SimpleManToo

We are undecided at this point of where to transfer our Marriott Reward points for a T & P package but Alaska looks intriguing. Our travels would take us outside of the USA so I was wondering what members thought about the use of Marriott points being transferred to Alaska Airlines for use for purchase of 2 tickets from travel outside the USA in First or Business class and how good a value they would be to any particular destination. Since Alaska is limited outside the USA and our destinations include Capetown, New Zealand, Greece and possibly Bali, is there another airline I should look at of just use Alaska Partners many who fly to these destinations.

UpgradeMe

Value is subjective. If there is no award availability, then there is no value. Even if there is availability, the value related to that availability is entirely subjective.

be_rettSEA

This will come down to how you perceive the value of your points, ultimately. Keep in mind that Alaska has fairly limited destinations outside the USA on their own metal (a few Mexico and Costa Rica destinations), and while they have a decent number of partners to redeem miles with for international travel, just because there are mileage redemption rates listed on their award charts, it doesn't always mean you'll be able to find First or Business availability to book on their partners. Probably best to search for availability on the flights that you want, then transfer the points and book ASAP. I've use Alaska to redeem First/Business flights on Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and JAL, so if you have enough points, and availability exists the dates/destinations you're interested in, Alaska could be a good option for you.

beckoa

I ended up doing my package to BA several years ago. At that point I had quite a few AS miles so I thought I'd diversify.

In hindsight I would have stuck them with AS, as I have used 7500 of those miles so far. But that's based off my travel patterns, and being based in ANC. This is certainly a subjective area however, and need more information from you to help with a more comprehensive answer.

eponymous_coward

(Emphasis added)

So you don't know how you would use your AS miles yet, but want to transfer them in BEFORE you have a destination in mind based on feedback here?

In all seriousness, if you're speculatively transferring points into a program without a particular destination and travel plans in mind, you are doing it wrong, unless you don't mind stranding points in a program when program rules suddenly change to devalue your points/miles, because you have more points/miles than you know what to do with. The ability to be flexible with your points when you have a transferrable currency (AMEX MR, Chase UR, Citibank TY, Marriott, SPG, what have you) is a major component in the value of those points. Transferring into a "roach motel" program (Alaska, United, American, what have you, where points come in but never come out) destroys value since your ability to be flexible disappears once the transfer is made. Therefore you shouldn't do it until you absolutely have to.

The recommendation I would give is fairly dependent on your destination and travel plans, given that you're not planning on being a regular Alaska Airlines flier. So I would say to you, pick someplace you are interested in traveling to first, THEN ask if Alaska's program would be a good option, rather than the other way around.

pinniped

I just redeemed a Marriott TP with Alaska miles two weeks ago. For me, it's the best option going right now, although the whole TP game may change somewhat after August 1st.

My objective is CX J or F. I fly enough AS that I'm already up around 200k right now (with the TP included) and will be at 280k by late this year when I'm looking for seats. (Although I expect I'll get J, not F.) I have a couple end destinations in mind and wide flexibility on dates - just hope to do a big trip beyond Hong Kong, with a stopover in HK, sometime in mid-to-late 2019.

The stopovers and the reasonable premium cabin rates to Asia are what make AS attractive to me.

Jma12

I like transferring to AS because of their stopover rule for one way award ticket.

SimpleManToo

Destinations are considering include Capetown, Greece, New Zealand and maybe Bali at this point. I am a novice at these T & P Packages but have over 300,000 points I want to use before August 1 and am Trying to figure out who gives the best value airline wise for a round trip ticket for 2. With 120,000 miles I certainly do not have enough for a RT First class ticket anywhere the way I read it but what about Business class on Alaska? We can originate out of Nashvile (BNA) as that is the closest airport to us.

Seems like people like transferring the Alaska but I just need to get some ideas on how to stretch my miles or how to purchase additional miles (I do have some Amex & Chase miles i could move) but how far to those destinations will 120,000 miles get me? Excuse my lack of knowledge on T & P certificates which is why I am asking for help.

