Bilt adds Alaska Airlines as transfer partner, is set end partnership with American Airlines

*The Bilt Mastercard® has been discontinued

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Bilt has a habit of making headline-grabbing moves for its rewards program, and you can add another one to the list. Starting March 14, 2024, Bilt is adding the Alaska Airline Mileage Plan as a 1:1 Bilt Rewards transfer partner. This move increases the versatility of Bilt Points and makes Bilt the only major travel rewards program to partner with Alaska Airlines (you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Alaska Airlines).

Offsetting this addition, Bilt has confirmed to CNBC Select that its partnership with American Airlines is ending in June. However, both Alaska Airlines and American Airlines are part of the Oneworld alliance, which means you can keep using Bilt points (through Alaska Airlines and others) to book American Airlines flights.

Alaska Airlines is in the middle of revamping its award pricing and by the end of March 2024 it will have fully implemented distance-based awards charts for three global regions. Here's what you need to know about Bilt's new transfer partner and how to make the most of your Alaska miles.

Alaska Airlines uses dynamic pricing for its awards flights, and the new awards charts won't change that. However, by the end of March, the starting prices will vary based on the flight's distance and geographic region. If you can find flights close to the starting price, you can squeeze plenty of value from your points.

Short-haul economy flights

Under the new award charts, short-haul flights offer a solid value. Once the new prices go into effect, you can book one-way economy partner awards in the Americas (North, Central and South America plus the Caribbean) starting at 4,500 miles for flights under 700 miles. This means you can book partner flights on American Airlines from Miami to places such as Grand Cayman, Saint Kitts, Turks and Caicos for 9,000 miles round-trip. Depending on when you fly, this same flight could cost $450 or more per person, which is a value of five cents per point.

International stopovers

Alaska also allows stopovers on certain award flights, which can be a great way to stretch your miles even further. You can add one stopover of up to 14 days on one-way international awards and up to two stopovers on round-trip international awards. As long as the stopover doesn't bump your mileage into the next pricing band, it won't cost any additional miles.

If you're planning a trip to Hong Kong, you could fly nonstop on Cathay Pacific from San Francisco for 75,000 miles in business class each way. Another option is to book a one-way business-class award with Japan Airlines and add in a two-week stopover in Japan for the same number of miles. Depending on the time of year, these flights can easily cost $3,000 to $4,000 or more, which is a conservative value of at least four cents per point.

American Airlines miles are generally most valuable when you use them to book flights with partner airlines. This is partly because American has dynamic pricing for its own flights, but offers fixed prices for partners.

If you can travel on less popular days or routes, you can often find domestic flights for 10,000 miles or less. American also occasionally has awards sales with one-way flights starting at 5,000 miles. However, even these deals pale in comparison to the best partner awards.

For only 70,000 miles, you can book a business-class flight from the continental U.S. (and Canada) to the Middle East and enjoy Qatar Airways' Qsuite, one of the best business-class cabins in the skies. On the low end, these tickets cost $5,500 to $6,500, but can easily cost $10,000+, so you're getting a value of at least eight cents per mile.

Bilt Rewards is free for anyone to join but if you're serious about earning Bilt points, you'll want to get the no-annual-fee Bilt Mastercard® (see rates and fees). With the Bilt card, you can earn rewards on rent without transaction fees and earn bonus rewards on travel and dining purchases. However, the Bilt card doesn't have a welcome bonus, so you may be able to earn rewards faster by opening a travel credit card with a strong intro bonus.

The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card is one of the best options for earning Alaska miles. It currently has an increased bonus offer of 70,000 miles plus Alaska's Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23) after you spend $3,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of opening your account. Bilt has told CNBC Select that later this spring, cardholders will earn 3X miles when using the card to pay rent (with an annual cap of $50,000 in rent) via Bilt Rewards. Just note that Bilt charges a 3% transaction fee for third-party credit cards and you can earn 1X Bilt points on rent with no transaction fee if you have the Bilt Mastercard®.

Cardholders also receive other benefits such as a discount on an Alaska Lounge+ membership and a free checked bag for the cardholder and up to six guests on eligible flights.

While you can't transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to Alaska Airlines, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) can still get you where you want to go. The Sapphire Preferred offers new card members a generous welcome bonus and you can use Chase points to book awards with Oneworld airlines by transferring to British Airways or Iberia. And when you pay for an award flight's taxes and fees with your Sapphire Preferred, you'll be covered by the card's robust insurance, including coverage for trip delays, trip cancellations and interruptions, baggage delays and lost luggage.

Bilt is constantly adding value to its rewards program and by adding Alaska Airlines as a transfer partner it's setting itself apart from the competition. None of the major transferrable travel rewards programs partner with Alaska Airlines and even with the recent award chart changes, Alaska miles are valuable. You can use them to book flights with airlines such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

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