If you’re a mom who’s serious about making family travel smoother — and cheaper — Alaska Airlines might just become your new favorite airline.

Known for friendly service, flexible award bookings, and strong partner connections through the oneworld® alliance, Alaska offers real ways for families to save money, earn rewards, and explore more places with fewer travel headaches.

Here’s everything you need to know about booking, earning miles, redeeming them, and a few smart “mom tips” that make Alaska’s Mileage Plan program one of the most rewarding for families.

Booking Flights With Alaska Airlines

You can book all Alaska flights at alaskaair.com or through the Alaska Airlines app. When you book, you’ll see four fare options — each with a different balance of comfort, flexibility, and price:

• Saver – Alaska’s basic fare. Cheapest, but no seat selection and limited mileage earning.
• Main Cabin – Includes a carry-on bag, advance seat selection, and full mileage earning.
• Premium Class – Adds extra legroom, complimentary beverages for adults, and early boarding (perfect when you want extra time to settle the kids).
• First Class – Priority boarding, meals and drinks, lounge access on select routes, and free checked bags.

Family tip: When booking with miles, try Alaska’s award calendar to find the lowest-cost days, and the multi-city search tool to add a free stopover on longer trips.

Alaska Mileage Plan: The Basics

Mileage Plan is Alaska’s free loyalty program. Members earn miles on Alaska flights and oneworld partners such as American Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific.

How You Earn Miles

• Flying Alaska or partner airlines.
• Using an Alaska Airlines credit card from Bank of America® (3x miles on Alaska purchases, 2x on gas, streaming, and transit).
• Transferring points from:
  • Bilt Rewards (1:1) — great if you pay rent.
  • Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 + 5,000-mile bonus per 60,000 points).
• Shopping, dining, and travel partners.
  • Mileage Plan Shopping for online purchases.
  • Mileage Plan Dining for meals at participating restaurants.
  • Partner hotels, car rentals, and cruises booked through Alaska’s website.

Earning Elite Status

Frequent flyers can reach:

• Silver – 25% bonus miles and two free checked bags
• Gold – 50% bonus miles and oneworld Sapphire status
• Platinum/Titanium – 100–150% bonus miles, priority upgrades, and three free checked bags

Even occasional travelers benefit — miles never expire as long as you have account activity every 24 months.

Smart Ways to Redeem Alaska Miles

Once you’ve built your balance, you can redeem for:

• Flights on Alaska Airlines (including short West Coast hops for as low as 7,500 miles one way).
• Partner flights through the oneworld network — including:
  • Japan Airlines to Asia or India.
  • Cathay Pacific or Hainan for intra-Asia flights.
  • American or LATAM to South America.
  • Fiji Airways to the South Pacific.

Mom bonus: Alaska allows one free stopover on every one-way award ticket. You could fly from Seattle → Tokyo (stop 3 days) → Singapore — all for the same number of miles.

Mileage Plan Tips & Tricks

1. Free Stopovers – Add an extra city to your trip without spending extra miles.
2. One-Way Awards – Book each leg separately to mix cash + miles or different airlines.
3. Mix Partners – Use Alaska miles for oneworld partners when Alaska seats aren’t available.
4. Watch for Mileage Sales – Alaska often discounts purchased miles or adds partner bonuses.
5. Earn on Everyday Life – Use the shopping and dining portals for groceries, back-to-school clothes, or takeout nights.
6. Stack a Credit Card Perk – Free checked bags for up to six companions, early boarding, and the annual Companion Fare (buy one ticket, get the second for about $99 + taxes).

Baggage & Check-In: What Families Need to Know

• Carry-on: Included with all fares except Saver.
• Checked bags:
  • 1st bag – $35
  • 2nd bag – $45
  • 3rd bag – $150
    Free for elites and Alaska cardholders.
• Check-in: Online or via the Alaska app up to 24 hours before departure.
• Arrival times: Plan to arrive 2–3 hours early; Alaska’s cut-offs are 40 min (domestic) / 60 min (international).

2026: New Routes Families Will Love

Alaska recently announced 13 new and returning routes, adding more nonstops — and fewer meltdowns.

• San Diego → Dallas-Fort Worth (2× daily)
• San Diego → Oakland (4× daily)
• San Diego → Raleigh-Durham (daily)
• San Diego → Santa Barbara (2× daily)
• San Diego → Tulsa (daily)
• Portland → Baltimore/Washington (daily summer)
• Portland → Idaho Falls (daily)
• Portland → Philadelphia (daily summer)
• Portland → St. Louis (daily summer)
• Seattle → Arcata-Eureka (daily)
• Seattle → Tulsa (daily)
• Burbank → Honolulu (daily summer)
• Ontario → Santa Rosa (daily)

More direct routes mean less time changing planes and more time exploring together.

Why Kansas City Families Should Pay Attention to Alaska Airlines

If you’re based in Kansas City (MCI), Alaska Airlines deserves a spot on your radar — even if you don’t fly the West Coast often. Alaska operates daily service from Kansas City to Seattle (SEA), giving Midwest families an easy one-stop connection to nearly anywhere in the U.S., Hawaii, and beyond.

Once you land in Seattle, you can connect to dozens of Alaska routes — including new nonstop service to Hawaii, California, Mexico, Japan, and soon, Europe.

Because Alaska is part of the oneworld® alliance, MCI-based travelers can also earn and redeem Alaska miles when flying American Airlines, which operates many Kansas City routes. That means you can build Alaska miles even when you’re flying close to home — and later redeem them for those big family adventures out west or overseas.

Family tip: Every trip you take from Kansas City (even on a partner airline) can quietly help fund your next family vacation using Alaska miles.

Family-Friendly Trips to Book With Alaska Miles

1. Hawaii – 15K–20K miles each way; perfect winter escape.
2. Orlando / Tampa – theme-park fun plus beaches.
3. California Coast – San Diego or Monterey for shorter flights with young kids.
4. Costa Rica – wildlife + eco-resorts via American or LATAM.
5. London or Rome – take advantage of new 2026 routes and free stopovers.
6. Alaska cruises – earn or redeem miles on partner sailings.

Final Thoughts

For families who love to travel — or want to start — Alaska Airlines offers a powerful mix of value, flexibility, and comfort.

You’ll earn miles on family vacations you’re already taking, enjoy family-friendly perks like free checked bags and early boarding, and use those miles later for bigger bucket-list adventures.

Fewer layovers, more savings, and more memories together — that’s what the Alaska Mileage Plan is all about.