Dreaming of the South Pacific? Alaska Airlines is offering award discounts if you book this month
When people daydream in their office cubicle (or on Zoom calls), fancy destinations such as Bora Bora and Tahiti in French Polynesia are frequently where their mind wanders. Luckily, a new Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan award sale for flights to Fiji and beyond can make this daydream a reality.
The award sale offers up to 50% off the normal miles required to redeem for both economy- and business-class awards on Fiji Airways. Alaska is also offering double miles on all revenue tickets booked on qualifying Fiji Airways flights. Here's what you need to know.
Fiji Airways award flights discounted up to 50%
This sale discounts economy-class tickets on Fiji Airways flights from 40,000 Mileage Plan miles to 20,000. And there's unbelievable availability.
To take advantage of the offer, you'll need to book by March 31 and complete your trip by Nov. 30. To search for awards, go to Alaska Airlines' website, select "Use miles," and enter a Fiji Airways arrival city in the South Pacific, Australia or New Zealand.
Flights are available for 20,000 miles from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Nadi International Airport (NAN) in Fiji virtually every day during the sale period, as One Mile at a Time notes. Even better, most dates have four seats available, making this a perfect sale for families.
Unfortunately, business-class award inventory is nearly nonexistent between LAX and NAN. Searches through the end of November yielded only one date, March 8, with business-class availability.
However, if you want to use this sale to get to New Zealand, you're much more likely to find a mixed-cabin itinerary.
Remember you can book a free stopover with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. But it's also worth noting that all the flights we found between Fiji and Auckland are served by Fiji Airways' A330-220s, which have older business-class seats than Fiji's beautiful new A350s.
If you decide to book during this award sale, remember to use one of the best cards for airfare or best cards for travel to maximize your earnings when paying the taxes and fees. Consider using a card that provides travel insurance, as perks like trip delay insurance could end up saving you a lot of money.
Finally, if you need to earn more Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles before booking, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio. However, note that the transfer took four days during TPG's tests.
Related: Flight review: Fiji Airways economy class from Nadi to Los Angeles on the A350
Double Mileage Plan miles on all Fiji Airways bookings
If you find a paid fare you'd prefer to book, you can also currently earn double Alaska Mileage Plan miles on paid Fiji Airways tickets.
To do so, you'll first need to register. Then, book virtually any Fiji Airways flights through Alaska Airlines by March 31 for travel through Nov. 30 (you can find full terms and conditions via the registration link). Bonus miles should post to your account four to six weeks after travel is completed.
Related: Fiji is again open for tourists with flights from LAX and SFO
Bottom line
Flights from Los Angeles to Fiji are long — almost 11 hours from gate to gate. While that's a long time to sit in coach, 20,000 miles is the best deal to get to Fiji we can recall in quite some time.
While you can't purchase upgraded seats via Alaska's website, you should be able to purchase a better economy-class seat from Fiji Airways once your ticket has been issued. A bit of extra legroom may take a bit of the sting out of the long flight. And, once you land, you'll be able to recreate that Zoom daydream in no time at all.
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