Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines will end their long-standing codeshare and frequent-flyer partnership effective May 1. Current award bookings on Delta will be honored, but changes to those reservations will no longer be permitted starting May 1.
At the same time, Alaska is making several improvements to its Mileage Plan loyalty program. Award travel now requires fewer miles to book: the minimum has been reduced from 7,500 miles to 5,000 miles. Members will also earn more miles when flying with select Alaska Global Partners, and elite members will become eligible for complimentary upgrades on award travel for flights operated by Alaska Airlines.
Following the completion of the Alaska–Virgin America merger, Mileage Plan members can now earn miles on Virgin America flights. In addition, members can earn up to 80 percent more miles when traveling in business or first class on certain global partner airlines, including British Airways, Emirates, Icelandair, Korean Air, LATAM Airlines and Qantas.
Andrew Harrison, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Alaska Airlines, said the changes reflect the carrier’s focus on rewarding frequent flyers. “While many other airlines are heading in a different direction and simply looking at how much people spend, we’re focused on rewarding people across the board for how much they fly,” Harrison said. “Our combination with Virgin America, our portfolio of global partners and these enhancements to our award-winning Mileage Plan demonstrate our commitment to creating the most generous loyalty program for our customers.”