I think some deals exsit now where you can fly Alaska on 20k miles now. Check their site or call them and ask where and what.

Now here's something to really confuse ya:

Go to BankofAmerica.com and get their visa check card and checking account. I dunno what may have changed, but this debit card used to give you 1/2 mile per $1 spent and if you think about it, that is a good thing!

Example:
anything PIN or debit is still going to give you miles (except ATMs or cash back, of course) and you get 1/2 mile and they do add up!

I went to Home Depot one time and bought a ton of bolts for a project I was working on but had to return them later when I realized I had the wrong ones. Had spent something like $250.

Since it was a debit, they gave me back CASH. That means I basically got 125 miles but got my money back.

You could always plan to do that kind of thing on purpose, and yes, it does still work. I do not have the BofA card still but I would recommend it. I ran my alaska miles up to 50k and then stopped there when I redeemed one ticket on AA and one on NWA.

So there ya go!

(ps, the BofA account is $30/ year to have it and charges you $5.95/mo for the checking acct but if you have direct deposit you can avoid this fee. AND, to get DD really easy, just sign up for INGDirect.com and do a monthly transfer of funds online between it and your new account for any amount and that counts as a DD to avoid the fee. Ing is a savings account that earns over 3% and if you wish for me to refer you to join them, we both get a monetary bonus upon your signing up! If so, send me a private message in this forum.)

now THAT was a mouthful!

MM