What are Alaska miles worth?
Credit Upside values Alaska miles at a conservative 1.40¢ per point — the same mid-range number the optimizer uses to score your spending. That's about 1.40× a penny — an Alaska mile is worth more than a 1¢ cash-back point.
Updated 2026-09-16
What you actually get depends on how you redeem. A great redemption can beat this; cashing out often pays less.
How we get to 1.40¢
Alaska miles are miles in a single airline's program. We use a single conservative mid-range value — not the best-case redemption a points blog might quote — because the optimizer has to be honest about what you'll typically get, not what's theoretically possible. Your own redemptions can beat it (a well-timed transfer) or trail it (a low-value cash-out). Full methodology →
Cards that earn Alaska miles
- Bank of America Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite — 3x on dining, $395 fee
- Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Business (Atmos Rewards) — 2x on gas, $70 fee
- Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature (Atmos Rewards Ascent) — 2x on gas, $95 fee
- Hawaiian Airlines Bank of Hawaii World Elite Mastercard — 2x on gas, $99 fee
Alaska miles don't transfer out — they're spent inside one program. That's the trade-off against a flexible currency: fewer places to use them, so the 1.40¢ has to earn its keep on its own. Compare transfer reach across programs →
Is an Alaska mile better than cash?
At 1.40¢, yes on paper — but only if you redeem near that value. A 1.40¢ point that you cash out at 1¢ is just a 1¢ point. The only way to know for your wallet is to score real spending — which is what the app does, applying this value to every charge.
Want the ranked version? Best cards that earn Alaska miles puts all 4 of them in order by real cents back per dollar — the printed rate times this 1.40¢ value.
Which card should this spending actually be on? The demo re-scores a year of realistic spending against every card in a wallet — free, no signup. See it on sample data →
Valued near it: AAdvantage miles (1.35¢) · Aeroplan points (1.35¢) · World of Hyatt points (1.50¢) · Avios (1.30¢) · Capital One miles (1.30¢)
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