity (plus obligatory taxes and costs), you’ll be able to carry alongside a journey companion on an Alaska Airlines flight.

You can obtain a companion fare in two methods: as a part of a welcome bonus and for annually you maintain the cardboard. Currently, the welcome provides for the private and enterprise playing cards are:

Alaska Visa bank card : New candidates will earn 70,000 bonus miles, plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23), after you spend $3,000 or extra inside the first 90 days of opening your account.
Alaska Visa Business: New candidates will earn 40,000 bonus miles, plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $22) with this supply after making $2,000 or extra in purchases inside the first 90 days of opening your account.

Then you’ll be able to obtain an additional companion fare for annually you maintain the cardboard. On the enterprise model, you will get this mechanically annually; on the private card, you will need to spend $6,000 or extra on purchases inside the prior anniversary 12 months to unlock this profit.

It’s vital to notice that the companion fare is barely legitimate on Alaska-operated flights. While Alaska has some terrific airline companions that offer you entry to some improbable award redemptions like Cathay Pacific top notch, you’ll be able to’t make the most of the companion low cost on these different carriers — and this has remained constant since Alaska joined the Oneworld alliance.

The profit additionally carries some extra restrictions and gadgets of word, as laid out on the service’s companion fare FAQ web page:

Both you and your companion have to be booked on the identical itinerary on the similar time.
The certificates is legitimate for coach journey solely, although the tickets are eligible for upgrades.
The companion fare have to be redeemed on alaskaair.com by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the expiration date, which is mostly 12 months after being issued (although journey can happen after the expiration date).
Both vacationers accrue miles on the tickets.
There aren’t any blackout dates.
You don’t have to be one of many vacationers to make use of your companion fare. However, you should use your Alaska card to pay for the tickets. (More particulars underneath “Book for friends or family members” afterward within the information.)

If you’re nonetheless ready for the catch, let me prevent a while. There actually isn’t one; this perk actually is a terrific possibility to economize yearly on an Alaska Airlines flight.

When do you obtain the companion fare?

As far as timing goes, the phrases point out that the primary 12 months’s companion fare will publish to your Mileage Plan account six to eight weeks after qualifying for the sign-up bonus by reaching the minimal spending necessities. However, after I added the cardboard to my pockets in 2018, I acquired the low cost code simply six days after my qualifying assertion closed, so that you hopefully gained’t be caught ready.

After 12 months one, the phrases point out that you just’ll obtain the companion code inside two billing cycles after your anniversary date, which (for some purpose) “will fall approximately six to eight weeks after the date on which you originally open[ed] your credit card account.” However, my expertise is a bit quicker than that timeline.

My private expertise of receiving the companion fare

I initially opened my account on July 3, 2018, so I anticipated my companion fare annually to reach in mid-to-late August. However, every subsequent fare has posted a bit earlier, even earlier than the $75 annual payment hit my account:

My 2019 fare posted to my account on July 29, 2019 — lower than 4 weeks after my account anniversary.
My 2020 fare posted to my account on July 22, 2020.
My 2021 fare posted to my account on July 21, 2021.
My 2022 fare posted to my account on July 21, 2022.

My expertise has additionally proven that you just gained’t obtain notification of its arrival, so that you’ll must periodically test by yourself.

How do you utilize the Alaska Visa companion fare?

When it comes time to really use the companion fare you’ve earned on the Alaska Airlines Visa bank card or the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card, the reserving course of is comparatively easy. For starters, it’s vital to notice that the profit takes the type of a reduction code that’s mechanically deposited into your account. To discover it, merely log in to your Mileage Plan account, discover the low cost and companion fare codes part on the profile homepage and see when you’ve got a sound code.

The precise code can be a sequence of letters and numbers instantly beneath the “Shop” icon (which I’ve blurred out within the image under):

To begin the search course of, click on the “Shop” icon to go on to Alaska’s search engine. The companion fare code ought to be mechanically copied into the Discount or companion fare code area (once more, mine is blurred out right here):

From there, enter your search standards and click on “Find Flights,” and ensure that you solely have two passengers chosen. If you attempt to guide for greater than that, you’ll get an error message like this:

I discovered this when attempting to guide a flight for me (the cardholder), my spouse and my daughter. To get round this limitation, I merely booked my daughter and me collectively to make use of the companion fare after which created a separate reservation for my spouse.

Once you’ve initiated the search, the outcomes web page will flag eligible itineraries with a inexperienced icon subsequent to the value:

Find the flight you need and click on “Add to Cart.” The abstract web page will point out that your base fare is the common worth, however your companion fare is simply $99 (or $0, in case you’re utilizing the first-year profit on the private Alaska Visa Signature).

Expect to pay no less than $22 extra to cowl extra taxes and costs to your companion, together with:

U.S. flight section tax.
U.S. passenger facility cost.
U.S. September 11 safety payment.
Any state or country-specific charges (e.g., U.S. Alaska/Hawaii departure tax).

