BA Executive Club: 440 Tier Points for $472 / €433 on an Atlanta to Alaska Round Trip (Alaska Airlines Domestic First)

Oneworld member Alaska Airlines currently offers a very interesting fare for flights between Atlanta, capital of Georgia and Juneau, capital of Alaska. Roundtrips in their business class (or Domestic First) are available for as little as US$472 (~€440).

Alaska Airlines joined Oneworld in 2021. This offer is extremely good for everybody who seeks a frequent flyer tier in the alliance. If you credit these flights in British Airways Executive Club, you can earn up to 440 tier points on one ticket. That’s almost 3/4 of all points needed to gain Oneworld Sapphire, that comes with perks like alliance wide lounge access. To reach that level, all you need is 160 additional TP and 4 flights with either British Airways or Iberia.

This deal is not only interesting as a mileage run. It also covers parts of the Alaska Milk Run from Seattle to Juneau with three stops in between. Oneway tickets for this part are available for €229 (~US$247) in each direction in business class or just €90 (~US$97) in economy.

The easiest way to find the flights in question is Google Flights or the ITA Matrix. You can use our Go2 tool to search for flights:

All flights require at least one change of planes in Seattle. All flights are operated by Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 fleet, that features recliner seats in a 2-2 seating pattern in the domestic first section. You enjoy far more space than most European Business Class seats and – of course – compared to economy class.

Maximizing Tier Points

You need to care about a couple of things to end the run with the maximum of 440 tier points (TP). For example, flying nonstop from Seattle to Juneau will cost you 40 TP. You need to check, if…

• There is a stop in Ketchikan in the itinerary
• That the flight number for Seattle – Ketchikan and Ketchikan – Juneau is different

The same goes for the return flight. The easiest way to assure this is searching for multi-stop itineraries on Google Flights. For example, you can book this trip worth 440 TP for just $488 on Alaska Airlines’ website:

This ticket earns you 440 TP and 3,890 Avios. You can use our mileage calculator to check:

Roughly 1 Euro per tier point is an unbeatable price, that is virtually impossible on long-haul journeys. Even with plenty of stops, close to 2 Euro per tier point is the best we ever achieved.

Alaska Airlines’ Milk Run

The Milk Run connects several cities among Alaska’s Pacific Coast that are not necessarily connected by routes. It continues of several short flights connecting said settlements in-between. These flights are:

• Essential for the people living in these cities
• Garnered with absolutely breathtaking views
• Marketed towards tourists by Alaska Airlines

You can find more information about the flight path and its history here.

The following flights are part of the Milk Run:

• AS62: Fairbanks FAI – Anchorage ANC – Juneau JNU – Sitka SIT – Ketchikan KTN – Seattle SEA
• AS64: Anchorage ANC – Juneau JNU – Petersburg PSG – Wrangell WRG – Ketchikan KTN – Seattle SEA
• AS65: Seattle SEA – Wrangell WRG – Petersburg PSG – Juneau JNU – Anchorage ANC
• AS67: Seattle SEA – Ketchikan KTN – Sitka SIT – Juneau JNU – Anchorage ANC

We have marked all segments covered by this deal in blue.

Search & Book

According to the fare rules, tickets are on sale for this price until August 23, 2023 for travel between October 2023 and March 2024. There is no minimum stay. As a result of this, oneway tickets are available for exactly half the price.

Since the stop in Ketchikan is essential to earn maximum mileage, it makes most sense to search for multi-stop flights. While their multi-stop can only be used by trial-and-error, Google Flights is still the most convenient option to find suiting flight dates. You can also add a stopover in Seattle without rising the ticket price.

If you have no luck with Google, you can search the ITA Matrix explicitly for the Milk Run with the following parameters:

Enter the routing code X X AS61-67 both ways and select See calendar of lowest fares instead of searching for a specific date.

Afterward, you can enter the dates you have retrieved in the Matrix on Google Flights. The tool will forward you to Alaska Airlines’ website or the online travel agency of your choice.

Mileage

All segments are Alaska Airlines booking class I. The focal point of this deal is the great earning in British Airways’ Executive Club (with the very important stop in Ketchikan):

quirements

To get a status at the Executive Club, you’ll have to fulfill the following requirements:

• Executive Club Bronze = Oneworld Ruby:
  • 300 Tier Points + 2 flights with BA¹
• Executive Club Silver = Oneworld Sapphire:
  • 600 Tier Points + 4 flights with BA¹
• Executive Club Gold = Oneworld Emerald:
  • 1,500 Tier Points + 4 flights with BA¹

1 – According to Flyertalk, it’s enough for the flight to have a BA flight number, even if it’s operated by another airlines. This requirement would then be fulfilled, as two of the Finnair flights are BA code shares.

While the tier points in this deal are more than enough to get Oneworld Sapphire, you have to juggle a bit to get the required BA segments. It may be easier to obtain them on a separate economy ticket.

Benefits of the Executive Club Silver Status

The British Airways Executive Club Silver status is also an Oneworld Sapphire status, which will get you the following benefits on all Oneworld flights:

• Business class lounge access, incl. one guest
• Priority boarding
• Additional luggage allowance (except for some light fares)
• Priority luggage handling
• Preferred (often free) seat selection

Additionally, you’d get a bonus of 50% more Avios on all British Airways flights. Should you make it to the Oneworld Emerald, you’d even be allowed to access the first c

Translation by Felix

Cover Picture: 12019 auf Pixabay