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Alaska Airlines Becomes Latest Bilt Rewards Transfer Partner
Bilt Rewards is bringing in a new travel partner — along with some unique options for members.
About the partnership:
Bilt has announced a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. As a result, Bilt members will now be able to transfer their points to Alaska’s Mileage Plan at a rate of 1:1. Alaska joins a slate of numerous other airlines and hotel brands that customers can transfer points to, including Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, United, Hyatt, Marriott, and many more.
In addition to the transfer opportunity, Alaska and Bilt have also unveiled a unique offer. Starting later this year, those with the Alaska Airlines credit card will be able to earn 3 miles per dollar spent on rent via the Bilt platform. This will be valid on up to $50,000 in rent spending per year.
Further context:
The Alaska news comes fresh on the heels of reports that American Airlines will no longer be a Bilt transfer partner effective this June. As a member of the Oneworld alliance, Bilt customers will still be able to book American flights via Alaska’s program even after the airline’s partnership with Bilt ends.
What they’re saying:
Announcing the partnership, Bilt Rewards CEO Ankur Jain said, “From the Northwestern tip of Alaska to the most southeastern point of Florida, at Bilt we want to continuously reward our members no matter where they live in the United States. As one of the most loved brands in aviation, this first-of-its-kind partnership with Alaska Airlines not only broadens Bilts members’ ability to travel everywhere Alaska and its partners fly but also exemplifies our commitment to providing Americans with more valuable ways to earn and redeem rewards on their largest monthly expense, rent, and within their local neighborhood.”
Meanwhile, Alaska’s VP of loyalty, alliances, and sales Brett Catlin said, “This innovative new partnership with Bilt will enable our guests who rent to get even more value from their Alaska Visa Signature card and builds upon our industry-leading loyalty offering. Our guests can use their miles for travel on Alaska and our oneworld and additional Global Partners to 1,000+ destinations across the world.”
My thoughts:
More transfer partners are always good news for Bilt members and Bilt Mastercard customers. Thus, the addition of Alaska is undoubtedly great news for flyers. What’s more, with the impending loss of American Airlines as a transfer option, it’s nice that Alaska will be able to fill the gap.
As for the rent perk, while this initially caused some buzz because it sounded too good to be true, well, it actually is. A detail that was missed by some at first is that paying with the Alaska Airlines Visa (or any other linked card for that matter) does carry a 3% fee. Therefore, while this aspect is certainly interesting from a partnership perspective, I’m not sure how attractive it will actually be for customers.
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