Alaska Airlines joins the oneworld alliance early

In February, Alaska Airlines announced its intentions to join the oneworld alliance.  It will become the 14th full member.

According to a oneworld announcement yesterday, it now looks like the airline is choosing to expedite the process and hopes to become a full oneworld member by the end of the year. This is a good 6-8 months earlier than expected.

Because of the existing British Airways / Alaska partnership, covered in this article, you are gaining less than you think from their entry into oneworld.

It is already possible to spend Avios on Alaska.  The problem is that you only can book by calling British Airways as it is not integrated into ba.com.  This should change once Alaska joins oneworld fully.

The real benefit is from tier points.  Whilst you currently earn Avios when flying with Alaska, you do NOT earn British Airways Executive Club tier points.  This will now change.

British Airways Executive Club Silver and Gold members will also get access to the full range of oneworld benefits when flying with Alaska, including lounge access, priority check-in, baggage, boarding and preferred seat selection.

Members of other oneworld frequent flyer programmes have more to gain from this announcement than Executive Club members, as it will open up Alaska award inventory to them for the first time.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.