Can I earn Avios and British Airways tier points if I fly with Alaska Airlines?

In this article we’ll look at how you can earn Avios and British Airways tier points by flying with Alaska Airlines and whether it’s worth it compared to flying British Airways.

It is possible to earn Avios and BA tier points when you fly with Alaska Airlines instead of their own mileage reward currency. This is because the airlines are both members of the oneworld airline alliance.

When you book or manage your flights with Alaska Airlines, you will be able to add your British Airways Executive Club number. Upon completion of your flights you will automatically be credited the correct Avios.

(This also works in reverse.  Passengers on British Airways can choose to earn miles in the Alaska Airlines frequent flyer scheme instead.)

However, you will earn a different amount of Avios on Alaska Airlines compared to similar flights on British Airways. On Alaska Airlines, you will earn Avios at a maximum of 150% of miles flown if you fly in First Class. On British Airways flights, First Class fares can earn up to 300% of miles flown if you are on a flexible ticket.

How many Avios do I earn on Alaska Airlines?

Here is the full chart of earning rates on Alaska Airlines, sourced from the British Airways website here.  This includes flights on subsidiaries Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines.

We are comparing the earnings when you take a flight on Alaska Airlines compared to taking a flight on British Airways.

Economy lowest – 25% on both airlines

Economy low – 50% on both airlines

Economy flexible – 100% on both airlines

Premium Economy – not available on Alaska vs 100%-150% on British Airways

Business – not available on AS vs 150%-250% on British Airways

First – 150% vs 250%-300% on British Airways (to be fair, Alaska Airlines does not fly long haul; their ‘First’ product is the equivalent to short haul business class, or Club Europe on British Airways.)

As you can see, economy earning rates are the same for both airlines.  For flights in business class you will suffer some severe losses – up to 100% less when comparing Alaska Airlines’ short-haul First product with British Airway’s business class (Alaska Airlines First is not true first class.)

You will NOT get a status bonus when you fly with Alaska Airlines.  This means that Bronze, Silver and Gold members of British Airways Executive Club will do even worse compared to a similar length of flight on British Airways.

It is now possible to earn tier points with Alaska Airlines following their entry into the oneworld alliance in 2021.  Whilst the airline had a long standing partnership with British Airways before this, it only allowed you to earn Avios and not tier points.  Your flights with them will now count towards earning status in British Airways Executive Club.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.4 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also good bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These are available to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.