The Alaska Airways Visa® Enterprise card is an simply neglected card that earns exceptionally invaluable airline miles. It has a low annual payment and profitable ongoing perks for vacationers loyal to Alaska Airways. Card score*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

* Card score is predicated on the opinion of TPG’s editors and isn’t influenced by the cardboard issuer.

Alaska Airways has among the best airline loyalty packages on the earth, which makes the Alaska Airways Visa Enterprise card a surprisingly invaluable bank card to hold.

Alaska Mileage Plan is likely one of the few frequent flyer packages left the place you continue to earn miles based mostly on the space flown somewhat than on the value of your ticket, and the place you’ll be able to add free stopovers on award flights, even one-way tickets. So that you don’t must buy costly first- and business-class fares to rack up a whole lot of miles.

On prime of that, a few of the award costs to fly the airline’s companions are excellent, like flights to Asia from 70,000 miles in Cathay Pacific or Japan Airways top notch.

These components are why TPG values Alaska Airways miles larger than the miles you’ll be able to earn with some other main airline. Alaska Airways can also be a a part of the Oneworld alliance and has an unique partnership with American Airways, that means Alaska miles would possibly turn out to be useful on extra than simply the airline itself.

If you happen to don’t have already got an Alaska Airways cobranded bank card, you would possibly need to take into consideration selecting one up.

And proper now, you earn 70,000 bonus miles on this card, plus an Alaska Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23), after spending $4,000 or extra on purchases inside the first 90 days of opening your account. That is the cardboard’s best-ever supply.

Right here’s a better take a look at this card and why you would possibly need to take into account making use of for it.

Who is that this card for?

This can be a good enterprise bank card for anybody who travels closely to or all through the West Coast or can make the most of Alaska’s strong community of accomplice airways. I’ve this card and plan on conserving it for the long run due to its invaluable ongoing advantages, which I’ll focus on under.

Nonetheless, should you’re trying to earn essentially the most rewards for enterprise bills, there are higher choices out there.

One other good aspect good thing about the Alaska Airways enterprise card is that it received’t restrict your capacity to get authorised for the prime Chase bank cards. That’s as a result of, as a enterprise bank card, it received’t add to your Chase 5/24 depend. You’ll need a enterprise to qualify for this card, however you possibly can qualify as a freelancer or unbiased contractor. That implies that driving for Uber/Lyft, pet sitting or working for a meals supply service may make you eligible. And should you’re a sole proprietor, you need to use your identify as your corporation identify and your Social Safety quantity as your corporation tax ID.

Associated: Be part of TPG’s neighborhood for small-business house owners and leaders

Signal-up bonus

After spending $4,000 or extra within the first 90 days from opening the account, you’ll earn 70,000 Alaska miles and an Alaska Airways Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23).

That is the best publicly out there supply we’ve seen on this card. TPG pegs Alaska miles at 1.8 cents every, making these miles price $1,260 in worth.

It can save you a number of hundred {dollars} extra should you maximize the Companion Fare a part of the introductory supply. This companion certificates is legitimate on all Alaska Airways flights; you pay simply $99 plus the taxes and costs for a companion who’s booked on the identical round-trip financial system reservation as you. Once you add that this card has a really affordable $95 annual payment ($70 to your firm and $25 per card), the bonus and advantages begin to look even higher.

Associated: How my unused Alaska Companion Fare saved a co-worker practically $700 on summer season journey

Important advantages and perks

The Alaska Airways Visa Enterprise comes with the entire normal perks you’d count on from a cobranded airline card and some additional advantages.

First, the cardholder and as much as six visitors on the identical reservation will get a free checked bag on Alaska Airways flights whenever you pay with a card. That’s financial savings of $60 per particular person for every round-trip flight. As well as, you’ll get 20% again on inflight purchases, together with meals, drinks and Wi-Fi.

The cardboard earns 3 miles per greenback on Alaska Airways purchases, 2 miles per greenback on gasoline, transport and native transit (together with rideshare) and 1 mile per greenback on all different eligible purchases.

You will additionally get pleasure from precedence boarding when utilizing this card to pay to your flight and $100 off one Alaska Lounge+ Membership yearly.

Lastly, you will earn a ten% rewards bonus on all miles earned from purchases if your organization has an eligible Financial institution of America small-business account.

Associated: keep away from checked baggage charges on main home airways

What actually makes this card shine, although, is the Companion Fare (sure, you get one yearly you renew the cardboard and pay its annual payment, not simply as a part of its sign-up bonus). You get one as half of the present sign-up bonus and one other annually after spending $6,000 or extra on purchases inside your anniversary 12 months.

With the Companion Fare, you’ll be able to deliver a visitor alongside on any coach Alaska Airways fare for under $99 plus the taxes and costs (from $23). The cardholder doesn’t have to be one of many vacationers, however the flights should be paid for together with your Alaska Airways card. Each vacationers will earn Alaska miles for the flight and are eligible for upgrades, which is nice when you’ve got Alaska Airways elite standing.