UpgradeMe

Ideas:
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mi...ID:MileagePlan

pinniped

Well, a couple things:
- You do not need to use the 120,000 airline miles at the same time as you use the hotel stay. Marriott just deposits the miles to an account of your choice - they never see them again. The hotel piece you have to use within 1 year of issue. Historically there have been ways to extend TP certificates an additional year, but no guarantees in the new post-Aug-1 world.
- 120k will get you approximately one business class ticket, R/T, to the locations you list. If you don't have a good way to get yourself up to 200k total AS miles, then AS might not be the best option for you. The 120k would cover two Y seats to those destinations (or close to it), but then you might be better off transferring directly to the airline on which you'd fly so you aren't constrained by partner award availability. UA, for example, probably has lots of ways to get to Greece with all of their European alliance partners including A3 if you are flying beyond Athens.
- Getting seats on CX using AS miles requires a *lot* of flexibility and patience. I would never recommend someone transfer to AS to get these seats if they're set on a particular travel date. That's what I hope to do with my AS miles, but I also have two or three other ideas if I just can't make it work at all.
- A partner airline award may include an AS segment, but it cannot pair two separate partners into the same award. Slightly limiting for you and I in that AS metal only takes us west. I'm prepared for the possibility that my award will start/end at ORD and I'll be using a separate ticket to/from Chicago.

SimpleManToo

Thank You. I appreciate your help as this is new to me. Not sure what airline AS is. We are trying to use our hotel certificate and airline miles together and use them in a more comfortable place than economy which I am tired of flying. when I look, I do not see any first class seats on several airlines only business class and I wonder if that is worth it. Also I wonder which airline has the best Value to go to say Capetown, Portugal, Greece or back to New Zealand. I would appreciate your assistance on which airlines I should look at as it appears they all require 200K and more for 2 people unless I am just missing something. PS: what is AS miles and I will have Marriott transfer the miles directly to the airline which is why I am trying to find the Best Value possible. Looks to me that Delta is out for sure.

jinglish

AS is Alaska's IATA code.

pinniped

For long-haul flight comfort, business class is almost always sufficient for most people. The things that really separate a good international F product from J are the service, lounges, food, spirits, etc. The seat itself is often fairly similar as long as we're talking about a major carrier and a widebody aircraft. If your main thing is avoidance of a crappy 32" Y seat, look for J awards. It's actually where I prefer to spend my miles (vs. F) with a few specific exceptions.

But you're still stuck with the reality that 120,000 miles isn't enough for two long-haul J awards ex-US on any major airline. With those miles, you're realistically looking at either 2 Y or going one-way with cash and one-way in award J.

I wish you luck planning the whole thing...I know from my own experience, redeeming 8 to 10 Travel Packages over the course of my Marriott life, that finding places when and where I want to use them is often hard enough without tying myself to elusive award flights. Although I love long-haul J, Europe is close enough that I'll slog it in Y if I have to. If I had no other points or miles, I would probably take a hard look at doing 132k United miles and going to Greece or Portugal.

eponymous_coward

Alaska does not have Chase or AMEX as a transfer partner, so if you are looking to augment what you are trying to get through Marriott, you should definitely NOT transfer to Alaska.

You will also need to purchase positioning flights for any Alaska redemption, or possibly drive; the nearest airports that Alaska serves to Cullman are Houston and Atlanta, but those would be extremely poor choices for a European redemption with Alaska's Europe partners, as you would be routing IAH/ATL-SEA/PDX-XXX and doing a great deal of backtracking. Flying Cathay (your best bet to NZ or SA) wouldn't be ideal either, as Cathay doesn't serve SEA or PDX; you now need to fly ATL/IAH-SEA/PDX-YYY-HKG on your first leg (or again buy positioning flights).

American Airlines (the one Alaska partner that serves your airport) has notorious problems with award availability (and doesn't fly to Portugal or Greece year round, only at times of high demand, which means awards are less available). You also can't use American on the same redemption as a different partner (Alaska has particular rules on that).

I would actually be looking at United for your Marriott package, as they serve both BHM and HSV, Star Alliance availability to Europe is probably better than Alaska's (Alaska took a huge hit here losing Delta, Air France and KLM), and there is a Star Alliance carrier serving Capetown (South African) and New Zealand (Air New Zealand). You can use multiple partners on a single award, which is not an option for Alaska. Also a UA Marriott transfer will net you more UA miles, and UA is a Chase UR partner.

In my opinion, Alaska's advantages on pricing are outweighed or significantly diminished if you need to spend money or more points on top of a redemption for positioning flights to fly a partner, or if the routing needs to be weird because you are in a part of the US that is poorly served by them. I would consider those factors before making a decision.

Flying for Fun

Excellent analysis. Does Star Alliance allow for stopovers on one-way award redemptions? I am MVPG75K and will requalify again. I am thinking of chasing an Alliance but not sure what may be best. I have UA Silver through Marriott Platinum Elite and matched to Hilton Diamond. Since I am Canadian there is no Qualifying Dollar amount I need to spend for any US FF program. I just need to put my butt into a seat and fly... which I love to do. Of course I would want to maximize RDM too. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

James.