Originally Posted by
KevinOfOz
I am hoping to go up to Alaska this summer using my Chase points. Qantas and American aren't showing any availability for any dates this summer past about mid June. British Airways website keeps on saying that none of their partners fly to Alaska, which they obviously do.
So, my question is this. Should I wait a bit longer to see if any award availability pops up? Or just use points + cash on the Chase portal. Using miles as awards would most likely be the best deal. Or is Alaska in the summer in such high demand that Alaska Airlines probably doesn't release awards to their partners.
On Alaska Airlines itself, it does show availability at the lowest level (40k from Houston to Nome), but Chase doesn't transfer to Alaska.
Is Nome where you want to go, or were you just citing that as an example? Is 40K one-way or roundtrip? First Class or Coach?
If you ultimately can't find award availability on AS with any Chase partner, then it's a moot point. If you can find award availability, redeeming BAEC Avios would be a poor choice, because connections are not free: BAEC charges for each segment flown.
Using aa.com is a good way to search for award flights on AS that are likely to be available to partners.