Alaska Airlines Flexible Calendar Search
When searching for hotels or flights, a calendar search option can save a lot of time. If you have flexibility with your travel schedule, checking the calendar can help you see availability and pricing across a wider range of dates and find that saver fare. Whether you’re searching for Alaska and Hawaiian flights or hunting for availability from partners like Starlux or Japan Airlines, an Alaska Airlines flexible calendar search can help you uncover the best pricing.
Running Searches
Start on the Alaska Airlines website. You do not need to have points in your account or even be logged in to use the Alaska Airlines flexible calendar search feature. That being said, it may be easier to get logged in first if you think you might book something, especially with two-factor authentication and other possible delays.
The Steps to Follow
Let’s break down the Alaska Airlines flexible calendar search process step by step. Once you have done it a few times, you will be pulling these searches up in seconds.
Step 1
Once you are on the website, simply choose the route and date you’re wanting. Make sure to check “Flexible dates” and “Use Points”.
Step 2
The next screen will show the lowest available fare. If you want to search and find business class, you need to adjust the drop-down box.
Step 3
That will bring up the calendar showing you the business class availability and rates for the month you searched. I see that my preferred date is not available, but others are.
Step 4
If you decide you want to make the September 27th date work, you simply click on that day on the calendar and then “View flights.”
Step 5
The list of flights will come up. Sometimes you may need to scroll through the list of flights to find the lowest pricing. In this case, I not only have found an Aer Lingus saver fare at 45K, but there are 4 seats available. I love this sweet-spot use for Atmos points. I often see multiple seats available.
Step 6
You will then just click through the screens to add the flight to your cart. It is worth noting if this was not a direct flight, adding the flight to your cart will help identify any mixed cabin routing. More on that below.
Alaska does charge a partner booking fee. However, that fee is waived if you hold the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa. I would not get this card just for this, but if you are over 5/24, it could be a good card as you add other banks’ personal cards to your lineup.
Tips and Sweet Spots
Here are a few more tips for using the Alaska Airlines flexible calendar search feature:
Watch for mixed-cabin itineraries.
If you see a mixed cabin, it means there is a stop and one of the legs is in a different class. While on other carriers this may mean the long-haul is economy, that is not always the case with Alaska partners. I discuss this extensively with my Starlux booking tips.
Keep an eye out for these sweet spots:
- American Airlines: Travel on AA metal for dirt cheap.
- Starlux to Asia: Find more details and tips here.
- Philippine Airlines to Asia: This is a newer redemption option.
- Aer Lingus: As shown above, you can find fares to Dublin and beyond.
- Europe repositioning: You can find some cheap repositioning options on partners.
- Asia repositioning: You can also find some cheap repositioning options on partners here.
Alaska Airlines Flexible Calendar Search: ToP Thoughts
Anytime a program has a flexible calendar search, I try and use it to my advantage. It not only lets me adjust a trip if needed, but lets me see availability tendencies. This is can be big as you become more proficient in award bookings. Do you use the Alaska Airlines flexible calendar search feature? Let us know over in the Facebook Group.