In the above instance, the entire for 2 passengers involves $722.83. However, if I take away the companion fare code, the value jumps to $1,174.40.

In different phrases, on this pattern round-trip itinerary from Orlando (MCO) to Seattle (SEA), the profit saves $451.57 — greater than six occasions the private card’s $75 annual payment.

How do you maximize the companion fare?

So how do you benefit from this companion ticket profit on the Alaska Airlines Visa card? Well, it’s really fairly exhausting to not get a whole lot of worth from it. The private Alaska Visa Signature card carries a $95 annual payment, whereas the Alaska Visa Business card is $70 for the corporate and $25 for every card on the account.

Meanwhile, outdoors of limited-time provides, your companion’s ticket will sometimes value $121 ($99 + ~$22 in taxes and costs). As a consequence, you’ll must guide a ticket with a base fare of greater than $196 to get extra worth than you’re paying.

This could also be tougher on quick hops up and down the West Coast, however in case you’re trying to fly additional — probably even to Hawaii — it’s fairly simple to discover a ticket at this degree to come back out forward.

However, there are a number of methods to stretch the worth of this even additional:

Include an open jaw

One of the very best issues concerning the Alaska companion fare is that you just’re not restricted to a easy, round-trip itinerary. You can guide a one-way ticket, however you’d in all probability get essentially the most worth by utilizing it in different methods. The first priceless various is to construct in an open jaw, whereby you fly into one metropolis and again out of a unique one, permitting you to see two locations on a single ticket. This ticket would nonetheless be eligible for the companion fare profit.

To accomplish this, observe the identical directions above: log in to your account, go to the Discount and companion fare codes part and click on Shop. From the search web page, change from Round-trip to Multi-city and enter your search standards. The outcomes will once more present you that your companion profit is being utilized.

Let’s say you wanted to guide a flight from New York-JFK to the West Coast, and also you needed to fly into Portland (PDX) however then again out of Seattle (SEA). When you enter these parameters into the search fields, it means that you can mix these two flights right into a single itinerary and leverage the companion fare profit.

To get between the 2 cities, you could possibly decide up a one-way rental automobile, take Amtrak or think about using the next technique for maximizing this perk.

Include a stopover

Instead of being pressured to “fill” the open jaw between the 2 cities within the above instance, you could possibly fill it with a flight and embody a stopover. In this case, your itinerary turns into a flight from New York to Seattle with a stopover in Portland. While you do should pay to your ticket and any extra taxes and costs for the companion’s added flight, you’re extending the worth of the profit even additional.

Here’s what the mixed itinerary would appear to be:

If you eliminated the companion code, the value for this itinerary jumps to $1,280.42, supplying you with practically $500 value of worth on a single ticket.

Of course, you could possibly additionally mix an open jaw and a stopover to increase the worth even additional. For instance, let’s say you have been flying out of Orlando (MCO) and needed to go to Hawaii after which cease in Portland in your manner again residence. Since the Aloha State is such a trek from Florida, you wish to go to each Maui and Oahu, and also you discover a low cost one-way flight between the 2 islands.

Here are your multi-city search parameters:

Orlando (MCO) to Kahului (OGG).
Honolulu (HNL) to Portland (PDX).
Portland (PDX) to Orlando (MCO).

And right here’s a pattern of the itinerary you’d have:

This journey provides you an in a single day layover in San Diego, eight nights in Hawaii — break up nevertheless you’d like between the islands — and 5 nights in Portland. In this instance, eradicating the companion code would trigger the value to leap from $1,354.47 to $2,368.76, supplying you with an unbelievable worth of over $1,000.

Now, I do know full nicely that this itinerary is probably not a sensible comparability, however spending the equal of $700 per individual for flights from Florida to Hawaii and again with a stopover in Portland isn’t too shabby.

When I first acquired this card again in 2015, I really booked an analogous itinerary. We flew from Orlando to Maui (with an in a single day layover in San Diego), spent 4 nights on the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, flew again to San Diego, spent 4 nights on the Andaz San Diego, after which flew residence to Orlando. In that case, the companion fare saved us nicely over $750.

Now, it’s value noting that the phrases & circumstances of the companion fare state the next: “multiple stopovers not allowed.” However, I used to be in a position to worth out an itinerary with two stopovers: Orlando to San Diego (stopover 1) to Portland (vacation spot) to Seattle (stopover 2) again to Orlando. The abstract web page indicated that the companion fare utilized to the whole itinerary.

Just bear in mind that this routing is technically in opposition to the phrases of the companion fare. And it appears to be like like Alaska Airlines could also be imposing this prohibition of a number of stopovers going ahead.

