Back in March, Bilt Rewards announced that it was ending its partnership with American Airlines, thus losing its status as the only rewards currency to offer 1-1 transfers to the AAdvantage program. This was understandably a huge blow to many folks engaged with Bilt, partially because of the ease of using AA to book domestic flights and also due to the loss of access to AA’s partner awards for oneworld airlines (and others).
That news was made a little more bearable as Bilt subsequently made the announcement that it had added another oneworld member, Alaska Mileage Plan, as a transfer partner. Alaska doesn’t work with any other transferable currencies (outside of Marriott), making Bilt the only rewards program to offer 1-1 transfers.
Perhaps even better for some folks, Bilt and Alaska announced that they would be launching a program later this Spring that will award Alaska credit card holders 3 miles per dollar when using their Alaska Visa Signature card to pay rent through the Bilt app (on up to $50,000 in rent per year). Well, that ability has now gone live.
What’s Happened
- Bilt Rewards has added Alaska Mileage Plan as a 1-1 transfer partner.
- Bilt and Alaska have added the ability to earn 3x Alaska miles per dollar when using an Alaska Visa Signature credit card to pay rent through the Bilt app (on up to $50,000 in rent payments/year). Note that this offer does not apply to the Alaska Business Visa and you will pay a 3% fee if you want to use your Alaska card to pay rent.
Sweet Spots in Alaska Mileage Plan’s New Award Chart
Quick Thoughts
This is an exciting, and somewhat surprising, development for both Alaska cardholders and Bilt Rewards members. Alaska Mileage Plan is right in middle of moving to a new set of award charts, but there will still be plenty of attractive redemptions…and that could get even better if its purchase of Hawaiian Airlines goes through.
That said, a frequent complaint about the program is that Alaska miles can be difficult to earn, primarily because ever since SPG devolved into Bonvoy, Alaska miles haven’t been available through any of the major transferable currencies as a 1 to 1 transfer option (and the two credit cards that Alaska offers aren’t as churnable as they used to be). Now there’s a substantial new avenue to gain Alaska miles.
By earning 3x Alaska miles on rent payments, the miles will pile up fairly quickly…even someone who’s only paying $1,250/month in rent would have enough miles for a business class flight from the East Coast to Europe after only a year. For just paying their rent. (You will pay a 3% transaction fee, so make sure that the math works for your situation).
Again, it’s worth emphasizing that this 3x offer on rent payments applies to the Alaska consumer card only; the Alaska Business Visa is not eligible to earn 3x on rent payments.
This year, Alaska credit cards added a feature whereby you can earn Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) through spending on Alaska credit cards, at a rate of 4,000 EQMs/$10,000 in spend (up to a maximum of 20,000). We’ve confirmed that rent payments will be an eligible charge under that promo.
In addition, rent payments will also count towards the $6,000 annual minimum spend for a companion ticket on newly-issued Alaska cards…effectively making that an included benefit for those that are using one of them to pay for rent.
Recent underwhelming loyalty news aside, Bilt continues to surprise me in terms of the partnerships that it’s been able to arrange and the deals that it continues to offer. Losing AA undoubtedly stinks, but adding 1:1 transfers to Alaska will certainly help to dry some of those tears.
Alaska Airlines credit cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
75K miles + Companion Fare ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75k miles + Companion Fare ($99 fare + taxes) after $3K spend in 90 days$95 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Alaska miles are quite valuable so this offer is better than it appears Earning rate: 3X Alaska Airlines ✦ 2x gas, EV charging, local transit, rideshare, cable, and select streaming services purchases ✦ 1X elsewhere Card Info: Visa Signature issued by BOA. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: $121 companion pass every year after $6K spend. Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free first checked bag for you and up to six other passengers on your reservation ✦ Priority Boarding ✦ 10% bonus on earned miles with eligible BOA account ✦ During 2024, earn 4K EQMs/$10K spend, up to a maximum of 20K EQMs. |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
75K miles + Companion Fare ⓘ Non-Affiliate 75K miles + Companion Fare ($99 fare + taxes) after $4K spend in 3 months (enter any random 6-digit number for referral code)$95 Annual Fee Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 70K after $4K in 3 months [Expired 4/23] FM Mini Review: Alaska miles are quite valuable so this offer is better than it appears Earning rate: 3X Alaska Airlines ✦ 2x gas, EV charging, shipping and local transit ✦ 1X elsewhere Card Info: Visa issued by BOA. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: $121 companion pass every year after $6K spend. Noteworthy perks: ✦ Free first checked bag for you and up to six other passengers on your reservation ✦ 10% bonus on earned miles with eligible BOA business account ✦ During 2024, earn 4K EQMs/$10K spend, up to a maximum of 20K EQMs. |
Alaska Mileage Plan Award Charts (fully implemented by 3/31/24)
Alaska-only
This chart is used for all awards flown entirely by Alaska Airlines (i.e. no partner flights are included).
Americas
This chart is used for flights wholly within the Americas including Central, North, and South America, and Caribbean Islands, except when all segments are flown by Alaska Airlines.
Europe, Middle East, Africa
This chart is used for all flights within Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and it includes all flights between the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
Asia Pacific
This chart includes travel from US to Asia Pacific, within Asia Pacific and between Asia Pacific–Europe, Middle East, Africa.
The post Bilt adds Alaska Airlines as transfer partner, offering 3x on rent payments appeared first on Frequent Miler. Frequent Miler may receive compensation from CHASE. American Express, Capital One, or other partners.