The truth that you’ll earn a companion certificates yearly with out having to satisfy big minimal spending necessities, and that each flyers are nonetheless eligible for mileage incomes and upgrades, make this one of many higher airline card companion tickets. If you happen to journey internationally, it’ll turn out to be useful that this card fees no international transaction charges.

earn miles

Once you use the Alaska Airways enterprise card to make direct Alaska Airways purchases, you’ll earn 3 miles per greenback on eligible purchases. You will additionally earn 2 miles per greenback on gasoline, transport and native transit (together with rideshare) and 1 mile per greenback on all different eligible purchases.

As a result of Alaska miles are so invaluable, that’s like getting a return of 5.4% on Alaska purchases, 3.6% on these specified classes and 1.8% in every single place else, based mostly on our valuations. That’s an honest fee, however you are able to do higher on airfare purchases and on a regular basis spending with different playing cards.

redeem miles

For many flights on Alaska Airways itself, you’ll pay 5,000-12,500 miles every means in financial system. This could be a good worth, however you’ll be able to actually maximize your Mileage Plan miles by redeeming them for flights on Alaska’s companions.

Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles are a fantastic choice should you ebook an award to Asia or the South Pacific (together with Australia and New Zealand).

You may fly from the U.S. to/from Asia from solely 50,000 miles every means in enterprise class with Cathay Pacific, and you’ll add in a free stopover (in a hub metropolis) on that ticket. For instance, I flew Cathay Pacific enterprise class from Japan to the U.S. and added a free stopover in Hong Kong for a number of days.

Associated: Australia has reopened: ebook a visit to Sydney with factors and miles

There are additionally loads of methods to make use of Alaska miles to ebook a few of the most tough awards to search out: premium-cabin flights to Australia or New Zealand. You may fly nonstop on American Airways or Qantas (to Australia) or you’ll be able to route via Asia on one other accomplice. You may even ebook Fiji Airways enterprise class from 55,000 miles one-way to New Zealand or Australia and add a free stopover in Fiji.

Lastly, Singapore Airways is among the many airline’s non-Oneworld alliance companions to look out for. Premium-class award house is tough to come back by, however financial system awards are plentiful.

Options to the Alaska Airways Enterprise card

It’s also possible to earn Alaska miles with the private Alaska Airways Visa Signature® bank card. If you happen to don’t qualify for a enterprise card, the private model may be a superb different.

If you happen to’re decided to earn Alaska miles, your choices are restricted exterior of the 2 cobranded playing cards. The one versatile factors that switch to Alaska at an affordable fee are Marriott Bonvoy factors, and even then the switch ratio is 3:1 with a 5,000-mile bonus whenever you switch 60,000 Marriott factors at a time. So Marriott bank cards could be a good backup choice if you wish to amass Alaska miles, however they won’t be your predominant instruments for doing so.

As for journey playing cards not particular to Alaska Airways that allow you to maximize your corporation spending, there are higher choices. The American Categorical® Enterprise Gold Card, for instance, earns 4 Membership Rewards factors per greenback (price 2 cents every in line with TPG valuations) on two of the next classes (whichever you spend essentially the most on every month):

• Airfare that’s bought immediately from airways.
• U.S. purchases for promoting in choose media (on-line, TV, radio).
• U.S. purchases made immediately from choose expertise suppliers of pc {hardware}, software program and cloud options.
• U.S. gasoline stations.
• U.S. eating places.
• U.S. transport.
• Phrases and Limitations Apply

The 4-points-per-dollar incomes bonus is proscribed to $150,000 in mixed purchases from the 2 classes every calendar 12 months (then 1 level per greenback).

If nearly all of your corporation bills fall exterior of these particular spend classes, a card such because the Ink Enterprise Limitless Credit score Card (1.5% again on all purchases) or The Blue Enterprise® Plus Credit score Card from American Categorical (2 Membership Rewards factors per greenback on the primary $50,000 in purchases every calendar 12 months, then 1 level per greenback) are common choices.

Backside line

The Alaska Airways Visa Enterprise card has a invaluable sign-up bonus, a low annual payment and profitable ongoing perks. For most individuals, it’s a card that’s straightforward to justify opening and conserving long-term, however provided that you’ll make the most of the Companion Fare.

On the draw back, this isn’t a fantastic card for rewards on your corporation spending because it solely earns 1-2 miles per greenback for all purchases exterior of Alaska Airways purchases, so ensure you take into account that should you’re on the lookout for a better earn fee throughout all spend classes.

Official utility hyperlink: The Alaska Airways Visa Enterprise card with 70,000 bonus miles, plus an Alaska Companion Fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and costs from $23) after spending $4,000 or extra on purchases inside the first 90 days of opening your account.

Extra reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Chris Dong and Christina Ly.