Alaska Airlines “Free” Companion Ticket Credit Card Offer
Alaska Airlines continues to forge ahead with the integration of their brand with Virgin America. As of now the Virgin America co-branded credit cards have been discontinued and on May 1, 2017 Virgin America employees will begin offering the Alaska Airlines credit card.
One of the perks of that card is a special Companion Ticket good for the first year and on each anniversary thereafter. This ticket is good on any Alaska/Virgin flight and normally costs just $99 plus tax. ($121 all-in.) For example, a couple of years ago I used one of these certs to pay ~$721 for $1,200 worth of tickets to Hawaii.
Now, it seems that they are going to make the offer better. According to The Points Guy, beginning on May 1 and running through July 10, 2017 that $99 co-pay on the Companion Ticket will be waived the first year. This will only leave you to pay the taxes and fees on the Companion Ticket. They may also be offering 31,000 miles instead of 30,000 although that may include some sort of in-flight bonus.
Card Benefits
As a reminder, this card comes with the following benefits as well:
- Earn 3X MileagePlan miles on Alaska and Virgin America flights.
- Get a free checked bag on Alaska and Virgin America flights for you and up to 6 companions.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Other Thoughts
It looks as if this offer is designed for airline employees to offer to customers when flying. You have long been able to get this card with an extra $100 statement credit (the normal public offer doesn’t have a credit) by doing a dummy booking on the Alaska Airlines site or clicking a special link. Hopefully we will see this reduced Companion Ticket offer available online so we can stack the 30K bonus, “free” Companion Ticket and $100 statement credit. Only time will tell!
Are you excited about this new offer? What has been your best Alaska Airlines companion redemption?
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Is there a restriction on the type of fare you must book for the free companion pass? Is it valid on their lowest ticketed fare or do you need to book a higher refundable rate?
It is valid on any fare in my experience.
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Time to get another Alaska card. Should I cancel my current card first though?
There are a lot of reports of BofA denying apps or even rescinding approvals when customers have too many cards. I would probably close the current one personally.
Can you use the companion ticket if you got your ticket with miles or does it have to be a revenue ticket?
Revenue
I don’t understand. You said that you used a 99 companion pass to pay approximately 721 toward 1,200 fare. Could you please be more clear?
Sorry for not being clear. Each ticket was $600 so I paid $600 for the first and then $121 including taxes for the 2nd using the Companion Fare.
Are we able to open 2nd cards? My spouse and I each already have this card.
They have allowed it in the past, although I have heard they are cracking down lately.
Wonder how this affects those of us with companion codes sitting in our Alaska Air wallet…
Anyone know?
does Bank of America still give the bonus 5,000 miles?
I think I had seen the 31k bonus at one of the lounges ..I believe it was 500 in flight ..
Do you think they will grandfather existing unused companion coupons to allow for taxes only and allow booking on current Virgin routes? Thanks !
I don’t think so, but we can only hope!