Consider a standing problem

A 3rd technique to maximize the companion ticket is thru a standing problem. While Alaska used to offer a straight-up standing match for elite vacationers from different airways, the service now provides you a three-month trial of the equal tier of Mileage Plan MVP standing. If you’re a higher-tier member of one other loyalty program, chances are you’ll even take pleasure in MVP Gold or MVP Gold 75K standing, placing you in an amazing place to snag an improve and revel in different perks in your journey.

However, a very powerful factor to remember is timing. Once your standing problem is permitted, you’ll have short-term standing for 3 months — and you’ll want to fly a specific amount throughout that point to take care of it:

MVP: 5,000 miles.
MVP Gold: 10,000 miles.
MVP Gold 75K: 20,000 miles.

As a consequence, you’ll want to wait till your flight is lower than three months away to provoke the problem. That manner, you’ll benefit from the corresponding perks in your journey, and the ticket booked with the companion fare will allow you to meet the necessities to increase your standing for the remainder of the 12 months.

Book for pals or members of the family

This subsequent suggestion is one thing I didn’t initially notice after I opened the Alaska Visa the primary time round, however it will probably actually assist if it appears to be like such as you gained’t have the ability to use this perk in a given 12 months. Unlike most companion ticket advantages, you do not want to be one of many vacationers to make use of it. This could seem shady, however it’s really spelled out on the cardboard’s Companion Fare FAQ web page.

One of the questions is, “Who can use my companion fare code?” and right here’s the reply:

“The Mileage Plan™ member who owns the companion fare code must either be one of the travelers or the purchaser of the reservation. If the member is allowing two travelers to use his or her companion fare code, then the member’s name must match the name on the credit card used to purchase the reservation.”

One of our TPG writers did this for a colleague earlier this 12 months, saving him practically $700 on a transcontinental flight. I too have used this a number of occasions for pals and colleagues after I had expiring companion fares that I wasn’t going to have the ability to use.

As lengthy as you pay for the reservation utilizing your Alaska Visa card, that is completely permitted.

Open two Alaska playing cards in your family

Another technique to benefit from this perk is in case you take a number of annual journeys on Alaska or are reserving a single journey for 4 or extra vacationers. If you and your partner, companion or important different each open the cardboard, you’ll every have your individual companion tickets to make use of annually, and also you don’t even must journey when utilizing it. Here are some examples of when this might work nicely:

Family of 4: A single companion fare for a household of 4 would reduce the ticket worth by roughly 25% within the first 12 months; if each dad and mom have one, the value can be slashed practically in half.
Family of three plus a good friend: If you’re a household of three (like me), you could possibly use a second companion fare to make a journey along with your child and permit them to carry alongside a good friend.
Weekend with pals: Maybe you’re planning a bachelor or bachelorette occasion within the subsequent 12 months or two. By having a number of companion fares unfold throughout the group, it can save you some critical money for the journey itself.
Two journeys as a pair: If you sometimes take no less than two round-trip flights on Alaska as a pair, you’ll be able to leverage two companion fares, the place one pays for the primary ticket and the opposite pays for the second. We have retired pals who journey to Seattle from Florida a number of occasions per 12 months, and so they every have an Alaska card for this very purpose.

Keep it easy

Finally, chances are you’ll wish to take into account protecting issues easy. You don’t have so as to add an open jaw, nor do you’ll want to embody a stopover. Sometimes it makes essentially the most sense simply to guide the flight you want and nonetheless get some stable worth from it.

That’s precisely the place I discovered myself in a few years in the past. We have been searching for flights across the holidays to and from Salt Lake City (SLC), and we managed to seize a improbable Economy Web Special on American Airlines for the return leg. However, the outbound portion was nonetheless up within the air — till I remembered that I had an unused companion fare (initially used for a flight on the finish of a canceled journey to Asia).

I booked a ticket for me and my daughter utilizing the certificates, although even with the low cost, it nonetheless set me again $566.20 out of pocket (because it was across the holidays). However, after I noticed that the one-way ticket had dropped to $369 per individual (because of worth monitoring on Google Flights), I modified the flight and acquired $84 again into my Alaska pockets — which may be put towards a brand new flight.

The whole value of the itinerary? $482.20.

Paying over $240 per individual for a one-way, home flight hurts, however with out the low cost, the flight would’ve been $737.20.

By paying a $75 annual payment on the Alaska Visa card, I saved $255 — and that’s earlier than bearing in mind the free checked luggage we loved on the flight.

Bottom line

When you hear “free companion ticket” in relation to a bank card, you in all probability begin picturing the entire restrictions that might forestall you from utilizing a profit that appears priceless on the floor.

However, the companion fare profit on the Alaska Airlines Visa bank card and the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card actually is versatile and easy to make use of on all method of itineraries, although you might be restricted to flights on Alaska metallic.

If you’ve by no means thought of these playing cards earlier than, hopefully, this publish has proven you simply how priceless they are often.

Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.