Bilt Rewards Adds Alaska Airlines
Big news on the transferrable currency partnership front. It seems to be coming in waves these days, with Wells Fargo busting into the market this month too. That and Bilt losing American Airlines in a few months, but it feels like they have a replacement. Today, Bilt Rewards announced it adds Alaska Airlines as its latest transfer partner.
3/15/24 Update: We have confirmed that renters paying rent payments with an Alaska Airlines card will incur standard credit card processing fees for doing so (thought to be 3%). This was not disclosed in prior releases. See updated article below for our analysis.
Why This Is Big News
The Alaska Airlines program has been a mainstay in many traveler's tool belts because of their great partner redemption opportunities. Even if you don't fly Alaska metal this should be something to be aware of because of that. Derrick will be out with a post soon breaking down some amazing sweet spots to go with this great news.
The miles have been highly regarded but they haven't been the easiest to earn. That is because no major bank program is a transfer partner with Alaska. You either needed to get their co-branded credit card, or transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to earn them. That was until now!
Bilt Rewards Transfer Rate To Alaska Airlines
The transfers will be at a 1 to 1 basis and add even more value to what is already the most valuable currency, kind of by a long shot. I wouldn't be surprised to see a transfer bonus for rent day at some point either. One can hope at least! As always, you can track all transfer partners, and any current transfer bonuses, on the ToP partner transfer tool.
Upcoming Promotion
From the media release:
The two companies announced they will also be launching an unprecedented offer later this year exclusively for Alaska Airlines cardholders. When using an Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® card to pay rent through Bilt, cardholders will receive triple Alaska miles, 3x miles for every dollar spent on rent, up to $50,000 annually. This innovative offering is the first of its kind in the airline loyalty world, designed specifically to reward Alaska’s loyal cardholders on their largest monthly expenditure.
What was not included in this press release is that paying rent with an Alaska Airlines Visa card through Bilt will incur standard credit card processing fees (believed to be 3%). Essentially, you would buy Alaska miles for 1.5 cents each, as you could earn 1x Bilt Rewards (which can transfer to Alaska Airlines at 1 to 1) fee-free or earn an additional 2x Alaska Airlines miles (or a total of 3x) for 3%. This is a very bad deal and not something anyone should do on a regular basis. Had this been disclosed in advance, we would have warned against doing this.
Bilt Rewards Adds Alaska Airlines: ToP Thoughts
This is pretty awesome news. It is impressive to see Bilt Rewards bounce back a bit from the loss of American Airlines. Whether or not you prefer Alaska over American will depend on your travel patterns. It is replacing one unique transfer partner with another at least though. Look for Derrick's post on best Alaska Airlines award sweet spots so you have a better idea how powerful these points can be.
Are you excited to see that Bilt Rewards adds Alaska Airlines as a new partner? Let us know over in the ToP Facebook Group.
